The German chemical and plastics industries are calling for comprehensive recognition of the mass balance approach for chemical recycling of plastic waste when the methodology for the calculation and verification of recycled content targets under the EU Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Directive is defined. In a recently released joint position paper, the German Chemical Federation (VCI) and the German chapter of the plastics manufacturers' association Plastics Europe (PED) write that they want to "promote chemical recycling processes as a complement to mechanical processes and create security for investments in these promising technologies".
The industry associations believe that rules on the use of the mass balance approach to be set out in implementing acts for the SUP Directive could serve as a model for other EU legal acts, such as the proposed EU Packaging Regulation (PPWR), the End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive or the Eco-Design Regulation as well as for the Taxonomy and Construction Products Regulations. According VCI and PED, their member companies are prepared to invest billions of euros in the technology in Germany and elsewhere in the EU in order to build production facilities, for example pyrolysis plants. However, chemical recycling has yet to receive full legal recognition.
The German plastics industry associations argue that volumes of recycled raw materials could be traceably allocated to end products using the mass balance approach. "Mass balance processes ensure transparency and efficiency in the use of secondary raw materials, creating a basis for more recycling and more circular economy," says Alexander Kronimus, head of Climate Protection & Circular Economy at PED. "Anyone who wants to achieve the climate change goals should use innovative technologies such as chemical recycling. An important first step would be recognising the mass balance method for allocating recycled content," adds Jörg Rothermel, VCI's head of Energy, Climate Protection and Raw Materials. External auditing could ensure that the mass-balance approach was applied transparently and in compliance with standards as well as avoiding double counting....
