This course focuses on EEE on a product level and on the recycling of plastics on a material level. Currently, 20 to 30% of WEEE consists of plastics. This means that approximately 2,4 to 3,6 Mt of plastics can be found in the European e-waste stream. The figure below illustrates the lifecycle of plastics in the Netherlands.

Our collective demand for plastics presents us with three interrelated challenges:

• • A high dependence on non-renewable resources (i.e. oil and gas);
  • A lack of circular treatment of plastic waste that is collected; and
  • Leakage of uncollected waste plastics into the environment.