However, it is one thing to write recycling percentages into documents, and quite another to actually recycle them. The current situation in Europe regarding this is far from rosy.

A study conducted by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company in 12 European countries shows that, for example, plastic recycling could currently hardly be called a thriving industry, and the companies operating within it face a range of problems that hinder them from scaling up their operations.

The most significant issue, cited by a quarter of the plastic recyclers surveyed, is the current lack of standardisation for plastic products in the market, which subsequently causes problems for recycling them. Specifically, every manufacturer can currently produce their plastic packaging with a wide variety of compositions, colours, and other characteristics. Consequently, when this diverse range arrives for recycling, it becomes clear that many items are incompatible with others, and in order to obtain a recycled product that meets uniform standards, a number of packaging items simply have to be sent back to landfills.