Press Release
Press Contact
Brussels, 24-05-2011
PlasticsEurope
Thomas Bauwens
Tel: +32 2 676 17 35
E-mail: thomas.bauwens@plasticseurope.org
Plastics manufacturers calls for ban on landfill in
Europe
BRUSSELS, (24 May 2011): PlasticsEurope, the association representing the European plastics
manufacturers, today called for an effective ban on the landfilling of waste as the most effective means of
improving resource efficiency in Europe. At the start of the annual Green Week conference in Brussels
and ahead of the expected launch of a European Resource Efficiency Roadmap next month,
PlasticsEurope calls on policy makers to promote and enforce the legislation that will lead to 100% of
waste being diverted from landfill to other more sustainable uses.
The European plastics manufacturers are concerned that despite the huge advances in waste
management in certain countries in recent years, many EU member states are continuing to invest in
landfilling as a cheap short term solution. Such policies create a significant obstacle to the development
of more resource efficient options such as recycling and energy recovery of waste materials, including
plastics.
According to Wilfried Haensel, Executive Director of PlasticsEurope, “Eliminating landfill in all European
countries is far from being an unrealistic goal. Frontrunner countries have reduced landfilling of plastics
waste to almost zero, with significant environmental benefits. However, in more than half of EU Member
States over two thirds of end-of-life plastics still end up in landfills. This is often a result of poor
enforcement of existing European legislation and short sighted waste management policies at local level.
PlasticsEurope therefore calls for an effective Europe-wide ban on landfill to be a key element of the
implementation of the EU’s resource efficiency strategy. ”
PlasticsEurope urges policy-makers at European, national and local level to support legal instruments
that will help foster innovation and unlock private investment into waste collection, sorting, recycling and
recovery, as it is already the case in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Austria and other countries where
significant landfill restrictions have been put effectively in place. A particularly striking example is the
landfill ban for calorific waste in Germany in 2005 and the consequent dramatic increase in plastics
waste recovery within one year, resulting in the recovery of value from nearly 100% of waste plastics.”
“Short sighted ongoing investment in landfill ignores not only the clear environmental case for
encouraging more sustainable options, but also the medium to long term economic benefits of doing so.
By shifting their focus to prevention, collection, recycling and recovery of materials governments can
stimulate the creation of new jobs in this area and avoid the burden of penalties for unsatisfactory
implementation of European waste management legislation or emissions reduction targets”, added
Wilfried Haensel.
Editors’ note
PlasticsEurope is one of the leading European trade associations with centres in Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan and Paris. We are networking with
European and national plastics associations and have more than 100 member companies, producing over 90% of all polymers across the EU27 member states
plus Norway, Switzerland, Croatia and Turkey.
The European plastics industry makes a significant contribution to the welfare in Europe by enabling innovation, creating quality of life to citizens and facilitating
resource efficiency and climate protection. More than 1.6 million people are working in about 50.000 companies (mainly small and medium sized companies in
the converting sector) to create a turnover in excess of 300 billion € per year.
The plastics industry includes polymer producers - represented by PlasticsEurope, converters - represented by EuPC and machine manufacturers - represented
by EUROMAP. For further info see the web links: www.plasticseurope.org, www.plasticsconverters.eu, www.euromap.org.