Italian
The paradox: “virgin” plastic costs much less than recycled plastic and is much more readily available on the market
Veneto – The crisis in the recycled plastic market threatens to put the entire waste recovery supply chain in difficulty. For this reason, the Veneto Region has already taken action, writing to the Minister of the Environment and convening a meeting with all industry operators to identify solutions both in the short term and in the medium to long term.
The statement is made by the regional assessor for Environment, Climate, Parks, and Civil Protection, Elisa Venturini. “The problem arises from the fact that today large quantities of virgin plastic are available on the market, coming from non-EU countries, at prices lower than recycled plastic.
As a result, many companies purchase cheaper materials, leading to a significant decrease in the demand for recycled plastic.
“This is having a concrete impact on the entire supply chain. The auctions organized by Corepla are increasingly going unsold, and the recovered material remains in the collection and sorting centers. Even in Veneto, some operators are experiencing greater difficulties in finding new spaces to store the plastic while waiting for it to be collected.”
“It is a situation that requires attention also from a safety perspective, because the accumulation of large quantities of plastic requires special precautions to prevent the risk of fires, especially during the summer period.”
The work of the Veneto Region
Councillor Venturini also explains that the Region is working on two levels. “In the immediate term, we must ensure the continuity of the system by identifying new storage spaces and evaluating, only as an extreme solution and for limited quantities, the energy recovery of material that currently has no market outlets. It is an emergency measure, necessary to prevent the entire supply chain from coming to a halt.”
“At the same time, a structural response is needed. We have asked the Government to address this critical issue together with the Regions and industry operators, because the market for recycled plastics needs to be supported. Recycling is one of the pillars of the circular economy, and we cannot allow a market crisis to undermine the work done in recent years by citizens, businesses, and administrations in waste separation and material recovery.”
