How will the chemical industry contribute to the circular economy? – POLITICO.eu

Chemicals are present in 95 percent of manufactured goods, from simple everyday items to hi-tech applications. From wind turbines to electric vehicles, the chemical industry plays a crucial role in producing technologies and solutions to create a carbon-neutral, resource-efficient and circular society.

In its eight-point Mid Century Vision for the Future of Europe, Cefic presents a view in which the European economy has gone circular, recycling molecules into new materials. Transitioning toward a circular economy can contribute to addressing our global resource challenge, reduce greenhouse gas emissions through better use and reuse of the materials that already exist in the economy, reduce environmental littering, create new meaningful jobs and spur economic growth. The European chemical industry sees itself at the center of the transition and of Europes circular economy. Going more circular means contributing to meeting the Paris Agreement and the broader U.N. 2030 Sustainability Development Goals. We therefore support the European Green Deal and Europes ambition to become climate neutral by 2050.

The European chemical industry sees itself at the center of the transition and of Europes circular economy.

Circular solutions should have an overall positive impact on the environment over their full life cycle. The sector offers solutions to keep materials in the loop as long as technically and economically possible through reuse of materials, extension of lifetime using more durable materials, resource recovery and different types of waste recycling technologies. Additionally, we are increasing the share of alternative feedstock such as CO2/CO through carbon capture and use, and bio-based feedstock. By using more waste-, bio- and CO2-based feedstock and the technologies to efficiently transform them into everyday products, the chemical industry actively supports the bio-based economy.

To meet the ambitious European Green Deal objectives, much more plastic waste needs to be recycled and a broader range of markets needs to be served with recycled content. Of the 30 million tons of end-of-life plastics collected in Europe each year, today 5 million tons make it back into marketable products. The rest is either incinerated, landfilled or exported for recycling. And it is with the rest that we the chemical industry can make the difference. Our innovations contribute to all forms of recycling: mechanical, chemical and organic. We already offer products which increase the performance of mechanically-recycled plastic and are now enabling better tracking and tracing of plastic waste streams. Compostable plastics have a role to play as well, for example when they are used for collection of biowaste. Chemical recycling complements the existing options and its potential to handle plastic waste is huge. Chemical recycling technologies allow use of plastic waste as feedstock to produce new chemicals and plastics. The quality of this kind of plastic is equivalent to those produced from virgin resources, allowing use in higher volumes and in high-quality applications such as food contact and food packaging. Chemical recycling technologies can also help cleaning material cycles as they have the potential to remove legacy chemicals.

To meet the ambitious European Green Deal objectives, much more plastic waste needs to be recycled and a broader range of markets needs to be served with recycled content.

Chemical recycling is not yet a widely deployed option for the recycling of plastic waste. Scale-up requires innovation, harmonized policies, recycling chains and clear pathways to valorize plastic waste that is currently incinerated, landfilled or wasted. The involvement of the entire value chain and a transnational policy framework is key in this respect.

Other examples where the chemical industry plays an important role in the transition to a circular economy include: the use of metals of recycled batteries to produce battery materials offering significant CO2 reduction in the production of electric vehicles; the recycling of wind turbines coming to their end of life; and industrial symbiosis where significant resource savings can be made because of an integrated production approach.

In the transition phase, the chemical industry will gradually have to increase its share of alternative, more sustainable feedstocks. In the beginning, these will only make up a small share of the overall amount of materials processed in our plants. We therefore need to apply mass balance concepts to allocate more sustainable feedstock to final products like renewable electricity is allocated to the consumer willing to pay for a more environmentally friendly option. This approach is a key enabler to allow Europe to develop new circular models.

Chemical recycling technologies allow use of plastic waste as feedstock to produce new chemicals and plastics.

Cefic and its members are ready to take a leading role in accelerating the transition. To be successful in its mission, cooperation on all levels in society is necessary. If Europes many industries and companies are truly enabled to deliver on their innovation strengths such as chemical recycling and are enabled to bring these to the market, we will jointly convert opportunity into success. We are keen to work with European policymakers and governments to have the right framework conditions in place that keep our competitiveness during this transition in clear focus. And governments and industry need to prioritize investments as we cannot have it all.

With the Green Deal and the European Recovery plan, a fund the size of the Marshall plan, funding will be available to support the transition to a climate-neutral, resource-efficient and circular economy. So, the question should not be whether the transition to a circular economy is possible, but how can we do this together, as the money and the necessity are there.

One of the lessons that we learned during the COVID-19 crisis is one of solidarity and unity across Europe where governments, businesses and citizens worked together to achieve a common goal. We must apply that lesson to our transformation to a circular economy: only by working together, can we achieve a Europe that is more sustainable, circular and climate-neutral, which thrives in the global economy.

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How will the chemical industry contribute to the circular economy? - POLITICO.eu