Politics

| In light of the preliminary agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council on the Circular Economy Package in December 2017 CEWEP appeals to the Member States not to see landfill diversion as a burden, but as an opportunity to improve their waste management systems, with the support of the EU, and to divert waste that can be recycled and recovered from landfills as soon and as much as possible.

| EXPRA, WEEE Forum and EucoLight call on policymakers to introduce explicit obligations for online sellers under the new waste legislation

| APEAL (the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging) has welcomed the announcement of a balanced Circular Economy Package.

| The European Stell Association (Eurofer) claims that the agreement only goes part of the way.

| The EU institutions reached a compromise today with member states on crucial waste laws to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in Europe. But all parts could have much more to secure stronger recycling rates and prevent waste, says the EEB.

| The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) submitted comments to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in response to notifications made by the Government of China on November 15 regarding proposed scrap import standards

| The European Plastics Converters Association (EuPC) and the British Plastics Federation (BPF) have drafted a joint position paper, emphasising the need to develop a deep and comprehensive agreement that eliminates customs and minimises possible non-tariff barriers for the future relationship between the EU and the UK.

| After an 18-hour-long last negotiating meeting between the Council and the European Parliament an agreement to review the Waste Framework Directive, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive and the Landfill Directive has been found.

| A new study by Plastics Recyclers Europe shows that the 65% recycling target for plastic packaging is achievable by 2025. The study determines a set of measures and necessary tools that will result in attaining this recycling rate.

| There is an increasing shift from Government, media and the public around the leakage of used packaging into the natural environment. Reducing litter, disposal ‘On the Go’ i.e. in public spaces such as high streets and parks, and use of Deposit Return Schemes are all being debated.

| A new report published by environmental consultancy Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd with the support of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) reveals that the world’s leading recycling nations may be overstating the level of real recycling they are achieving.

| The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR)today asks clarification about and suggests changes to the GB Standards that accompanied the Chinese WTO notifications on 15 November 2017.

| The 18th International Automobile Recycling Congress IARC 2018 organized by ICM AG will be held from March 14 – 16, 2018 in the hotel Marriott in Vienna, Austria.

| The Horizon 2020 IMPACTPapeRec Project will come to an end in January. To this end, a final conference will be held at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels on the morning of 24 January 2018.