Controlled recovery of plastics
European and German legislation is increasingly concerned with how to deal with plastics - especially when they have become waste. Plastics Strategy, Action Plan for a Circular Economy and Green Deal - the European Union's legal initiatives focus on plastics. The BKV monitors and evaluates existing and planned legislation and its effects on the market environment.
Plastics packaging and more
In Germany, the Packaging Act (VerpackG) replaced the German Packaging Ordinance in 2019. For more than 20 years, the Packaging Ordinance has initiated and regulated a comprehensive collection and recycling structure, especially for plastic packaging. Since then very demanding recycling quotas have been in force. With the VerpackG, the Central Packaging Register Office assumes organisational and monitoring functions in the registration of those responsible for products and the fulfilment of legal requirements. The BKV has supported the establishment of the Central Office. The expert group "Recycling-oriented design", which develops the recommendations for the minimum standard of § 21 VerpackG, is managed by the BKV.
On the way to a circular economy
The EU Action Plan from 2015 was renewed in 2020. In order to promote the circular economy, it envisages, among other things, increasing the proportion of recycled material in products and further expanding reprocessing and, in particular, high-quality recycling. “Ecodesign” plays a key role in the action plan. By 2030, the EU plans to reduce the amount of non-recyclable municipal waste by at least half in terms of weight.
Not only packaging
In general, the BKV deals with all waste streams relevant to plastics. The main topics are end-of-life vehicles as well as plastics-rich waste fractions from the processing of waste electrical and electronic equipment and the construction sector.
Legal situation and status of implementation
A BKV brochure, which is regularly updated, gives a comprehensive overview of the legal situation regarding handling of plastics-rich waste and recovery in EU and Germany.
The BKV provides a series of study results on the topic of "legal framework". Examples are:
- What potential do recycled plastics offer for plastic packaging in order to meet the legislator's requirement to increase the proportion of recycled materials in plastic products?
Study "Potential for the use of recycled plastics in the production of plastics packaging in Germany” (GVM)
- What effects does the classification of titanium dioxide have on the industry?