The Environment, Public Health and Food Security Committee will vote on its response to the EU Circular Economy Action Plan. It aims to increase the production of sustainable goods in order to reduce waste and ensure that the EU has a well-functioning internal market for high-quality secondary raw materials. Currently, the production of materials we use every day is responsible for 45% of CO2 emissions. Statement by Jan HUITEMA (RE, NL), rapporteur.

Circular economy: statement by Jan HUITEMA (RE, NL), rapporteur

Title: Circular economy: statement by Jan HUITEMA (RE, NL), rapporteur

SOUNDBITE (English), Jan HUITEMA (RE, NL), Two elements are important with the pandemic. First of all, it showed how vulnerable the supply chains are and we are very much dependent on a resource from third countries with the circular economy. Really, you can find a solution that we are using the materials that we have in the European Union to reduce that and that we are less dependent of third countries. Second, there is a huge amount of public money reserve to help economies within the European Union. What I believe is that we should use that money to invest in the economy, but at the same time use it in a smart and a sustainable way. And that could be, for example, in scaling up a circular economy initiative.

SOUNDBITE (English), Jan HUITEMA (RE, NL), The main aspect that the citizens has to be concerned of is really to not throw it away in an environment, but that all the waste is collected and if needed, and ideally also be sorted. So that all the plastics are with the plastics, all the cans with the cans, all the cottonwoods with cottonwoods and so on. For the rest is really up to the whole business models also to say that it also is cost effective for companies to use secondary raw materials, and that is what we mainly were focussing on in in our report.

SOUNDBITE (English), Jan HUITEMA (RE, NL), The key message really that we really have to scale up our circular economy because it's not only good for the environment, but it's also good for our economy and it's also good for creating jobs inside the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (English), Jan HUITEMA (RE, NL), I see two main barriers. The first and most important barrier is that there is not a level playing field between primary virgin materials and secondary raw materials, so recycled materials. You have seen also during the pandemic, the oil prices were very low, so it was much cheaper to produce, for example, plastic because by means of fossil fuels, instead of recycling plastics to new plastics. So what we have to do as European Union is to create a level playing field or even have a plus, to give a plus, on the use of secondary raw materials. So to reward the use of a secondary raw materials.

Collected, recycled materials and waste in a factory. Workers. (seven shots) 

Second hand shop. Clients going inside the shop and looking to some recycled materials. 

Circular economy: statement by Jan HUITEMA (RE, NL), rapporteur

Info

Omschrijving

Related media

Circular economy

ENVI - Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety