The four countries in the Interreg 2 Seas region (England, France, Belgium and The Netherlands) are major producers of plastic waste in the EU. Despite previous efforts, overall recycling rates are limited to around 20% - 30%. One of the main causes is the lack of collaboration and management between different actors (industry, public, private) to come to an optimized plastic waste management scheme. This results in suboptimal logistics, economic costs, but also in environmental impact, such as plastic debris ending up in water bodies.

Furthermore, cities in this region are also huge exporters of plastic waste. By doing so, they do not only displace the problem, but they are also missing economic opportunities. Countries like China have recently closed their borders to European export of plastic waste. As a result, waste management companies are urgently searching for solutions.

The region needs a change in waste management practices and an improved attitude towards plastic in the circular economy.