EuRIC Hails ENVI’s Call to Reconsider Mass Balance Method for Recycled Content Calculation in SUPD
EuRIC hails today’s vote in the Parliament’s ENVI committee, in favor of a motion for a resolution opposing the European Commission’s flawed recycled content calculation mass balance method in the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD).
The motion, submitted by rapporteur Jutta Paulus (Greens/EFA), was approved with 26 to 24 votes, paving its way to next week’s plenary session.
Establishing a recycled content calculation method under the SUPD based on the fuel-use exempt model would set an alarming precedent for other regulations, such as packaging, automotive, ecodesign and textiles. An appropriate method should be adopted under the framework of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and chemical recycling should be a last resort, only when mechanical recycling falls short.
Given that over 80% of packaging within the decision’s scope is made of PET, chemical recycling cannot be considered an indispensable technology for other beverage bottles or future food-contact applications using non-PET feedstock.
Ahead of next week’s plenary vote, EuRIC urges lawmakers to widely support the drafting of a resolution opposing the proposed mass balance approach. This method leads to significant discrepancies between claimed and actual recycled content, thus misleading consumers with false green claims, while it also unfairly favours chemical over mechanical recycling technologies and fundamentally undermines the SUPD’s core objective of realising a circular economy.
Source: EuRIC (Brussels, April, 18, 2024)
