Increasing Plastic Packaging Recycling Rates: A Comparison of the Dutch and British Post-Consumer Plastic Packaging Mechanical Recycling Systems and the Influence of Food & Agribusiness Firms
Summary
As little as 30% of the 28 million tonnes of plastic produced in the EU annually is collected for recycling, much of which is to be treated outside of the EU under less-strict standards. Furthermore, 150.000 to 500.000 tonnes of EU-originated plastic waste ends up in nature annually. European plastic recycling rates should thus increase. However, the exact barriers and opportunities involved in this increase remain unclear. Therefore, this research conducted an analysis of the post-consumer plastic packaging (PCPP) mechanical recycling technology innovation system. This specification was chosen as mechanical recycling is the mainstream recycling technology, and packaging is a large contributor to plastic waste. This analysis was conducted through the Technological Innovation System (TIS) Analysis Framework. This TIS, the system of actors and rules that impact the diffusion of a technology, when analysed, reveals the performance of the system and in turn the flaws present. Additionally, the research focussed on the role of Food & Agribusiness (F&A) companies on this innovation system due these companies’ high packaging use and recent increase in collaborations and investments in PCPP mechanical recycling. To determine the level of impact by F&A companies, the concept of Dynamic Capabilities was used. Dynamic Capabilities are a firm’s abilities to develop competitive advantages in a rapidly changing environment, the framework consists of three capability levels, from low to high level of competitive advantage creation. A combination of the TIS and Dynamic Capabilities Framework was used to analyse the innovation system of a laggard (the UK) and a frontrunner country (the Netherlands), in order to highlight the differences in barriers and opportunities present in a weak and a strong performing system. The results of this comparison show that both EU and national legislations should increase their focus on regulations regarding the use of recycled content; improved consumer awareness is necessary; there should be more knowledge sharing and value chain collaboration in order to innovate on current technological limitations. Additionally, demand-limiting factors such as low oil-price and quality-critical producers are a barrier. Furthermore, the analysis uncovered a vast amount of improvements necessary in the waste infrastructures, in the Netherlands, but even more so in the UK. In general, the influence of F&A companies is regarded as very positive and strong, but still shows room for improvement regarding long-term commitments. The paper concludes with several recommendations for the PCPP mechanical recycling system, for F&A companies, as well as for policy-makers.