Hugo Schally is a seasoned negotiator of policies that deliver results. With colleagues in governments and industry he has helped steer Europe to be a world leader on Circular Economy policies, strategies, regulations, targets and effective measures. From introducing the EU Ecolabel for products, to bans on bags and straws, it has been a long journey with increasingly tough measures.
In this interview Hugo describes the EUC’s realisation that conventional measures were never going to see a change to the fundamental environmental impact of existing economic models. He notes that plastics are ubiquitous as high value in durable products and low value single use packaging. He notes that plastics production is faced with declining fossil fuel supply, and there must be more vertical integration of companies across the supply chain.
Hugo discusses the EUC challenge of the Recycling Pledge (for reprocessing of 10 million tonnes by 2025 – a tripling of market pull over current levels) and potential penalties for non-compliance. He also sets out the EUC’s position on incineration.
Note: The EUC has extended the deadline for the Pledge to 30 September 2018.
34.4 mins
