Increased and safe recycling (chapter 5)

Standards

The inquiry’s proposal: That the government continues to allocate resources to support the harmonising standardisation effort that aims to increase the quality of recycled plastics.

Short supply-chains and collaboration gives improved traceability The inquiry’s proposal: That the government supports collabo-ration along the supply-chain to increase and improve traceability.

This entails investigating the prerequisites:

That an increased focus is placed on concerned parties finding the clean streams that are available and that more such streams are created.

To encourage manufacturers of recycled material and products to create smaller and more controlled streams rather than attempting to gather all plastic and then sorting it.

The opportunities for labelling plastic with codes to enable the identification of various types of plastic and plastic content.

How good examples can be applied in new areas.

One opportunity is that the government conducts this within the scope of the inquiry’s proposed Gathered plastic resources.

Overall proposals SOU 2018:84

20

Recommendations for private actors:

• To strive for an increased dialogue along the supply-chain in accordance with what we also propose for the government. It is the companies themselves that need to act to make a concrete differ-ence. Through dialogue with other parties, many obstacles can be overcome.

• To initiate projects linked to a mutual labelling.

• To spread good examples.

Occurrence of hazardous substances

The inquiry’s proposal: That the government continues to be a driving force in the work with:

Phasing out particularly hazardous substances in accordance with the intermediate targets.

Regulating undesired substances at an EU-level. Primarily within Reach but also within the product directives.

That the government conducts a dialogue with the recycling companies and affected authorities to investigate how companies’

various demands can be met. The difference between the handling of especially hazardous substances and hazardous substances according to the intermediate targets ought to be included in this effort.

Recommendations for private actors:

• To go beyond the legislation for phasing out undesired substances and generally consider the recyclability concerning all additives.

There exist different tools to facilitate this type of work, e.g. the Chemical Agency’s PRIO database.

SOU 2018:84 Overall proposals

Create the demand for recycled raw material

The inquiry’s proposal: That the government investigates the possibility to introduce instruments with the purpose of creating an increased demand for recycled plastic raw materials. An inves-tigation could, among other things, include instruments such as:

Government grants or tax deduction for the investments that are required to change the production to recycled plastic raw materials.

Economic instruments to promote the use of recycled plastic raw materials in products independent of where they are manufactured, e.g. tax/deduction on plastic products or recycling certificates.

Recommendations for private actors:

• Through purchase, either in the role as end-user or as a part of a chain, make demands that products shall be manufactured with as large part recycled raw materials as possible. There are already several commitments from companies concerning this, which dem-onstrates that it is possible both from a technical and economic perspective.

Goals and voluntary commitments

Recommendations for public and private actors:

• That companies make demands on recycled plastic during pur-chases. The companies should work especially with all the packaging that the purchased products are delivered in. A large part of com-panies’ waste consists of packaging and it is here that the inquiry deems that companies can make demands that the packaging shall be produced from recycled material, be recyclable and that they should be collected.

• That public actors make demands on recycled plastic during pro-curement.

Overall proposals SOU 2018:84

22

Increased availability of recycled raw material through Eco-design The inquiry’s proposal: That the government assign the Swedish Energy Association the task of, in collaboration with the Environ-mental Protection Agency, the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, the Swedish Chemical Agency, the National Electrical Safety Board and the National Agency for Public Pro-curement, investigate the prerequisite for how Sweden can push for EU-criteria for design guidelines that consider the recy-clability of products or product categories made from plastic. The inquiry sees a potential in using the Eco-design directive to introduce mandatory design criteria for plastic recycling.

Recommendations for private actors:

• To prioritise recycling and recyclability within the work of product design. This means that there must be correct competences for this within the sections of the company that undertake product develop-ment and design. It also demands a collaboration with the recycling companies.

Increased availability of recycled raw material through sorting techniques and capacity

The inquiry’s proposal: That the government follows how the effort with different new sorting facilities progresses in Sweden and holds a dialogue with companies concerning the possibility to complement the sorting with washing and granulation.

SOU 2018:84 Overall proposals

Requirements for public procurement

The inquiry’s proposal: That the government assigns the National Agency for Public Procurement in collaboration with the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions to investigate the prerequisite for introducing claim criteria for recycled plastic.

These requirements shall be developed in addition to the pro-posals in chapter 4 A smarter use.

Information to the consumer

The inquiry’s proposal: That the government supports the means of informing and guiding the consumer about the environmental benefits of using recycled plastic in appropriate applications as well as the importance of handing in worn-out products to the recycling centre.

That the government, within the scope of the EU’s plastic strategy, drives the question concerning mandatory labelling of plastic pro-ducts containing recycled material.

Proposal for solutions for problematic plastic Efforts on feedstock recycling

The inquiry’s proposal: That the government supports the effort to implement a plastic refinery in Sweden. Firstly, an economic investment ought to be made by the companies that will even-tually reap the benefits of the facility and receive deposition for that which will be produced. However, it may be appropriate for state aid during the planning phase to conduct preliminary studies, investigations and other smaller investments.

That the government in collaboration with the chemical com-panies in Stenungsund and their partner Region Västra Götaland, look over how a state aid may be developed in the best way.

Overall proposals SOU 2018:84

24

The inquiry sees a specific demand for:

More studies of plastic waste of heterogeneous streams where both process techniques and economy are considered. For this to occur, a collaboration between the companies, research institutes and academic partners needs to exist.

An independent consequence analysis that takes a wide approach and includes various possible alternatives, e.g. concerning which products that will be produced.

1.4 Renewable plastic (chapter 6)