Consumption in EU Accession Countries

HOME ARCHIV 2003 13.10.2003 Consumption in EU Accession Countries
 

DG PETCORE Frank Koelewijn: "I am concerned with the haste with which legislators in candidate countries scramble to impose laws just to meet EU requirements. They risk making costly mistakes. Instead, they should request fast moving consumer goods manufacturers to come up with a sound business plan for the collection of recyclable household waste such, that it meets local economic, social and cultural needs. It is so much easier to do things right in the first place, instead of having to repair a dysfunctional collection system."

For the first time, this report details consumption and recovery figures for the 12 countries due to join the EU in the coming years. These countries – Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta – represent some 105 million inhabitants, 21 per cent of the enlarged EU zone.

Significant growth was noted in the Czech Republic (30 per cent), Hungary (9 per cent) and Poland (9 per cent) on the previous year, driven primarily by growth in PET and PP applications. Poland is the largest consumer overall with 43 per cent of the total, and appears to be the sole country producing engineering plastics. However, small quantities are produced elsewhere. A key growth area is packaging. Per capita consumption stands at 70-85 kg per head (compared to 180 kg in Western Europe) but the proportion of plastics within that total is increasing considerably, due to the development of distribution centres, PET bottles and the latest development in pharmaceutical and cosmetic packaging and fast food. Growth in PVC (5 per cent) is also strong due to the continued boom in the construction sector.

Reliable data on waste and recovery is particularly difficult to obtain across all countries. However, in general it can be stated that collection and recovery schemes remain in their infancy in most countries although some advances have been made in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia since the mid 90s, and more recently, in the Baltic States. Total waste from the 12 countries, across sectors is estimated at 424 070 000 tonnes per annum, of which MSW accounts for just over 37 000 000 tonnes 8.7 per cent), slightly ahead of the proportion in Western Europe. Plastics waste, as in Western Europe, accounts for under 1 per cent by weight of total waste generated.

Plastics processors’ consumption by country, Accession countries, 2001 (x 1 000 tonnes/year) 

Plastic consumption by polymer, Accession countries, 2001 (x 1 000 tonnes/year)