The EU Court of Auditors believes that an EU levy on non-recycled plastic packaging introduced in 2021 is not sufficiently monitored. In some cases, this could also encourage environmental crime, according to a new report by the institution.
“If the plastic waste received by recycling companies is not processed as required by the Waste Framework Directive and is instead shipped or disposed of illegally, this constitutes an environmental crime,” the report states. There is only limited assurance that the waste reported as received by recycling companies will actually be processed.
It is also complained that there are different methods in the individual EU countries for calculating the amount of waste. 80 cents must be paid per kilo of non-recycled plastic. In some cases, the EU states have also significantly underestimated the figures: the total amount of non-recycled packaging waste expected for 2021 was 1.4 billion kilograms lower than the amount actually reported later.
Until problems are resolved, the auditors believe that EU countries will likely continue to use inconsistent definitions and methods for collecting data. The new own resources introduced in 2021 are intended, among other things, to create an incentive to reduce the consumption of single-use plastics and increase the proportion of recycled plastics.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240916-930-234334/1
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