EuRIC calls for robust recycled plastics targets for the auto industry

In order to ensure automotive circularity and to preserve the EU plastics recycling industry, EuRIC has called on legislators to maintain "a high level of ambition, and bring forward recycled content targets for plastics in vehicles". 

The ongoing discussions on the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation (ELVR), must address the fact that currently an average of 80 percent of ELV plastics are either landfilled or incinerated, says the association. 

EuRIC believes that mandatory recycled content targets are essential to bridge vehicles' design with their end-of-life processing, stimulate demand for circular and low-carbon materials, and prevent material losses that jeopardize Europe's "green and clean industrial transition". 

Plastic recyclers are struggling to remain viable due to low demand and prices, according to the association. Setting ambitious targets for recycled plastics in vehicles will boost demand and re-incentivize investments in the EU plastic recycling sector, it says, and "Recycled content targets of 25 percent, of which 25 percent are closed-loop, provide the best-cost-benefit balance, avoid excessive costs and supply shortages, and offer certainty for manufacturing planning." 

EuRIC believes these recycled content targets are also a precondition for reaching the 30 percent plastic recycling target as per the ELVR. In the absence of a robust mechanism to reward the use of recycled plastics in automotive, the demand for recyclates will remain low and consequently, achieving the 30 percent recycling rate for ELV plastics will not be possible. 

For driving circularity and decarbonization of vehicles, stability for planning and investments in R&D, innovation, and the scaling-up of recycling capacities is paramount. EuRIC urges avoidance of any reduction of targets or revision clauses that could undermine predictability and harm investments. 

EuRIC also calls for ensuring a level playing field on recycled content through robust certification covering environmental, human health, and social aspects, ensuring fair competition in recycling markets. Recycled content targets should specifically address the end-of-life treatment of plastics and should therefore only be met using post-consumer plastic waste. 

Considering the above, EuRIC calls on the EU legislator to ensure: 

• Investment stability for plastic recyclers in Europe by rejecting any attempts to reduce, postpone, or revise minimum targets. 
• Direct results on circularity in vehicles by bringing forward the minimum 25 percent recycled plastics target, including the 25 percent closed-loop target, to four years after the regulation's enforcement.
• Fair competition through robust certification of recycled content regarding environmental, human health, and social aspects, especially in the face of international competition.