Contributing to a more circular plastic industry in Israel
The plastic industry in Israel, involves about 25,000 people, 400 companies, and with a turnover of 5 billion Euro per year, it contributes with 5-6% to the national GDP. Out of the 1 million t plastic waste that Israel generates each year, merely 6% gets recycled and only less than 50,000 t of recycled plastic resins are annually produced. Nevertheless, demand for recycled resins from the local plastic industry is growing and reached approximately 120,000 t in 2019.
Since 2014, the United Nations Development Organization (UNIDO) has successfully demonstrated in Israel the benefits of a resource-efficient and sustainable production through the EU funded SwitchMed programme. An outcome of the MED TEST II project, taking place in Israel from 2014-2017, is the involvement from the Israeli government to invest 20 million Euro in a country programme that can upscale resource-efficient production methods throughout Israel’s industry. The next level for UNIDO is to support industries in Israel to become more circular producing with recycled sourced materials that can, again, be recycled.
Israel is in the process of upgrading the waste collection system to increase the quantity and the quality of sorted plastic waste while improving the ability of the local recycling industry to handle higher volumes of post-consumer plastic waste. The Ministry of Environment is also developing a new national strategy on plastic that will upgrade the existing EPR scheme for plastic packaging.
In line with this development, the second phase of the EU funded SwitchMed programme – MED TEST III project, will focus on specific actions to improve the circularity of the plastic industry in Israel in partnership with a pool of institutional stakeholders, such as, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Environment, EPRs/Deposit schemes, the Manufacturers Association of Israel, and the Standards Institute of Israel. The action under the MED TEST III project in Israel will include:
– Mapping of the plastic waste recycling value chain and identification of feature pilot projects;
– Undertaking a market study for setting up an rPET bottle to bottle recycling plant in Israel;
– Supporting the development of guidelines for “design for recyclability of plastic packaging”, standards and policy incentives in Israel.
In line with this development, the second phase of the EU funded SwitchMed programme – MED TEST III project, will focus on specific actions to improve the circularity of the plastic industry in Israel in partnership with a pool of institutional stakeholders, such as, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Environment, EPRs/Deposit schemes, the Manufacturers Association of Israel, and the Standards Institute of Israel. The action under the MED TEST III project in Israel will include:
– Mapping of the plastic waste recycling value chain and identification of feature pilot projects;
– Undertaking a market study for setting up an rPET bottle to bottle recycling plant in Israel;
– Supporting the development of guidelines for “design for recyclability of plastic packaging”, standards and policy incentives in Israel.
