Barring any changes, the European Commission is expected to present, on 30 November, a proposal for an EU regulation to update and replace Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, which had already been revised in 2018 to increase recovery and recycling targets, but which the institution believes is not sufficient to serve the goal of a truly circular, carbon-neutral and environmentally friendly economy.
This long-awaited proposal was initially scheduled for 2021 (see EUROPE 12571/25). It is part of the second legislative package on the circular economy, which will also include a policy framework for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics, according to the institution’s forward-looking indicative programme.
A draft of the proposed regulation, consulted by EUROPE, underlines that binding targets, sustainability requirements and an extended producer responsibility system are at the heart of the envisaged proposal.
A regulation rather than a directive. The objective is twofold: to provide a harmonised regulatory framework on the basis of Article 114 (Internal Market) of the TFEU, applying to all Member States at the same time, in order to address the obstacles to a well-functioning internal market for packaging, packaged goods and secondary raw materials for packaging, and to address the environmental nuisance of the ever-increasing packaging waste generated.
In line with the waste hierarchy, measures aim to limit the amount of packaging placed on the market, reduce its volume and weight, prevent the generation of packaging waste, increase the reuse of packaging, ensure high quality recycling, reduce other forms of recovery of packaging waste and its final disposal.
Sustainability requirements for packaging. Packaging would be required to be recyclable according to clearly defined requirements, to be met in two stages. Starting 1 January 2030, packaging will have to comply with the design for recycling criteria, and from 1 January 2035, the requirements will be adjusted to ensure that packaging is effectively collected, sorted and ‘recycled at scale’.
The design criteria for recycling and the methodology for assessing whether packaging is recycled at scale will be established by Commission delegated acts.
The draft text establishes that packaging is considered non-recyclable when it will only achieve the lowest level of recyclability performance.
Specific rules would be established for innovative packaging for which recyclability requirements would only have to be documented 5 years after the packaging is first placed on the market.
From 1 January 2030, plastic packaging should contain a minimum amount of recycled content recovered from post-consumer plastic waste per unit of plastic packaging. According to the draft, these quantities will have to increase by 1 January 2040.
The text would impose conditions for packaging to be compostable and foresees that used filter coffee pods, adhesive labels attached to fruit and vegetables and very light plastic bags will have to be compostable 24 months after the entry into force of the regulation.
Less single-use plastic bags. Member States would be required to take measures to reduce the annual consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags to no more than 40 bags per person by 31 December 2025.
Declaration of conformity. Manufacturers should ensure that packaging has been designed and manufactured in accordance with the regulation’s sustainability requirements and is appropriately labelled. To this end, they should follow the conformity assessment procedure before placing the packaging on the market and draw up the EU declaration of conformity.
The supplier of packaging or packaging materials would be required to provide the manufacturer with all the information and documentation required to demonstrate the conformity of the packaging.
Extended producer responsibility. The economic operator who places reusable packaging on the market would be obligated to set up a reuse system for such packaging, as set out in an annex to the Regulation (Annex VII).
Similarly, economic operators using reusable packaging would be obligated to set up or participate in a reuse system for such packaging and to repackage reusable packaging (Annex VII requirement).
The draft text sets reuse and refill targets for different sectors and packaging formats, with the possibility for Member States to provide for exemptions. It will be up to the Commission to establish the detailed calculation rules and methodology for these targets by means of an implementing act.
NGOs warn against a weakening of the project. In mid-October, a coalition of NGOs, including the EEB, business and civil society had viewed the Commission’s ambition as encouraging even before the leaked draft was circulated (see EUROPE 13041/11). On Wednesday 23 November, they made public a joint letter they sent to the Commission on 17 November to reaffirm their support for the measures envisaged, in particular the binding measures on the prevention and reuse of packaging waste and on mandatory deposit systems, while calling for a more ambitious proposal and resisting any attempt to backtrack as demanded by certain industries.
Cautionary note from recyclers. In a paper published on Wednesday 23 November, the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EURIC) argue that new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes should only be established when the costs of collection and treatment are properly assessed and exceed the economic value of the waste stream.
The draft regulation: https://aeur.eu/f/47p
Its annexes: https://aeur.eu/f/47s
Letter from NGOs and companies: https://aeur.eu/f/47e
EURIC’s position: https://aeur.eu/f/47f (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)