Recital 48

(48) The environmental objective of encouraging the use of materials recovered from post-consumer plastic waste requires plastic recycling to be done in a way that minimises the resulting pollution. If this does not occur, the industrial pollutants emitted in the course of recycling would reduce or eliminate the environmental added value of encouraging the use of recycled plastic. Sustainability criteria should be developed with regard to recycling technologies for post-consumer plastic waste. They should ensure a high level of protection of environment and human health, in particular with regard to the level of emissions into the air, water and soil, and to resource efficiency. For that purpose, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of establishing sustainability criteria for plastic recycling technologies. Accordingly, recycling should be performed in an environmentally sound manner, leading to the high quality of recycling processes and products and ensuring high standards for the recycling sector. By ensuring the appropriate level of sustainability of the recycling technology and, consequently, the recyclate, the encouragement of the use of recycled content in plastic packaging becomes an environmentally responsible measure. Discussions during the meetings of the INC on Plastic Pollution also stressed the importance of ensuring that recycling technologies operate in an environmentally sound manner.

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Source: EUR-Lex CELLAR · retrieved 2026-08-26 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.