PlasticsEurope, an association representing European manufacturers of plastic raw materials, has signed a collaboration agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment.
The agreement has been initialed by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Federico Ramos and by the General Director of PlasticsEurope in the Iberian region, Manuel Fernández. Within the framework of this agreement, both entities will collaborate in the definition and development of projects aimed at promoting sustainability by promoting efficiency in the use of resources and the maximum use of plastic waste.
Wasting the value of plastics allowing them to end up in landfills is not a sustainable option for waste management since it prevents them from exploiting their potential to be transformed into quality recycled materials or to be used as an alternative energy source thanks to their high calorific value . For this reason, PlasticsEurope has spent years working on its initiative "Goal zero plastics in landfill by 2020".
According to this agreement, the development of instruments that make it possible to dissociate the existing relationship between economic growth and increased waste generation is a priority. It is about considering waste as resources, thus moving towards a circular economy. In this way, the agreement highlights that the waste policy must be guided by the principle of hierarchy in the production and management of these. This implies prevention as the first option, followed by preparation for reuse and quality mechanical recycling. For waste in which the two previous options are not possible from a technical, economic or environmental point of view, the agreement recognizes that the most sustainable solution, given the significant calorific value of plastics, is energy recovery.
