EU

Plastics in Israel

Cheap, light, and versatile, plastics have become the universal material of our economies, and consumers and businesses alike rely on plastics more and more. Nevertheless, as plastic use grows, so does plastic waste. Unfortunately, much of this plastic waste rarely gets a second chance and ends up in incineration, landfills, or worse, finding another way into the environment.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports that plastic waste production worldwide has doubled in the past 20 years. Israel is one of the top-ranking nations in consuming single-use plastics. Unfortunately, according to the OECD, nearly 80% of ’Israel’s municipal waste ends up in landfills, with only 7% being recycled and 1% incinerated for energy.

Despite the surging demand for plastics, some post-consumer plastic waste, collected through deposit and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, is exported rather than recycled in Israel. Given Israel’s reliance on importing nearly 80% of virgin resins for its plastic sector, a robust plastic waste recycling value chain could reduce raw material import dependence and virgin material use.

MED TEST III project in Israel


In line with this development, the second phase of the EU funded SwitchMed programme – the UNIDO led MED TEST III project in Israel, focused on specific actions to improve the circularity of the plastic industry in Israel.




In collaboration with the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Afeka Institute of Circular Engineering and Economy (AFEKA), the Israeli Union of Environmental NGOs (Life & Environment) and stakeholders from ’Israel’s plastic industry, UNIDO has worked to promote more circular business models within the plastic value chain.

The MED TEST III project in Israel was divided into two main workstreams to achieve its goals. The first workstream focused on institutional and governmental levels, aiming to improve the business environment for circularity. The second workstream worked directly with the private sector, providing practical examples for the local business community.

An initial phase of the activities focused on developing recommendations for regulatory and policy instruments to improve plastic recycling and increase the use of recycled plastic, suggesting new standards for plastic recyclates, mainstreaming the use of recycled plastic into public procurement and the construction sector, and implementing market-based instruments like guidelines for enhancing the recyclability of plastic packaging design.

Beginning in 2022, building up on the results of the plastic value chain mappings and following agreements with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Ministry of Economy, three pilot projects were launched to demonstrate the potential for circular business models for the application of plastics in the agriculture sector and in consumer packaging.

For more information about the pilot projects, please refer to the business cases below:

  • Business case: Circular business model for greenhouse agricultural plastic waste, Israel

    English

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  • Business case: Design for circularity of food-contact plastic packaging, Israel

    English

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  • Business case: Increasing the recycling rate of flexible plastic packaging, Israel

    English

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  • MED TEST III in Israel - Advancing circular business models in Israel’s plastic value chain

    Project summary and achievements (English)

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