Environment

An infringement case has been opened by the European Commission against Italy for the "exceptions" introduced into the transposition of Directive 2019/904 on single-use plastics, the so-called SUP Directive. The European Commission sent a letter of formal notice to the Italian Government...

According to figures of Eurostat, the EU statistical office, in 2023 exports of recyclable raw materials from the EU to non-EU countries amounted to 39.3 million tonnes. Export volume in recyclable raw materials has been on an upward trend since 2004, increasing by 74% (+16.7 million tonnes). Meanwhile...

Eastman announced it has achieved on-spec initial production and is generating revenue from its new molecular recycling facility in Kingsport, Tennessee. The company expects to ramp up production of the new facility over the coming months and enable growth across a wide range of markets. Achieving this...

Plastics Europe published its biennial “The Circular Economy for Plastics: A European Analysis” report. Its data provides an overview of European plastics production, conversion, consumption, and waste management, and includes an analysis of plastics production from non-fossil sources, and recycling technologies...

In a landmark achievement for sustainable manufacturing, Domo Chemicals, a global leader in engineered materials, has earned the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus certification. Covering Domo’s sites in Leuna (Germany), Gorzow (Poland), and Arco (Italy), this...

According to Conai (the Italian packaging consortium) initial forecasts, the year that has just begun will see an increase in the percentage of recycled packaging placed on the market, exceeding the 70% required by Europe by 2030. “After a difficult 2023, we can look to the future with more optimism. But...

The European Council presidency and the European Parliament representatives reached a provisional political agreement on a proposal for a Regulation on packaging and packaging waste to make packaging more sustainable and reduce packaging waste in the EU...

GKV, German association of the plastics converters, IK, German association for plastics packaging and films, and VDMA, plastics and rubber machinery association, sent a joint message to decision-makers in the final phase of the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). If the...

An ambitious project, designed to enhance RadiciGroup's transparency and commitment to develop a responsible business along its entire value chain from an economic, social and environmental perspective and focus on the ever more widespread and stringent sustainability regulatory requirements. These...

After the European Parliament gave the green light to a directive against greenwashing and misleading commercial information by companies on 18 January, the Internal Market and Environment committees recently adopted their position on the rules on how firms can validate their environmental marketing claims...

In a joint press release, EuPC (European Plastics Converters), the association of European plastics converters, Elipso, the association of French plastics packaging manufacturers, and IK (Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen), the association of German plastics packaging and film manufacturers, announced that...

Latest figures show that the total European installed plastics recycling capacity stands at 12.5 million tonnes in 2022. Due to heavy market disruptions, the growth rate went down from 17% to 10%, year-on-year. These are the figures proposed by Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE), the European federation of...

European Bioplastics (EUBP) released a Policy Manifesto, calling on the European Union to develop a comprehensive Biopolymers Industrial Action Plan to accelerate the growth of the bioplastics industry. EUBP believes that an actionable EU Bioeconomy Strategy, supporting a strong...

Celanese, a global specialty materials and chemical company, announced it has begun running a carbon capture and utilization (CCU) project at its Clear Lake, Texas, site as part of its Fairway Methanol joint venture with Mitsui & Co. The project is expected to capture 180,000 metric tons of CO2 industrial...

On 18 December the European Council has reached an agreement ('general approach') on a proposal for a regulation on packaging and packaging waste. The aim is to tackle the increase in packaging waste generated in the EU, while harmonising the internal market for packaging and boosting the circular economy...

To assess the possible effects on human health of inhaled or ingested micro- and nano-plastics. This is the aim of the European Polyrisk project, which brings together 15 partners from 7 EU countries, including Enea and the University of Utrecht (the Netherlands) as coordinator. The study...

“Packaging neutrality objectives and similar material circularity targets will create the level playing field that Europe really needs.” stated EuPC managing director Bernard Merkx in his first reaction to the vote pf European Parliament on PPWR. The European Parliament adopted its negotiating position on the...

European Bioplastics (EUBP) commends the European Parliament for recognising the role of compostable plastics in achieving packaging waste prevention and reaching recycling targets. EUBP welcomes a less prescriptive approach, such as the one adopted by the European Parliament in plenary...

To drive the global chemical industry on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050, the Low-Carbon Emitting Technologies (LCET) initiative, incubated and hosted by the World Economic Forum for more than three years, has now officially launched as the independent Global Impact Coalition...

With the approval of the amendments on the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the European Parliament's vote on Wednesday 22 November 2023 goes in the desired direction, having accepted the proposals made forward by Italy - a leader in Europe for waste recycling capacity - on the most controversial issues of the regulation...