Beverages sector asks EU for priority access to rPET

BRUSSELS – The soft drinks industry has called on the European Commission to revise EU waste directives to prevent recycled PET bottles being from being downcycled to non-food applications – such as fashion. The beverages industry claims that while its own manufacturers place recycled PET bottles into a closed loop, other industries, such as fashion, downcycle them – giving them one more life before they are sent to landfill.

Member of the European Parliament, Maria Spyraki, co-chair of the Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development has supported the industry’s concerns. She said: “For the industry to reuse its recycled packaging material in a closed loop is clearly the way forward. This will contribute substantially to resource efficiency. Therefore, measures to facilitate producers’ access to their recycled material must be encouraged. Circularity is a key component of the Green Deal supporting Europe’s journey towards carbon neutrality.”