(06 October 2020) – Pressure is increasing on member states to recycle 77% of plastic bottles by 2025 and reduce waste.
Currently, there is great disparity between member states, with some, like Germany and Denmark, already surpassing the target set out in the single use plastics directive, and others, like France and Hungary, falling short.
One solution put forward by industry to reach the 2025 target is deposit return schemes (DRS), where the public pay more for a product and the extra is returned to them when they take the packaging to a reverse vending machine.
The hope is that cleaner polyethylene terephthalate (PET) – the higher-grade plastic used for food and drink – is returned to producers, improve recycling rates and reduce the amount of marine waste, 80% of which is plastic.
But member states face a huge organisational challenge to introduce deposit return schemes and make them work by 2025. (EurActiv)