Library

Our resources

Welcome to our library, where you can find the full range of infographics, reports,  position papers and videos on plastic pollution by the Rethink Plastic alliance and its member organisations. Browse our latest publications!

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July 20, 2022

What the EU can do to reduce single use packaging and plastic pollution in food services?

While the EU has taken a first important step with the Single-Use Plastic Directive adopted in 2019, it now has the responsibility to tackle single use plastic packaging, and to involve different sectors, including the food service sector.

microplastics on blue screen

July 3, 2022

Position Paper: How EU legislation can tackle microplastic pollution

How can EU legislation tackle microplastics pollution? Read our position paper in which we urge the European Commission to consider effective measures to address this microplastics at source across all legislative proposals of the EU Green Deal.

April 5, 2022

We Choose Reuse: Setting Effective Reuse Targets

The European Union (EU) is about to revise its Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PWWD). This provides an opportunity to eliminate unnecessary packaging
and transition from single-use to reusable packaging, and hence significantly reduce resource use, waste and pollution. The fact that the current PPWD includes only
recycling targets creates an excessive focus on recycling, whereas upstream measures
should be given priority. Setting reuse targets in the PPWD is one of the tools the EU
can and should use to make reusable packaging the new norm.

April 4, 2022

What Is Reuse?

Citizens, municipalities and businesses across Europe are calling for reusable packaging to be scaled up and for robust reuse systems to be put in place. Even though the concept of reuse is high on the public agenda, it is sometimes used interchangeably with other concepts such as recycling. Here’s your guide to understand what reuse is and what it is not!

February 9, 2022

What the EU can do to support the grocery retail sector in reducing packaging and plastic pollution: Policy Briefing

The Break Free From Plastic movement, Environmental Investigation Agency and Rethink Plastic alliance present five plastic policy measures which they urge policy-makers to implement to help supermarket and others in the retail sector achieve stronger plastic pollution reduction.

February 4, 2022

How standards can unleash the power of harmonised containers and help curb plastic pollution – Infographic

To make reuse systems widespread, we will need harmonised rules, reusable containers… and standards will be key in the process. How would this work in practice? Together with ECOS and Break Free From Plastic, we have summarised this technical topic in a handy infographic.

February 1, 2022

Letter to the European Commission to stop the development of an overarching standardisation request

In May 2021, ECOS, Zero Waste Europe, and the Rethink Plastic alliance have sent a letter calling on the European Commission to put on hold the development of overarching standards on plastics recyclability until related EU laws are adopted.

plastic bottles

February 1, 2022

Letter to Commissioners Breton and Sinkevicius: Request to cease development of Standardisation Request on “plastics recycling and recycled plastics”

cargo containers on ship

November 30, 2021

Report: Understanding Illegal Plastic Waste Shipments: A Focus On Spain

The aim of this report is to understand the factors enabling the misdeclaration of plastic waste exported from Spain, with particular interest in intra-EU shipment flows.

Rethink Plastic