Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-04-02-Speech-1-067"
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"en.20010402.6.1-067"2
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".
Mr President, the Green Paper before us today on the environmental problems of PVC was presented by the Commission in July 2000, in line with the provisions of the directive on end-of-life vehicles, which introduces a new method making manufacturers responsible for the entire life cycle of a product, from its design to its disposal.
This approach, which is intended to encourage manufacturers to design products and materials which are safer and, in particular, easier to recycle, is also the basis of the Green Paper on PVC. Indeed, although the Green Paper does not deal directly with either the production or the use of PVC, it poses a clear set of questions regarding waste disposal which ultimately have a direct bearing on the product itself. I would like to make this quite clear. Although PVC has been the focus of an intense debate in recent years, and although some of the product's properties, such as its high chlorine content, make it particularly difficult to manage in waste form, my report does not seek to penalise it in favour of other plastics. Quite the contrary: the report explicitly calls upon the Commission to tackle the specific problems of this material as part of a broader strategy for plastics and to deal with the issue of differentiated collection as soon as possible from a Europe-wide perspective. I have requested that this measure's provisions on marking be extended to include all plastics as well, so as to avoid any ecomarketing.
Moreover, with regard to the PVC industry voluntary commitment, I honestly believe that this is an important step. However, it is not enough, firstly, because, in its resolution of July 1997, Parliament stated that it was no longer prepared to accept any voluntary agreement which was not part of the Community legal framework, and, secondly, because the objectives set out in the agreement are, quite frankly, insufficient, difficult to measure and therefore difficult to monitor. However, there is one extremely important thing about this agreement, namely that it has gathered the vast majority of players involved in the process of production, processing and recycling and the trade union representatives around a table to develop common strategies and draw up proposals to change the current situation. This will of industry is a positive factor and we must not waste it in our enthusiasm to regulate everything. This is why I have called upon the Commission to put forward a legislative proposal that can serve as a reference for all future voluntary agreements as soon as possible. This is why I have also proposed a different form of legislation laying down the adoption of legislative measures which, however, would only enter into force when companies fail to achieve pre-established objectives. I am absolutely certain that genuinely sustainable development cannot be implemented without dialogue and cooperation with industry.
There are many other points in my report that I would like to mention, but I will limit myself to two: the disposal of the hazardous substances cadmium, lead and phthalates, in the first place, and then the multifaceted strategy for PVC disposal. With regard to the first point, I would just like to stress how important the gradual disposal of these substances is, in the immediate term, for the health of European citizens, and that it may be even more important in terms of environmental protection.
Lastly, on the subject of waste disposal, I would like to say that the property of PVC that gives it its strength, its durability, is also something that makes its disposal an extremely complicated matter. My suggestion was to tackle the problem from several different angles: firstly, to increase the recycling quotas, starting with certain applications such as window frames, large tubes and roofing membranes, introducing 'closed cycles' recovery systems; secondly, to limit PVC incineration to new generation plant, which respect the latest Community legislation and apply the ‘polluter pays’ principle; and thirdly, to dump what is left at refuse disposal sites, taking into account, in this case, the new legislation that will enter into force as of 2002.
Mr President, I would like to end by thanking all the Members who have contributed to the improvement of my report by tabling amendments in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy. I feel that the text adopted in committee is genuinely well balanced and that, should the amendments rejected in committee and put forward again for the vote in Parliament be adopted now, this balance could be seriously upset."@en1
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