A Circular Economy For Plastics - HBM4EU
A CIRCULAR ECONOMYFOR PLASTICSInsights from researchand innovation toinform policy andfunding decisionsResearch andInnovation
A circular economy for plastics – Insights from research and innovation to inform policy and funding decisionsEuropean CommissionDirectorate-General for Research and InnovationDirectorate I — Climate Action and Resource EfficiencyUnit I.2 — Eco-innovationContactMichiel De IONS@ec.europa.euEuropean CommissionB-1049 BrusselsManuscript completed in January 2019.This report has been written by the experts Maurizio Crippa (Gr3n, Italy), Bruno De Wilde (Organic Waste Systems, Belgium), RudyKoopmans (Plastics Innovation Competence Centre, Switzerland), Jan Leyssens (Switchrs, Belgium), Mats Linder (CE expert, Sweden),Jane Muncke (Food Packaging Forum Foundation, Switzerland), Anne-Christine Ritschkoff (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland,Finland), Karine Van Doorsselaer (Antwerp University, Belgium), Costas Velis (University of Leeds, UK) and Martin Wagner (NorwegianUniversity of Science and Technology, Norway). The content in this document has been further refined following an elaborate feedbackprocess involving a wide group of stakeholders. Michiel De Smet and Mats Linder have processed the feedback and edited the document.Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be madeof the following information.For bibliographic purposes this document should be cited:Crippa, M., De Wilde, B., Koopmans, R., Leyssens, J., Muncke, J., Ritschkoff A-C., Van Doorsselaer, K., Velis, C. & Wagner, M. A circulareconomy for plastics – Insights from research and innovation to inform policy and funding decisions, 2019 (M. De Smet & M. Linder,Eds.). European Commission, Brussels, Belgium.More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu).Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2019PDFISBN -N European Union, 2019Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. The reuse policy of European Commission documents is regulated by Decision2011/833/EU (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39).For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the EU copyright, permission must be sought directly fromthe copyright holders.
EUROPEAN COMMISSIONA CIRCULARECONOMY FORPLASTICSInsights from research and innovationto inform policy and funding decisionsEdited by Michiel De Smet and Mats Linder2019Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe editors would like to thank the experts and the wide group of stakeholders for their valuable writtenand verbal contributions. The editors are grateful for the range of constructive feedback received fromcompanies and associations from across the plastic supply chains, from scientists and innovators, andfrom policymakers.
TABLE OF CONTENTSTABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION6EXECUTIVE SUMMARY8State of play8Challenges and knowledge gaps9Policy recommendations and R&I priorities10SHORTLIST OF POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS11PART I: THE UNINTENDED IMPACTS OF PLASTICSON SOCIETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT1PLASTIC POLLUTION141.1 Sources, fate and scale of plastic pollution141.2 Impacts of plastic pollution251.3 Solutions to eliminate or minimise plastic pollution322 SUBSTANCES OF CONCERN TO HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTALHEALTH392.1 Risk assessment, impact and regulation related to substances in plastics392.2 Substituting substances of concern50PART II: NOVEL SOURCES, DESIGNS AND BUSINESS MODELSFOR PLASTICS IN A CIRCULAR ECONOMY3NEW MATERIALS3.1 Novel plastics in an existing chemical industry3.2 Scaling and commercialisation of new materials and technologies3.3 Novel processing and handling technologies4 BIOLOGICAL FEEDSTOCK4.1 Production of bio-based plastics and chemicals4.2 Economic, social and environmental impacts of bio-based plastics4.3 Use of by-products from other processes as biological feedstock5 BUSINESS MODELS, PRODUCT AND SERVICE DESIGN5.1 Development and commercialisation of circular business models5.2 Development and commercialisation of circular products5.3 Information transparency and its implications for design5.4 Societal and technological trends impacting plastics design56586570747479838789961011053
4A CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR PLASTICSPART III: CIRCULAR AFTER-USE PATHWAYSFOR PLASTICS6COLLECTION AND SORTING6.1 Collection and sorting across different regions6.2 Improving collection and sorting through innovation7MECHANICAL RECYCLING7.1 Input and performance of mechanical recycling7.2 Innovation towards cost-effective high-quality mechanical recycling7.3 Enabling an effective, well-functioning secondary materials market8CHEMICAL RECYCLING8.1 Solvent-based purification and depolymerisation technologies8.2 Feedstock recycling technologies8.3 The role of chemical recycling in a circular economy for plastics9ORGANIC RECYCLING AND BIODEGRADATION9.1 Biodegradation under controlled conditions9.2 Biodegradation in uncontrollable conditions9.3 General facts and 153153157159APPENDICESAPPENDIX: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS PER CHAPTER164APPENDIX: OVERVIEW POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS170APPENDIX: OVERVIEW R&I PRIORITIES179APPENDIX: THE REPORT WRITING PROCESS183APPENDIX: OVERVIEW OF REVIEWEDEU-FUNDED PROJECTS184APPENDIX: LINK TO EU PLASTICS STRATEGY190APPENDIX: OVERVIEW PLASTICS AND ITS APPLICATIONS197LIST OF DEFINITIONS AND ACRONYMS200LIST OF FIGURES204BIBLIOGRAPHY206
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6A CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR PLASTICSINTRODUCTIONThe challenges and opportunities posed by thecurrent plastics system demand fundamentalchange in which research and innovation (R&I),enabled and reinforced by policymaking, playa crucial role. While plastics bring benefits as afunctional material, the current system has significant unintended drawbacks, including economicloss of material value and environmental damage, such as marine litter. It has become evidentthat the plastics economy needs to change from asystem that produces waste by design to one thatpreserves the value and benefits of plastics, buteliminates these drawbacks. While this transitioncan be accelerated by the accumulated effect ofmultiple small steps, such incremental progresswill not suffice – systemic change powered by R&Iand enabled through policymaking is the only longterm solution.Europe is taking responsibility to deal with thisglobal problem through a range of measures,while capturing the opportunities created bymoving towards a circular economy for plastics.These actions are mostly being taken under theumbrella of the Circular Economy Package, andthey have resulted in, inter alia, a comprehensivewaste legislation review, the publication of thefirst-ever Europe-wide strategy on plastics, and acommunication on options to address the interfacebetween chemical, product and waste legislation.As outlined in A European Strategy for Plastics in aCircular Economy, Europeans can turn the plasticschallenges into opportunities and set an examplefor resolute action at a regional, national, Europeanand global level. In addition to this vision, this EUPlastics Strategy provides a list of measures thataim to improve the economics and quality of plastics recycling, to curb plastic waste and littering, todrive innovation and investment towards circularsolutions, and to harness global action. The strategy also recognises innovation as a key enabler forthe transformation of the system, with innovationareas spanning the entire value chain: renewableenergy and feedstock, product design, businessmodels and reverse logistics, collection and sortingmechanisms, mechanical and chemical recyclingtechnologies, compostability and biodegradability.In addition, innovation is relevant for identifyingand assessing the impact of hazardous chemicalsand plastic pollution, as well as developing saferalternatives and remediation technologies.This report adds to the Commission’s effortstowards a circular economy for plastics bystrengthening the science-policy interface basedon scientific evidence. By providing recommendations for sectoral policymaking and insights forstrategic programming from a research and innovation perspective, it aims to inform policymakers,ranging from EU institutions to local authorities,researchers, innovators and other interested stakeholders. This report’s insights have been producedby extending a DG Research & Innovation ‘Projects for Policy’ approach, capturing insights fromEU-funded R&I projects, the research communityand a wider stakeholder group. More informationon the process can be found in APPENDIX: Thereport writing process. In line with the InnovationPrinciple, this report’s recommendations aim tobe outcomes-oriented and future-proof, and theyaspire to benefit citizens, business and the environment. The potential solution space covers innovative business models, products and materials,including but also going beyond plastics.In line with the Commission’s objectives, theinsights gathered in this report aim to supportthe transition towards a circular economy forplastics. In the long term, as explained in the EUPlastics Strategy, such a circular system would envision plastics to be produced with renewable energyand feedstock, and plastic products designed to beused, reused, repaired and (mechanically, chemically or organically) recycled, such that this material can flow through society with full transparencyand high-value use without posing risks to humanhealth and the environment. This system shouldharness the benefits of plastics, while achievingbetter environmental, economic and social outcomes from a life-cycle perspective. In this way,
INTRODUCTIONthe transition will contribute to the objectives laidout in the EU Plastics Strategy and other domains,including resource efficiency, climate change, bioeconomy and the UN Sustainable DevelopmentGoals. In APPENDIX: Link to EU Plastics Strategy,a comparison is given between policy recommendations identified in this report and the measuresof the EU Plastics Strategy (Annex I), in order tounderstand coherence. Several of the policy recommendations have already been, or are being, dealtwith following related initiatives, including the EUPlastics Strategy and the Bioeconomy strategy,updated in 2018.Taking a research and innovation perspective,this report does not aim to cover all aspectsof the plastics system. Given the complexity andbreadth of the plastics landscape, some elementsare not dealt with. For example, different types ofplastics and their applications, and the contributionto economic growth and jobs are not covered indetail, although a summary is provided in APPENDIX: Overview plastics and its applications. Theseaspects could bring additional angles and insightsto the conclusions of the report. While it does notclaim to be exhaustive, this report does provide acomprehensive overview of the plastics systemand related gaps in research and innovation, andof the preconditions to achieve better economic,environmental and social outcomes.7
8A CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR PLASTICSEXECUTIVE SUMMARYState of playIn just a few decades, plastics have radicallychanged our economy and society. Combiningexcellent functional properties with low cost, thesematerials are omnipresent and their global production volume is expected to continue to growfar beyond the 2016 figure of 335 million tonnes.However, the current plastics system poses significant economic challenges, with an estimatedannual material value loss of EUR 70-105 billionglobally, as well as environmental ones, including the estimated annual release of 75 000 to300 000 tonnes of microplastics into EU habitats.These shortcomings demand systemic change inwhich R&I, enabled and reinforced by policymaking,plays a crucial role.The unintended impacts of plasticson society and the environmentA crucial challenge of the linear plastics economyis the omnipresent and persistent plastic pollution,resulting in economic and environmental costs tosociety. While public decision-making on plasticpollution is moving forward, the scientific understanding of this issue is still fragmented, especially regarding its sources and impacts. Improvingthis understanding is vital in order for policies toaddress the causes and effects of plastic pollution.However, the complex nature of this issue meansthat developing and implementing effective solutions must be done without complete knowledgeabout the root causes.Another shortcoming of the current plastics eco nomy is the leakage of, and potential exposure to,substances of concern to human and environmental health. Researchers employ different methodsto evaluate the hazards and risks of chemicalsused intentionally, or present non-intentionally, inplastics, and policymakers aim to mitigate theserisks through a range of legislation. However,differences in which categories of substancesshould be assessed for the various applications,and at what stage in the supply chain, has ledto an incomplete and potentially contradictoryregulatory situation limiting the effectiveness ofsuch initiatives.Novel sources, designs andbusiness models for plasticsin a circular economyIn the past, most R&I in plastics has focused ondeveloping novel sources of feedstock and specialised materials. The large-scale capital-intensityand decades-long optimisation of the petrochemical industry have made and still make it difficultto scale up the production of new materials thatdo not fit into the existing infrastructure. Biobased feedstock, which has the potential to constitute a renewable chemicals platform for plasticsand additives, can tap into this infrastructure inselected cases. However, to realise the full potential, new dynamic, small-scale, decentralised business and biorefinery models will also be required.In addition, more cross-value-chain collaborationand systems thinking are needed to valorise thevariety of biological feedstock across Europe.While this material innovation is crucial, a circulareconomy framework also requires fundamentallynew approaches to the underlying business modeland product designs. Concepts such as ecodesignand product-service systems challenge the current linear production and consumption paradigmthrough elimination or reuse, in line with the wastehierarchy. However, despite emerging evidence ofsuch ideas also being tested in the plastics valuechain, most design innovation has not yet taken thesystemic approach required to turn these conceptsinto viable businesses. This situation is, for example, reflected in many R&I projects being focusedon introducing a new material without designingfor a circular pathway in the underlying system.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARYTo keep products and materials in use safely, theplastics system needs more information transpa rency. Unravelling part of the plastics landscapecomplexity, this transparency should connectupstream design and production with the usephase and after-use collection, sorting and recycling. Technological developments and societaltrends suggest the ability to create more of thistransparency, but such systems are mostly beingexplored only at the research level.Circular after-use pathwaysfor plasticsCollecting, sorting and recycling plastics bringseconomic and environmental benefits, but thecurrent systems face capacity and modernisation challenges across Europe. There is significantuntapped potential in processing used plastics,in terms of increasing volumes, quality and yieldof reprocessed plastics. Improvements are partlydriven by technical innovations, including automated and robotics-powered collection and sorting,and novel chemical recycling methods to obtainvirgin-grade plastics. Harmonisation of collectionsystems, while allowing adaptation to local conditions, is another important driver in retaining value.There are still many unanswered questions abouthow to set up a robust after-use system that isadapted to the increasingly complex plastics landscape. Complementary to mechanical recycling,chemical recycling of plastics could play an important role by expanding the ability to treat complexmaterial streams and providing virgin-quality recycled materials. In addition, the use of compostable material in selected applications could enableorganic recycling of bio-waste. However, the different recycling options all face challenges in dealingwith economic viability, technical performance, legalstatus, environmental concerns and supportinginfrastructure. What these after-use solutions alsohave in common is that their performance and theextent of value creation are subject to the designand material choice of each plastic object on themarket – an insight that reinforces the importanceof design and innovation upstream. Hence, a strategic vision is needed on how to integrate this set ofdifferent after-use pathways into the general plastics system, in order to maximise material valueretention and provide direction for future innovation.Challenges andknowledge gapsSo far, innovations have often focused on improving a single issue, rather than taking the entireplastics system into account. Past R&I efforts inthe plastics landscape have often focused on aspecific subdomain, such as a certain packagingbarrier property or conversion of a particular biomass type. As R&I requires collaboration betweena broader range of stakeholders and capabilities,applying a systemic, interdisciplinary approachthat covers the entire plastics supply chain is challenging. However, without such an approach, R&Iprojects leave significant questions unansweredabout how the innovation depends on other stepsin the value chain, how it affects the wider systemand how to practically implement the findings. Thischallenge has been identified before, and there areindications that systems thinking is being increasingly applied in R&I projects, for example, throughembedding cross-value-chain collaboration. Nevertheless, these actions are only a fraction of whatwill be needed for systemic change, especially inthe case of plastics.An increasingly complex plastics landscape creates additional challenges for effective tracking,collection, sorting and recycling of used plastics.New complex materials and products allow differentiation and provide improved properties for thebenefit of users, including food preservation, citizens’ convenience and lightweight items. However,the increasing complexity of plastics, sometimescombined with other materials, makes it more difficult for the collection, sorting and recycling sectors to adapt and to innovate towards technologiesthat improve the quality of recycled materials. Inaddition, it makes it harder for the end user, i.e. thecitizen, to understand and interact with the plastics system, affecting collection rates and sorting9
10A CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR PLASTICSyields. Finally, new complex materials make itmore difficult to know what substances are on themarket and to assess whether there are risks forhuman and environmental health.Limited innovation has happened in businessmodel design, which is critical to prevent plasticsfrom becoming waste. According to the availablereporting, many of the reviewed R&I projects focuson material and technology performance, while notreally challenging the underlying business model,such as the single-use nature of applications. As aresult, limited efforts go into novel designs fit fora circular economy. For example, product designand business model innovations that preventplastics from becoming waste, such as reuse enabled through digital technologies, would directlyaddress one of the root causes of plastic pollution.Yet, examples of such bottom-up innovations arelimited.Most investors have limited experience with thedevelopment of high-risk, disruptive innovationstowards a circular economy for plastics. The inherent uncertainty of inv
4 A CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOR PLASTICS PART III: CIRCULAR AFTER-USE PATHWAYS FOR PLASTICS 6 COLLECTION AND SORTING 112 6.1 Collection and sorting across different regions 112 6.
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Mapping of global plastics value chain and plastics losses to the environment onment 2 Table of contents Table of contents List of Acronyms 4 Types of plastics 5 Executive summary 6 Technical summary 9 1 oduction Intr 17 1.1. Objective 19 1.2. General methodology 19 1.3. Report structure 21 2 Global plastics value chain 23
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