#02.05.2018 Good practices in separate collection, sorting and recycling of steel for packaging
By Stéphane Tondo, President APEAL
Organised by APEAL, the Steel for Packaging, a Pioneer of Circular Economy conference, held recently in Brussels, was well attended by influential stakeholders from across Europe.
We were privileged to have many speakers who have been active in discussions related to the circular economy package (CEP) including MEPs Nils Torvalds and Tibor Szanyi as well as Gwenole Cozigou and Julius Langendorff, from the European Commission’s DG GROW and DG Environment respectively, and Eve Tamme from the Permanent representation of Estonia.
A key focus of the day was the launch of APEAL’s report detailing good practices around the separate collection, sorting, and recycling of steel for packaging.
The top EU recycling countries currently recycle an average of 90% of steel packaging. At APEAL we believe that by sharing good practices from across the EU we can help member states achieve the higher recycling targets set out in the CEP.
As shared during my opening speech our ambition is that this new report be a reference point for the European institutions and national, regional and municipal authorities, and indeed any organisations and individuals wishing to learn more about a real and successful recycling story.
As a permanent material, steel can be infinitely recycled without any loss to its intrinsic properties.
Deposit return schemes are currently very prominent in the minds of policy makers but they tackle only a fraction of packaging that could be recycled.
Increasing recycling now requires a holistic approach which combines investment in collection and sorting infrastructure as well as campaigns designed to raise awareness and promote best practice.
APEAL’s report is available for download here
