Rethink Plastic and Environmental Paper Network’s response to the consultation on a revised EU Bioeconomy Strategy

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We urge the European Commission to ensure that the revised strategy actively supports a truly circular, regenerative, and ecologically sound bioeconomy. This includes ensuring ambitious alignment with European and global objectives on packaging, ecodesign for sustainable products, and nature restoration. In particular, this new strategy must recognise the risks of unchecked expansion of bio-based material production, addressing the full lifecycle impacts of bio-based plastics and paper, and prioritising resource sufficiency, ecological resilience, and social equity over simplistic assumptions of renewability or carbon neutrality.

Scrutinising Scientific Standards

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A Scientific Assessment of the JRC Study on European Sustainability Criteria for Plastics Recycling Technologies

The aim of this report is to allow for a better understanding of the full environmental impacts of different plastic recycling technologies.

Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation Implementation: A roadmap for national & local governments to slash record levels of waste

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Despite some shortcomings, exemptions and loopholes, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation establishes a number of key requirements, notably on waste prevention, reuse and recyclability. It also provides many tools that governments at the national, regional and local levels can leverage to reduce packaging waste.

“Include Plastics and polymers into the first ESPR work programme” – Open Letter to Commissioner Roswall

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Dear Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Jessika Roswall,

We, the undersigned organisations, urge you to include the plastics and polymer sector in the forthcoming first Working Plan under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). Plastic in products has an outsized impact on human health and the environment and was included in the JRC’s shortlist for intermediate products. Yet the final text of the ESPR does not list plastics and polymers as one of the suggested sectors for intermediate product priorities.