Recycling plays a crucial role in reducing the consumption of primary resources and mitigating the environmental impact of waste. While the average European Union (EU) citizen generated 4.8 tonnes of waste in 2020, only 38 percent was recycled.
A recent study indicated that plastic recycling facilities may be contributing to the pollution of waterways and posing a threat to human health by releasing wastewater contaminated with billions of tiny plastic particles.
The advancement of a report to be published later this year shows that unless the measures against plastic are resounding, this type of contamination will reach worrying levels in the next three decades.