Commission likely to call for tough action on PVC waste

Date: 06/07/2000

By Renée Cordes

THE European Commission is leaning towards proposing binding legislation to tackle the rising volume of PVC waste, instead of bowing to industry calls to rely solely on voluntary recycling pledges.

The EU executive is due to publish its fifth and final study on the issue next week, giving itself the ammunition it needs to take a tough approach.

The first set of studies, which were ordered by the Commission nearly three years ago, predicted that the amount of PVC waste in the Union would rise from 4.1 million tonnes to 7.2 million tonnes over the next 20 years - a massive 80% increase - unless action was taken soon to combat the problem. Although the recycling of PVC waste is set to triple over the next decade, it is then expected to tail off, with increases of just 9% a year by 2020.

The reports also found that neither dumping PVC in landfills nor burning it were attractive options. The former does not stop the leaching of hazardous substances into soil and groundwater, while incinerating the plastic does not always ensure a reduction in the quantity of waste.

Both kinds of waste disposal will also come under pressure from planned new EU rules designed to cut the amount of waste going to landfills and emissions from incineration plants.

The final study due out early next week will include a cost-benefit analysis of PVC waste management, paving the way for the Commission to launch talks on various solutions in its long-awaited Green Paper on the issue, which is due to be released later this month.

Environment officials say they will continue discussions with industry on a possible voluntary agreement, but add that they are leaning towards proposing binding legislation.

"We are not going to exclude any solution at this point," said a Commission spokeswoman. "But clearly the legislative approach will probably be predominant. We have a growing waste problem and we are facing a situation where a very small quantity of PVC is being reused and recycled."

Industry has already given voluntary pledges to develop recycling schemes over the next ten years for products such as plastic pipes and window frames, and is urging the Commission to opt for such agreements instead of binding new laws. "This is a way to achieve targets much more quickly," said Jean-Pierre De Greve, director of the European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers, who insisted that industry was not seeking to hide behind the voluntary approach.

But environmental groups insist EU-wide laws are essential. "The Commission knows that incineration creates waste and that recycling will not solve the problem. There is no way they can chicken out and say they have to do more studies. They have to act now," said Axel Singhofen, EU toxics advisor for Greenpeace International.

The European Commission is leaning towards proposing binding legislation to tackle the rising volume of PVC waste, instead of bowing to industry calls to rely solely on voluntary recycling pledges.