PETplanet Insider Vol. 26 No. 12/25 www.petpla.net 13 EDITOUR material. This is ambitious, but achievable. It depends, however, on the availability of recycled material. With mechanical recycling alone, we will not have enough material, which is why the authorisation of chemical recycling will be essential.” At the moment, there is still some uncertainty regarding the methodology for calculating the recycled content derived from chemical recycling. “But we are confident that the European Commission recognises the potential of chemical recycling and considers it a necessary part of the solution. We urgently need clarity, because major investments must be made and several pilot plants are already operating. The theory looked good, but no tool was created for real implementation,” Nicholas continued. “We saw the PPWR as a tool that could support our vision and help us realise it more quickly. We approached the Commission and explained that we want to achieve circularity, and this is what we need the PPWR to deliver: support for collection and access to high-quality recycled material. The regulation must accelerate the introduction of deposit return systems (DRS). We have been working on this together with NGOs such as Zero Waste Europe and others with whom we have developed a common agenda. For example, collection rates are not high in every country, and where they are high, it is mostly because a DRS is in place. This is why we welcomed the Commission’s decision to include in the PPWR mandatory DRS to achieve a 90% collection rate for beverage packaging by 2030 and minimum requirements for any new DRS. The SUP introduced the target but not the mechanism; for example, access to the material needed to close the loop. “The material is collected by a system that we fund, we have to comply with ambitious content targets, and we can only use highquality food-contact materials. This is why we believe we should have the ‘right of first refusal’ to the feedstock for recycling stemming from the packaging we placed on the market and the collection schemes we fund. This is particularly important for SMEs, as it creates a level playing field for them to access recycled material at market price,” Nicholas explained. He closed with some enthusiasm: “It is positive that Europe is a leader - but perhaps we have gone too far, not necessarily in ambition, but in the complexity of the rules that have been developed. The ambition should not be lowered, but the journey toward achieving it should be supported. Right now, the process is far too complicated. Sustainability brings efficiency. Reporting and transparency are important, but they must be simplified and achievable!” www.unesda.eu
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