Weekly Bulletin on Circular Waste Management in Africa, France and OECD countries #18-2024

South Africa

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·?????? A study has found that eliminating certain plastics will boost rather than blight the economy and 10 items were identified?either for bans or phase-outs. ?The plastic products chosen for bans are regarded as unnecessary and avoidable; if alternatives are needed, they are already available. For the phase-out items, economically and technologically feasible alternatives are not readily available, so time is needed for further research and development. None of the 10 plastic items are collected for recycling by informal reclaimers or waste pickers, so the bans and phase-outs will not directly affect their livelihoods. Contrary to popular belief, these bans and phase-outs will boost the South African economy. More to read: https://www.wwf.org.za/our_news/our_blog/stamp_out_plastics_and_create_jobs_in_the_process/

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·?????? Watercycle Technologies and EWaste Africa Forge Strategic Partnership to Advance Sustainable Lithium Recovery from E-waste. This strategic partnership aims to advance the sustainable recovery of valuable materials, such as lithium, from spent lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. More to read: https://ewasteafrica.net/2024/04/29/watercycle-technologies-and-ewaste-africa-mou/

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·?????? Investments to Tackle Plastic Pollution in South Africa.? This country fact sheet presents the plastic material flow, policy, and investment landscapes, offering quick and easy access to a one-stop resource on tackling plastic pollution. More to read: https://countryfactsheets.thecirculateinitiative.org/assets/images/pdf/South-Africa.pdf

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France

·?????? France does not seem to be on track to meet its targets for reducing, reusing and reusing, and recycling disposable plastic packaging. Some sectors, such as fresh unprocessed food, are seeing significant increases in the quantities of disposable packaging placed on the market.? It is an initial assessment and it highlights two difficulties: a lack of indicators to monitor objectives and the data to feed them and when the data exists, it falls far short of the expected results. ?The report provides with definitions which can be very useful. More to read: https://librairie.ademe.fr/7182-bilan-3r-en-2023-pour-les-emballages-en-plastique-a-usage-unique-en-france.html

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·?????? World first PET biorecycling plant is under construction in France. The new plant will process PET waste from plastic packaging and polyester textiles using enzymatic depolymerisation, a form of?chemical recycling ?which has advanced rapidly in recent years. More to read: https://resource.co/article/world-s-first-pet-biorecycling-plant-under-construction-france

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·?????? What is the role of biomass in the French ecological transition? More to read: https://theconversation.com/quel-role-de-la-biomasse-dans-la-transition-ecologique-205311?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=bylinelinkedinbutton

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·?????? France is one of the first signatories of the BridgetoBusan initiative. The signatories emphasize that the full lifecycle of plastics includes the production of primary plastic polymers and by addressing the unsustainable production of primary plastic polymers is not only essential to ending plastic pollution worldwide but it also represents one of the most efficient and cost-effective approaches to managing the plastic pollution problem. Moreover, a balancing of efforts across the full lifecycle of plastics—from production and design through waste management and remediation—is necessary to equitably distribute the overall burden of efforts shared among countries, each of which must contribute to achieving the collective goals of the new instrument. The initiative includes ensuring production matches ambitions for a circular economy for plastics, while aligning with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C. More to read: https://www.bridgetobusan.com/

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·?????? ArcelorMittal France and Citeo, in partnership with SYCTOM, conducted a study on enhancing the quality of steel packaging in sorting. This research aims to optimize the steel sorting process to enhance recycling. The task is to identify the sources of pollution in the steel flow, the Improvement opportunities for the quality of steel packaging exiting sorting centers to ensure sustainable and high-quality recycling of these packaging materials, which amounted to a marketable volume of 250,000 tons in 2021.?More to read: Citeo-240319_Guide_Metaux_Acier_Planche.pdf

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EU & Other countries

·?????? The?new version of the European regulation on cross-border shipments of waste (RTD) was published and it aims to clarify the distinction between used goods, which can move freely like any other goods within the EU, and waste, which is subject to the binding rules of the RTD. The challenge of this distinction is twofold: Avoid irregular shipments of waste by exporters who hide behind the label "second-hand goods" to transfer waste outside of any regulation and Securing the activity of players in the second-hand and refurbished market, and developing reuse at EU level (e.g. second-hand electrical/electronic elements, returnable packaging or containers or reused materials). More to read: https://skovavocats.fr/reglement-transferts-dechets-et-reemploi/

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·?????? Singapore’s polluter-pays scheme faces further delay amid concern over industry stalling tactics. More to read: https://www.eco-business.com/news/singapores-polluter-pays-scheme-faces-further-delay-amid-concern-over-industry-stalling-tactics/

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·?????? Urban mining—reclaiming materials from anthropogenic sources like infrastructure and waste products—is a recycling approach that goes beyond plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Materials like copper and zinc from demolished buildings, and gold and silver from old smartphones are recovered, recycled, and can be refined to industrial-grade quality for reuse. More to read: https://time.com/collection/time-co2-futures/6957989/taiwan-urban-mining/

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·nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Global plastic profiles: What is the status of Extended Producer Responsibility globally? There is no consensus on a harmonized global EPR; EU is the only region to propose an EPR to incentivize “plastic reduction and reuse”, in addition to high quality recycling. However Ghana Delegate argues that multlateral agreement such as the plastic treaty needs adequate and predictable financial mechanisms and such global EPR could be an additional source of funding to be able for developing countries to be able to reach the obligations or objectives of the treaty. More to read: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/waste/global-plastic-profiles-what-is-the-status-of-extended-producer-responsibility-globally--95641 and Financing considerations to support an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6a_hYt_K9U)

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·?????? The Ellen MacArthur Foundation,?in partnership with WWF, is compiling?a study that assesses the impact of an ambitious, effective and legally binding global plastics treaty on Micro-, Small-, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) across the plastic packaging value chain. It will formulate key recommendations on how an ambitious treaty could help to support this sector. This briefing for policymakers is available ahead of INC-4 and contains a summary of insights and key policy recommendations from the forthcoming study. More to read: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/making-the-global-plastics-treaty-work-for-micro-small-and-medium-sized

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·?????? Brand names can be used to hold plastic companies accountable for their items found polluting the environment. We used data from a 5-year (2018–2022) worldwide (84 countries) program to identify brands found on plastic items in the environment through 1576 audit events. We found that 50% of items were unbranded, calling for mandated producer reporting. The top five brands globally were The Coca-Cola Company (11%), PepsiCo (5%), Nestlé (3%), Danone (3%), and Altria (2%), accounting for 24% of the total branded count, and 56 companies accounted for more than 50%. There was a clear and strong log-log linear relationship production (%) = pollution (%) between companies’ annual production of plastic and their branded plastic pollution, with food and beverage companies being disproportionately large polluters. Phasing out single-use and short-lived plastic products by the largest polluters would greatly reduce global plastic pollution. More to read: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adj8275

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·?????? EU and China agree to further cooperation on circular economy. Brussels and Beijing have agreed on a joint roadmap for greater collaboration on the vital issue. More to read: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/eu-and-china-agree-greater-circular-economy-cooperation-2024-04-25_en

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·?????? The World Bank priced a seven-year $100 million, principal-protected Plastic Waste Reduction-Linked Bond. This innovative bond provides investors with a financial return linked to Plastic Waste Collection Credits, Plastic Waste Recycling Credits (collectively, plastic credits), and Verified Carbon Units (carbon credits) expected to be generated by two projects. The selected projects in Ghana and Indonesia aim to reduce and recycle plastic waste in vulnerable communities, cutting plastics leaking into nature and oceans. More to read: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/01/24/world-bank-s-new-outcome-bond-helps-communities-remove-and-recycle-plastic-waste

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·?????? At INC 4 the topic on finance was discussed and delegates dealt with a provision calling for the imposition of a global plastic pollution fee targeting virgin plastic polluters. Much as a fee may seem like a welcome and innovative addition to a treaty aiming to curb plastic pollution, a fee could raise the cost of producing important plastic products, which in turn would likely be passed down to the consumer, and the ripple effects could create further socio-economic inequality between those who can afford to buy the products and those who could not. Last year Minderoo has developed a report. More to read: https://cdn.minderoo.org/assets/documents/orphans/OCEANS-Plastic-Pollution-Fee.pdf?_gl=1*1ozf0lu*_ga*MTQxNjYzMzMxMC4xNzE0NjQzNTU1*_ga_MFMM3WMMTC*MTcxNDk2MjU0Ni4zLjAuMTcxNDk2MjU0Ni42MC4wLjA .

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·?????? Defra has published?an updated draft of the Government’s statutory instrument for packaging extended producer responsibility (pEPR) , The proposed Statutory Instrument, which is mandated by the Environment Act 2021, is designed to shift the financial and operational responsibility for packaging waste from the public sector and consumers to producers. In doing this, the Government aims to encourage producers to design products that are easier to recycle, reuse, or dispose of. More to read: https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2024/TBT/GBR/24_02787_00_e.pdf

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·?????? UK government decision to not include DRS materials in producer costs of packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme from 2025 means that practical application of the Polluter Pays Principle appears increasingly elusive according to The Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC)?. More to read: https://resource.co/article/larac-raises-concern-about-epr-funding-gap-drinks-containers

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·?????? State of the science on plastic chemicals - Identifying and addressing chemicals and polymers of concern. This record contains the PlastChem report "State of the science on plastic chemicals - Identifying and addressing chemicals and polymers of concern" and the associated PlastChem database (version 1.0). Chemicals are a central aspect of the plastics issue. Although there is a wealth of scientific information on plastic chemicals and polymers to inform policymakers, implementing this evidence is challenging because information is scattered and not easily accessible. The PlastChem report and database address this issue by comprehensively and consistently synthesizing the state of the science on plastic chemicals, including their hazard properties, and their presence in polymers. The state-of-the-science report provides the publicly available evidence to inform policy development that protects public health and the environment. More to read: https://zenodo.org/records/10701706?s=09

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·?????? Food waste occurs across all parts of the supply chain. SPAR has developed various partnerships and initiatives to support waste reduction goals throughout different operations of production, distribution, product processing and storage. SPAR wholesalers and retailers implement digital solutions to monitor goods in stores, warehouses and logistics centers and track products about to reach their sell-by date. Through this partnership with Too Good To Go, SPAR shoppers join this meaningful journey of battling food waste. SPAR stores add products approaching their best-before date to Surprise Bags listed in the Too Good To Go app. Customers reserve their bag at their local SPAR store, thereby reducing food waste. ?More to read: https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food_waste/eu-food-loss-waste-prevention-hub/new/show/6999

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·?????? Financing the End of Plastic Pollution: The Top Three Financing-linked Topics Discussed at INC-4. More to read: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/financing-end-plastic-pollution-top-three-topics-inc-4-umesh-madhavan-y1r2c/

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·?????? The European Union (EU) and its member states have often been seen as the world leaders in establishing 'extended producer responsibility' (EPR) frameworks, with early policy dating back to the early 1990s. Based on this, I aim to explore some of the changes in product and waste stewardship in the last few years from eastern bloc's neighbours. More to read: https://www.loraxcompliance.com/blog/env/2024/04/10/Exploring_the_European_Unions_Influence_on_EPR_Policy_in_Eastern_Neighbouring_Countries.html

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·?????? To help you keep ahead of this moving landscape, we are introducing ENVI? Lite, our Global Online Regulatory Portal, designed to be your ally in navigating the intricate web of packaging, Single-Use Plastics (SUP), and Deposit Return Systems (DRS) laws worldwide, covering 144 countries. More to read: https://www.loraxcompliance.com/blog/env/2024/02/13/Navigating_the_Regulatory_Landscape_with_ENVI_Lite_A_Comprehensive_Overview.html

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