Financial incentives and a commitment from the government have been jointly demanded by Germany’s Der Grüne Punkt, brand owner Werner & Mertz and the German Association for the Waste, Water and Raw Materials Industries (BDE) to safeguard the future of high-quality plastics recycling.
The three organisations want to see a stronger focus on sustainability in public procurement, a fund system, a new plastics tax for new goods and a clearly defined minimum rate for the use of recyclates. Combined with financial incentives, these are instruments that the firms believe will save plastics recycling from extermination and ensure a stable, sustainable circular economy.
Der Grüne Punkt claims that many manufacturers that previously used recyclates for products and packaging are now switching back to new goods. The reason for this is the sharp fall in the price of oil as a result of the corona pandemic, which has lowered the cost of producing new plastics and reinforced new plastics’ privileged legal status in Germany as it is exempt from petroleum tax and EEC levies.
