Elements For A Cost Effective Plastic Waste Management In The European Union

Markets for many classes of recyclable materials are growing, but market failures and barriers are constraining some markets. This report presents the case for the use of 'industrial' policies which address such market failures and barriers.

Achieving a high quality of waste plastic materials and recycling processes is a key challenge in closing the resource loops for plastics. This report reviews the status and trends for plastic waste flows and treatment in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Furthermore, it gives an overview of existing policy instruments and the main challenges for designing policy instruments for improved recycling of plastic waste in these Nordic countries. The report identifies potential market failures associated with closing the resource loops for plastics. It reviews the economics research literature on policy instrument design for achieving optimal recycling rates and makes policy recommendations from the Nordic perspective. Finally, it presents results from a survey on market conditions to managers in the recycling and plastic manufacturing industry in Sweden.

Master's Thesis from the year 2019 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 5.0=1, , course: Masters in Management and Quality Studies, language: English, abstract: This study evaluates the EU‘s strategy on Plastics by examining the problem at hand faced by both governments, as well as businesses, the economic impact the strategy, could have across the EU and if the steps the EU is following is sustainable or not and will the policy help in reaching the goal the use of 100 percent of recyclable plastic packaging by 2030, what are the major challenges the policy faces and what are the plausible solutions. When speaking about marketing management we also need to dwell deeper into sustainable practices which can help improve not only our product sales but also help us give back to the community and the environment around us. Packaging is an important part of marketing and plastic packaging and its impact on our environment needs to be taken seriously. It is high time we start thinking about how to close the loop.

Packaging waste is an important and growing waste stream. The amended Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive has recently been adopted, and work is underway to develop EU thematic strategies on waste prevention and recycling and on the sustainable use and management of natural resources. The Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (hereafter: packaging directive) is one of the few environmentally-related directives to contain directly measurable, quantitative targets. It has now been in place for ten years and this is an opportune time to take stock of this important policy area. The EEA has conducted a pilot study of the effectiveness of packaging waste management systems in five EU Member States with the aim of gaining practical and concrete experience of ex-post policy effectiveness evaluation, and to track progress in this policy area.