Activities of Jo LEINEN related to 2018/2035(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
A European Strategy for Plastics in a circular economy - Options to address the interface between chemical, product and waste legislation (debate) DE
Amendments (28)
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the current political momentum should be used to shift to a circular plastics economy, that in line with the waste hierarchy, gives priority to the prevention of plastic waste generation;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the EU is committed to achieving the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas the release of enormous quantities of plastic into the sea has not only an adverse impact on marine resources but also affects economic activities, inter alia by increasing the costs involved in cleaning nets and disposing of litter collected;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes that preventing the generation of plastic waste upfront and boosting our plastics recycling performance are both key to protecting human health and the environment, and supporting a sustainable economic growth; calls on all stakeholders to consider the recent Chinese import ban on plastic waste as an opportunity tofor investing in state-of-the-art recycling capacity in the EUplastic waste prevention, for developing Eco-design requirements for all plastic and plastic containing products, and for investing in state-of-the-art in the EU for collection and sorting and recycling;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the competent authorities in the Member States to ensure that the entire product and waste acquis is fully implemented;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Stresses the need to take into consideration the impact of plastics on carbon emissions, calls the Commission to update its "monitoring framework for the circular economy" to integrate indicators specifically for plastics, and in particular to monitor the decoupling of plastic generation from fossil feedstocks;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on Member States to ban landfilling of plastic waste by 2030 and to manage it according to the provisions laid down in Directive 2008/98/EC;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Believes that civil society should be able to hold industry accountable for its commitmentcarrying out its obligations; asks the Commission to take this into account in the upcoming ‘New Deal for Consumers’;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls onUrges the Commission to come forward with anfulfil its obligation to update of the essential requirements in the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive by end of 2020, addressing in particular prevention, design for circularity and over-reuse, promoting high quality recycling and the reduction of excessive packaging; in this regard, calls on the Commission to provide clear guidelines on what should be considered "reusable" and "recyclable" plastic packaging;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls onReminds the Commission to make ‘circularity first’hat prevention is an overarching principle, also for non-packaging plastic items, by developing product standards and revising the eco-design legislative framework and calls on the Commission to further implement this by creating adequate economic and legislative incentives, in particular by broadening the scope of the eco-design legislation to cover all main plastic product groups, including non-energy related product groups, and to gradually include relevant resource efficiency features in the mandatory requirements for product design and to adopt eco- labelling provisions;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission to come forward swiftly with quality standards in order to build trust and incentivise the market for secondary plastics; urges the Commission to develop various grades of recycling which are alignedis compatible with the functionality of different products, while safeguarding public health and food safety;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Believes that mandatory rules on the use of minimum recycled content for specific products may be needed in order tonew plastic products, in accordance with product specific legislation concerning health, safety and environment, is a requirement in order to promote recycling, reduce the use of fossil-based virgin plastic, curb the excessive quantity of CO2 emitted in their production and thus drive the uptake of secondary raw materials;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Stresses that corporate and public procurement has the power to boost innovation in business models and select products that ensure resource efficiency; calls on the Commission to set up an EU learning network on circular procurement in order to harvest the lessons learnt from pilot projects; believes that voluntary, create a standard template and assessment system for tenders that can be reused in a practical way, together with systematic reporting on rate of circular procurement undertaken by public authorities and large corporate groups; believes that these actions could pave the way for binding rules on public circular procurement and their mandatory integration in sustainability reports;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Highlights that local and regional authorities could contribute to the improvement of plastic recycling through their public procurement policies; believes that they should set eco-design criteria for the purchase of products and services by demanding products made of fully recyclable plastics and products, up to a certain percentage, made of recycled content;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Highlights that a transformation in consumer behaviour is pivotal in order to reduce plastic waste generation and littering; calls on the Commission and Member States to finance awareness campaigns, including in schools, to inform the public of the benefits of plastic waste prevention and the need to address littering;
Amendment 334 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Stresses that there are various pathways to achieving high collection and recycling rates and a reduction in litter, including deposit-refundturn schemes or extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes; underlines that the choice of a certain scheme remains within the remit of the competent authority in the Member State, which can take local specificitiesstresses the need that the fees paid by the producer for the fulfilment of its EPR obligations are modulated by taking into account and ensresource that any existing well-performing and cost-efficient systems are not jeopardisedefficiency criteria,; calls on the Commission to consider options for a more unified approach in the EU to deposit schemes;
Amendment 343 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Stresses that effective extended producer responsibility schemes can have a positive environmental impact by reducing the generation of plastic waste and increasing its separate collection and recycling; welcomes the fact that Directive94/62/EC stipulates that Member States shall establish mandatory EPR schemes for all packaging by end of 2024 and calls on the Commission to assess the possibility of extending this obligation to other plastic products in accordance with Article 8 and 8a of Directive 2008/98/EC;
Amendment 350 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Underlines that fiscal policy remains a Member State competence and opposes the introduction of an EU-wide plastics tax as a potential own resource stream for the EUTakes note of the Commission's proposal "on the system of Own Resources of the European Union" that introduces a national contribution calculated on the amount of non-recycled plastic packaging waste. Underlines that this proposal can create an incentive for Member States to reach the plastic packaging waste recycling targets laid down in the Directive 94/62/EC; however, this approach is not completely coherent with the principles defined in the waste hierarchy where priority shall be given to the prevention of waste generation;
Amendment 358 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Welcomes the Commission proposal for a Directive "on port reception facilities" which aims to significantly reduce the burden and costs for fishermen of bringing fishing gear and plastic waste back to the port; underlines the important role that fishermen could play, in particular by collecting plastic waste from the sea during their fishing activity, and bringing it back to the port to undergo proper waste management. Stresses that Commission and Member States should incentivize this activity, so that waste derived from clean- up activities would not be covered by any cost recovery system, and fisherman shall not be charged a fee for its treatment;
Amendment 366 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Strongly supports the Commission in coming forward with clear harmonisedpromoting existing harmonized standards and coming forward with additional standards, where appropriate, with regard to rules on both bio-based content and biodegradability, as a feedstock with specific independent property, in order to tackle existing misconceptions and misunderstandings about bio-plastics and/or biodegradable plastics which can derive from fossil or bio-based feedstock;
Amendment 378 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Highlights the importance of lifecycle assessments in order to demonstrate a reduced environmental impact for all bio-plasticsat fostering a sustainable bio-economy can contribute to decreasing Europe´s dependency on imported raw materials. Bio-based recyclable packaging and compostable biodegradable packaging could represent an opportunity to promote renewable sources for the production of packaging, where shown to be beneficial from life- cycle perspective;
Amendment 386 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Emphasises that biodegradable plastics can help support the transition to a circular economy, but are not a universal remedy against marine litter; calls, therefore, on the Commission to develop a list of useful products and applications composed of biodegradable plastics, together with clear criteriaset of criteria for packaging when, in line with EU harmonized standards, biodegradable plastic would be preferable and provide an indicative list of useful products and applications. The indicative list should be the starting point for further R&D investments and market development of products and applications;
Amendment 398 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Calls for a complete ban on oxo- degradable plastic, as this type of plastic does not safely biodegrade and therefore fails to deliver a proven environmental benefit;
Amendment 413 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Underlines that several Member States, such as the UK, France and Italy, have already put in place national legislative measures for banning micro- plastics which are intentionally added to cosmetics; welcomes the scientific assessment that the ECHA is carrying out to examine the impacts of micro-plastics that are intentionally added to products in the context of the REACH restrictions, and to subsequently conclude whether European restrictions would be appropriate for addressing the negative effects linked to their presence on human health and the environment;
Amendment 436 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Welcomes the Commission’s announcement that an additional EUR 100 million will be invested to drive investment towards circular solutions under Horizon 2020 such as design options, the diversification of feedstock and innovative recycling technologies; supports the development of a Strategic Research Innovation Agenda on plastics to guide future funding decisions;
Amendment 446 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34a. Calls on the Commission and the Council to make resources available to support further research and investment through the next Multiannual Financial Framework and the Research Framework Programme, reiterates the need to support stakeholder cooperation along the entire value chain through public private partnership to develop innovative solutions building on the circular economy model;
Amendment 482 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36 a (new)
Paragraph 36 a (new)
36a. Calls on the EU to actively support the on-going discussions at the United nations and in other international foras, including the G7 and G20, with the aim to strengthen existing tools and develop a new "Global pact for the Environment" which shall include a binding mechanism to halt plastic pollution; stresses that EU should lead by example and ensure they aim for the same level of ambition at the international level as is already aimed for within the European Union;