Total exports of recyclable products from the European Union to third countries have fallen by more than a third in the past decade, by 35.2%, while imports have increased by almost 24%, the Community Statistics Office, Eurostat, reported on Tuesday.
However, in 2022, the EU exported 6.4 million tons of recyclable products (paper, plastic, glass) to countries outside the EU, representing an 8.4% increase compared to the previous year; While imports reached 4 million tons, an increase of 4.2%.
In terms of exports, paper was the most recyclable product exported outside the EU in 2022, accounting for 77% of the total, followed by plastic at 17.5%, and glass at 5.4%.
In the same year, 2.4 million tons of paper were imported, accounting for more than half (59.3%) of the total recyclable products imported, followed by plastic at 20.6%, and glass at 20.1%.
By country, India was the largest destination for EU paper exports in 2022, at 29% of the total, followed by Indonesia (19%) and Turkey (12%), which was also the main destination for plastics exports (29% of total EU exports). . total), followed by Indonesia (17%) and Malaysia (15%).
As for glass, 46% of it was exported to the United Kingdom, followed by Switzerland (11%) and Brazil (9%).
To deal with these export volumes, the European Commission (EC) proposed in 2021 to establish procedures and control measures for the shipment of waste based on its source and destination, the type of waste and the type of treatment applied in the country receiving it.
The European Parliament went further, requesting a ban on the export of plastic waste to countries outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development – and gradually reducing it for countries of this organization – given the impact it has on their societies.
On the other hand, the United Kingdom was the main supplier of recyclable products to the European Union, followed by the United States, Switzerland and Norway.
Promoting the circular economy
In 2022, the EU’s circularity rate – that is, the proportion of material resources used that come from discarded products that are recycled – will reach 11.5%.
Between 2010 and 2022, the rate rose from 10.7% to 11.5%, although the highest shares were observed between 2018 and 2020, when they reached 11.6%, Eurostat said today in another report.
In 2022, the highest recycling rate was recorded in the Netherlands (27.5%), followed by Belgium (22.2%) and France (19.3%); While the lowest percentage was in Finland (0.6%), Romania (1.4%) and Ireland (1.8%).
In Spain, for its part, the rate rose to 7.1% from 6.9% recorded in 2021.
According to Eurostat, these differences between EU countries depend not only on the amount of recycling in each country, “but also on structural factors of national economies.”
The European Union has an action plan in this area, to promote sustainable products, train consumers to face the environmental transition, review regulations on construction products and develop a strategy on sustainable textiles.
Metallic minerals were the most important reused products in 2022 at 23.9%, followed by non-metallic minerals at 13.7%, biomass at 10%, and fossil energy carriers at 3.2%.
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