This study provides policy recommendations to input into the ongoing development of the EU Plastics Strategy and discussions on the Circular Economy Package, with a view to encouraging more ambitious extended producer responsibility (EPR) to bring about a more sustainable use of plastics, and in particular plastic packaging. This study focuses on packaging as the main user of plastics in Europe, accounting for around 40% of plastics demand (Plastics Europe, 2016). Around 15.4 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste were generated in 2014 (Eurostat, 2017a), with around 40% recycled in 2015 (Plastics Europe, 2016).
However, landfilling and incineration are still common for plastic packaging waste (Plastics Recyclers Europe, 2016), and a large amount also ends up in the environment and oceans as marine litter (Jambeck et al, 2015).
Increasing recycling and reuse of plastic packaging is crucial to Europe’s plastic waste management. EPR has the potential to play a key role in this.

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