Reason for the open letter to Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze is a meeting of EU environment ministers on 23 October in Luxembourg under the German Presidency. According to the alliance, which includes nine German environmental and health organisations, Svenja Schulze must take the initiative and use the EU Council Presidency to make waste avoidance, reusable systems and high-quality recycling mandatory throughout Europe.
In order to solve the plastic crisis and achieve a safe circular economy, the production of single-use plastic must be drastically reduced. Products and packaging must also be manufactured free of harmful substances. The current drafting of the Council conclusions on the EU Circular Economy Action Plan by the EU Council of Ministers offers a great opportunity to establish binding regulations. These include waste prevention targets, reusable quotas and Minimum input quantities for recyclates. For products made from recycled material to be just as safe as those made from virgin material, the same strict requirements would have to apply in terms of pollutant content.
The undersigned organisations expect Environment Minister Schulze, as Chair of the Council of Environment Ministers, to swiftly implement the measures recently adopted as part of the EU chemicals strategy. This provides for polymers to be regulated via the EU chemicals regulation REACH.
In addition, planned subsidies from the EU recovery fund and coronavirus aid must be used in a targeted manner to develop a sustainable circular economy. This includes, above all, promoting the expansion of reusable systems, repair services and sharing models, safe and high-quality recycling and comprehensive collection of recyclable materials. The European Union should also use its influence at international level to adopt an ambitious UN Plastics Convention.
The plastic tax to be implemented in the EU member states from 2021 should be developed into an effective instrument for reducing plastic production in Germany. This is necessary, newly produced primary plastic in packaging to be taxed as early as, when it is put into circulation.
The implementation of the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive should go beyond a 1:1 fulfilment of European minimum requirements and not unnecessarily extend the implementation period. Banning single-use plastic products such as straws, cutlery, cotton buds or disposable cups made of expanded polystyrene is not enough. A binding waste prevention target, the implementation of the reusable quota for beverage packaging, reuse quotas for sales, transport and shipping packaging and a significant increase in the price of plastics made from virgin material are necessary for a turnaround in the use of plastic.
Note: The following organisations are among the signatories of the letter:
Bundesverband Meeresmüll e.V., BUND, Deutsche Meeresstiftung, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, Food & Water Action Europe, Greenpeace
