Approximately 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year. Around 12% of these plastics are incinerated, and only 9% are recycled. The remainder is either disposed of in landfills or released into the environment, including the oceans. These figures highlight the urgent need to act on multiple fronts.

One powerful lever available to public authorities is public procurement. By rethinking how products and services are purchased, governments and institutions can shift markets away from linear “take-make-dispose” patterns and towards circular solutions. Procurement requirements that specify recycled materials, encourage reuse or repurposing of plastic-containing products, and prevent the use of single-use plastics, are strategic tools that can help curb the plastic crisis.

This webinar will present concrete examples of how contracting authorities can limit plastic waste and pollution through procurement decisions.

Agenda:

-Welcome and Introduction from the EU GPP Helpdesk, Ivan Azevedo, Policy Officer, Unit B.1, Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission.

-Overview of the Sustainable Public Procurement of Plastics report, Mervyn Jones, Senior Adviser, Circular Economy, Rijkswaterstaat.

-The French Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law and targets for the integration of reused and recycled materials in public contracts, Marline Weber, Sustainable Procurement Project Manager, Ministry for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion of France.

-Procurement criteria that support the circulation of plastics, Tuuri Tiia, City of Espoo, Finland.

Language: English
Framework: The GPP Helpdesk Webinars provide a forum to inform stakeholders working in the field of public sector procurement about important new developments in the resources available and legislative context for Sustainable Public Procurement, and offer an opportunity for questions and discussion. For more information, visit the European Commission’s GPP website.