The European Plastics Pact is the first regional Pact to join the Foundation’s global Plastics Pact network. Launched today in Brussels, this Pact brings together governments and businesses within the European Economic Area (EEA) to work towards a common vision for a circular economy for plastic, in which plastics never become waste or pollution.
The Pact has been initiated by the French Ministry of the Ecological and Solidary Transition, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, and the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food, in consultation with more than 80 organisations from across Europe, and with the support of WRAP.
Together, the 81 members of the European Plastics Pact have committed to a set of ambitious 2025 targets. They include:
- Make all plastic packaging and single-use plastic products reusable where possible, and in all cases recyclable
- Reduce the need for virgin plastic products and packaging by at least 20%
- Increase the collection, sorting and recycling capacity of all plastics used in packaging and single-use products in participating countries by at least 25 percentage points
- Boost the use of recycled plastics as much as possible, with an average of at least 30% recycled plastics across single-use plastic products and packaging
As the first regional Pact in the network, the European Plastics Pact focuses on opportunities to drive ambitious action across country borders. Its members will:
- cooperate across the value chain on a European scale to boost the development of smarter techniques and approaches
- harmonise guidelines, standards, and national supporting frameworks
- connect to share best practices and lessons learned across Europe
Members of the European Plastics Pact include 15 governments and 66 companies. Progress will be monitored and reported each year by all signatories with a Secretariat keeping track of the results. Today, the first working groups will start to set up for monitoring and reporting. They will also discuss reduce and reuse models, how to design for a circular plastics economy, waste shipment, food contact applications, and actions to steer the supply chain.
The European Plastics Pact joins the UK, France, Chile, The Netherlands, South Africa and Portugal as part of the global Plastics Pact network, a unique platform to exchange learnings and best practices across countries and regions to accelerate the transition to a circular economy for plastic.
The European Plastics Pact is a major step towards creating a circular economy for plastic, and the first supranational initiative to join the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global network of Plastics Pacts. We applaud the leadership shown by the Dutch, French, and Danish governments to develop this ambitious plan, joining forces with governments and businesses across Europe to eliminate the plastics we don’t need and innovate, so the plastics we do need can be circulated in the economy and kept out of the environment.
