In September, Chevron Phillips Chemicals International NV (Europe) became a signatory of a declaration from the Circular Plastics Alliance (CPA) that lays out commitments and bold goals for our industry regarding the uptake of recycled plastics. The CPA is an initiative supported by the European Commission open to all stakeholders of the plastic value chain and public authorities across Europe. The CPA promotes the circular economy for plastics and encourages a significant increase in using recycled plastics when manufacturing new products. Specifically, CPA endorses the European Union's goal of 10 million tons of recycled plastics being used in Europe by 2025.
Although recycled plastic suppliers have been on track to meet recycled production goals set for 2025, the pledges set by those using recycled plastics indicated a substantially lower and mismatched demand for recycled material. The CPA was created to help bridge this gap between supply and demand for recycled plastics. This target of 10 million tons of recycled plastics used in the EU by 2025 aims to boost the EU market for recycled plastics by more than 150%.
"Building a strong foundation to support a circular economy is critically important in eliminating unnecessary plastic waste and finding new applications for post-consumer plastic,"" says Maria Ramirez-Navarro, head of sustainability at Chevron Phillips Chemicals International NV.
The declaration, signed by more than 100 public and private partners across the plastics value chain, lays out concrete actions to reach this target including:
- improving the design of plastic products to make them more recyclable and able to integrate more recycled plastics;
- identifying untapped potential for more plastic waste collection, sorting and recycling across the EU, as well as closing the investment gaps;
- building a research and development agenda for circular plastics;
- establishing a transparent and reliable monitoring system to track all flows of plastic waste in the EU.
As a member of the CPA and a signatory of this landmark declaration, Chevron Phillips Chemicals International NV reinforces its commitment to sustainability and continues to demonstrate its company-wide commitment to supporting improved plastic waste management in pursuit of a circular economy.