Traceability of recycled materials: EU insists on circular economy to protect the planet

Starting from 2021, the EU will completely ban the use of 10 disposable plastic products such as straws, cutlery and cotton swabs in member states. These items will be replaced by paper, straw or reusable hard plastic. Plastic bottles will be collected separately according to the existing recycling model; by 2025, member states are required to achieve a 90% recycling rate for disposable plastic bottles. At the same time, the bill also requires manufacturers to take more responsibility for the condition of their plastic products and packaging.

The Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) is the core legal framework for waste management in the European Union. It sets specific requirements for the plastic recycling process, aiming to promote a circular economy and reduce the impact of waste on the environment. The following are the core provisions of the directive on the plastic recycling process:

Waste Hierarchy of Plastic Waste
Article 4 of the Directive establishes waste management priorities, which apply to plastic waste:

1. Prevention: Reduce the generation of plastic waste (such as limiting single-use plastics).

2. Reuse: Encourage reusable plastic packaging (such as washing and refilling recycled bottles).

3. Recycling: Require plastic waste to enter the material recovery process (mechanical or chemical recycling).

4. Energy Recovery: Only non-recyclable plastics are allowed to be used for energy utilization (such as incineration for power generation).

5. Disposal: Landfill is the last resort, and most EU countries have banned plastic landfill.

 Legal targets for plastic recycling rates
- Article 11 stipulates:
- By 2025, the recycling rate of plastic packaging shall be at least 50% (by weight).
- By 2030, the recycling rate of plastic packaging shall be at least 55%.
- Member States need to achieve the target through separate collection systems and extended producer responsibility (EPR).

Separate Collection Requirements
- Article 10 requires Member States to ensure that plastic waste (especially packaging plastics) is collected separately from other waste:
- Households and businesses need to put recyclable plastics (such as PET bottles, HDPE containers) separately.
- Municipal departments need to provide classified trash cans (such as yellow trash cans for plastic packaging).
- Exception: If mixed collection can achieve the same recycling efficiency (scientific proof is required), classification can be exempted.

Waste Recording and Reporting
- Article 35 requires Member States to:
- Establish a plastic waste traceability system to record the amount of recycling, treatment methods and end use.
- Submit recycling rate data to the European Commission every year and accept third-party audits.

Linkage with other EU regulations
- Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC): refines recycling targets for plastic packaging.
- Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUP, 2019/904): imposes higher recycling requirements (such as a deposit return system) on certain plastic products (such as PET bottles).
- Companies: must redesign plastic packaging to improve recyclability and pay for recycling.
- Municipalities: need to improve classified collection infrastructure (such as adding plastic recycling bins).
- Consumers: need to cooperate with classified disposal, otherwise they may face fines (such as strict law enforcement in Germany and the Netherlands).

The directive and subsequent EU regulations (such as the Green New Deal) jointly promote the standardization of plastic recycling systems, with the goal of achieving an EU-wide plastic circular economy by 2030.

As the EU vigorously promotes the plastic circular economy, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is seen, which has excellent mechanical properties, chemical resistance and recyclability, and is widely used in packaging, construction, automobiles and electronics. The EU promotes the recycling of HDPE through strict regulations and policies, and is committed to building a world-leading plastic circular economy system.

The EU HDPE recycling network mainly includes the following links:
Classification and collection
Industrial source HDPE: factory waste (such as injection molding waste) directly enters the recycling system.
Post-consumer HDPE: collected through yellow recycling bins (packaging recycling) or DRS system.
Classification and cleaning
Near infrared (NIR) sorting technology: separates HDPE from other plastics (such as PP, PET).
Deep cleaning: removes labels and residues to ensure the purity of recycled materials.
Recycling processing
Mechanical recycling (mainstream method): melt granulation produces rHDPE for non-food contact products (such as pipes, trash cans).
Chemical recycling (emerging technology): depolymerize HDPE into monomers and then polymerize it into food-grade rHDPE (such as the Advanced Recycling project of Ineos in Belgium).
Application market
Packaging: rHDPE is used to make new bottles and barrels (e.g. Coca-Cola's 100% recycled HDPE bottles).
Construction: Recycled HDPE pipes and sheets (compliant with EN 13432 recyclability standards).
Automobile: BMW, Volkswagen and other automakers use rHDPE to make bumpers and interior parts.
Future trends
The EU's "Green New Deal" plans to make all plastic packaging recyclable by 2030, and the HDPE recycling rate will be further improved.
Carbon border tax (CBAM) may impose taxes on high carbon footprint virgin HDPE to stimulate the use of recycled materials.
Technological innovation
Smart sorting: Artificial intelligence + robot sorting improves the recycling rate of dark HDPE.
Commercialization of chemical recycling: Companies such as BASF and Shell invest in HDPE depolymerization technology to promote the application of food-grade rHDPE.
Circular business model
Closed-loop recycling: Brands (such as Unilever and Nestlé) commit to using 100% recycled HDPE.
Industrial ecological park: HDPE waste is directly recycled and reused within the region (such as the Dutch Circular Plastics Alliance)