By means of the Circular Plastics Alliance, the European Commission aims to substantially increase use of recycled plastics in new products. The target set in the declaration, which is backed by the more than 100 companies that form the alliance, is to incorporate more than 10 million tonnes per year of recycled plastics by 2025.
Coexpan and Emsur have committed to the CPA, pledging to work together with the rest of the entities and bodies in the plastics value chain that adhere to this initiative, to reach the common target set within the framework of the European Commission’s European Plastics Strategy by incorporating increasingly more recycled plastic in their packaging solutions.
With the emphasis on the circularity and sustainability of plastics, the declaration includes five priority work areas, agreed by the members, to achieve a plastics future that is healthier for the environment: collection and sorting of plastic waste; product design for recycling; recycled plastic content in products; R&D and investments, including chemical recycling and monitoring of recycled plastics sold in the EU.
On this subject, the European Commission Vice-President, Frans Timmermans, responsible for sustainable development said “I welcome the industry’s commitments to rethink the way we produce and use plastics. By efficiently recycling plastics, we will clean up the planet and flight climate change, by substituting fossil fuels with plastic waste in the production cycle”.
Commitment to Sustainability
In joining this alliance Coexpan and Emsur confirm their commitment to sustainability, by developing packaging solutions that contribute to food availability and waste reduction. The sustainability vision of both these Grupo Lantero divisions focuses on the eco-design and recyclability of their packaging, affirming their contribution to implementing a circular economy approach.
One particularly noteworthy initiative recently announced by the company in relation to circularity and recycling is the EPS-SURE Life Project. This project that is subsidised by the European Commission through the LIFE+ Programme is about the design of an innovative system for the collection, pre-treatment and recycling of expanded polystyrene (EPS) waste to produce new products based on high value-added, food-grade polystyrene (PS).
In addition, in July this year, COEXPAN-EMSUR inaugurated INNOTECH, the new Packaging Innovation Centre located at the company headquarters in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, which is set to be a benchmark centre in addressing major challenges faced by the industry in relation to sustainability and circularity.
“Through innovation and in collaboration with all the agents in the plastics value chain, we are working to transform the packaging industry and to come up with increasingly sustainable solutions that will further the circularity of plastics” María Rodríguez, Grupo Lantero Corporate Sustainability Manager.
Circular Plastics Alliance
The priority the EU places on recyclability and the circularity of plastics to fight climate change, amongst other issues, has given rise to the Circular Plastics Alliance.
The alliance brings together numerous industry stakeholders that cover the whole plastics value chain, from waste collectors to recyclers and from raw material producers to converters, leading brands and retailers, including, in particular, the packaging, building and automotive industries, to reach the goal in 2025 for industry to use more than 10 million tonnes of recycled content.
