Negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU Council reached, on the evening of Monday 4 March, an agreement on the ‘Packaging and Packaging Waste’ Regulation (see EUROPE 13344/3). The text, which has been the subject of negotiation and lobbying, validates certain ambitions in terms of recycling, rules that should lead to the end of ultra-light plastic bags and the reduction of unnecessary packaging. In contrast, it has been watered down on other points, notably on reusable packaging.
“For the first time in environmental legislation, Europe is setting clear targets for reducing packaging consumption, regardless of the material used”, commented Parliament’s rapporteur for the dossier, Frédérique Ries (Renew Europe, Belgian).
The agreement thus confirms the European Parliament’s intention to ban, starting in 2026, packaging containing PFAS above certain thresholds when in contact with food. This is the case for pizza boxes, for example.
Several Member States had insisted that the regulation should not duplicate the REACH Regulation. In order to avoid any overlap, the Commission will have to reassess the need to amend this restriction within 4 years of the date of application of the Regulation.
European co-legislators have also agreed that 100% of all packaging must be recyclable by 2030. On this point, the agreement does not provide for financial penalties for non-compliance with the obligations, but does provide for a ban on the marketing of the packaging concerned. Five years later, in 2035, this packaging will have to be recycled throughout the EU.
“This means that more than half of all packaging will have to be recycled”, explained Pascal Canfin (Renew Europe, French), pointing out that this process also depended largely on consumer behaviour, and that it was therefore not possible to impose a legal obligation covering 100% of products.
The European Parliament’s amendment whereby wooden boxes - such as for Camembert cheese - or wax food packaging would be exempted has been included in the provisional political agreement.
End of the ultra-light plastic bag by 2030
The text also sets out a list of packaging that will be banned in the EU starting in 2030. In countries that have not yet made this compulsory, this deadline will mark the end of ultra-light plastic bags on the market from 2030.
Single-use plastic packaging in retail cafés and restaurants will be banned by 2030, as will plastic film around suitcases at airports, which could be replaced by reusable fabric covers.
Similarly, the co-legislators have also agreed to put an end to the use of small plastic bottles in hotels, particularly for cosmetic products.
The polystyrene ‘chips’ used to wedge products in cartons will suffer the same fate. In addition, this is not the only aspect of the text that affects the delivery of products, as the empty space in delivery cartons must not exceed 50% of the volume of the package.
One of the aims of this provision is to tackle the emissions generated by certain retail giants, such as Amazon, whose unused box space results in a tenfold increase in their carbon footprint.
According to the co-legislators, these various rules should make it possible to achieve the targets they set in the provisional political agreement, namely a reduction in packaging waste for all packaging materials of 5% by 2030, 10% by 2035 and 15% by 2040.
A mirror clause on recycling that makes DG Trade cringe
The text also provides for recycled content to be incorporated into the packaging of new products. Its share is expected to reach 10% by 2030. However, some packaging, such as plastic water bottles, will have to include 30% recycled content by 2030 and 65% by 2040.
Compostable plastic packaging and packaging where the plastic component represents less than 5% of the total weight of the packaging will be exempt. The Commission, for its part, will have to examine the implementation of the 2030 targets and assess the feasibility of those set for 2040.
The text also includes a so-called mirror clause concerning recycled content, which will have to comply with the same rules whether it is produced within the EU or in third countries. According to some sources, this will pave the way for a European recycling market.
“We want to avoid a situation like with solar panels, where we create a market and it’s producers from third countries who dominate it”, summarised Pascal Canfin, who pointed out that this provision will play a central role in avoiding partially recycled packaging or packaging produced by processes that have an environmental impact.
Although this measure complies with WTO rules, following assessments by the legal teams of the EU Council and the European Parliament, some sources close to the dossier nevertheless are concerned that the Commission, described as ‘pro-trade’ by some sources and fiercely opposed to mirror clauses - and its Competition DG (‘DG COMP’), which fears that this could set a precedent - will enter a formal reservation on the agreement.
In such a scenario, the text would have to be adopted unanimously by the Member States and the right of veto could be exercised by one of the EU27, de facto bringing down the agreement. On the parliamentary side, however, confidence prevails. “I don’t see how Ursula von der Leyen could say ‘no’ when the EPP’s whole strategy is based on the Industrial Deal”, said Mr Canfin.
European Parliament’s ambitions for reuse scaled back
Negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU Council have managed to strike a balance on reusable packaging. By 2030, 10% of alcoholic beverages, with the exception of wine and spirits, must be sold in reusable packaging. On the other hand, the European Parliament’s ambitions in this area have been tempered, with some Member States, including Italy, calling for flexibility.
Five-year derogations will thus be possible for Member States, which may be exempted from the re-use obligations if they exceed the recycling targets to be achieved by 2025 by 5 percentage points and are expected to exceed the recycling targets to be achieved by 2030 by 5 percentage points. An exemption could also be granted if the Member State benefiting from the exemption is “on track” to achieve its waste prevention targets.
The Italian ‘blank check’ was also obtained thanks to the fact that the German FDP party, in exchange, assured Italy of its support in the discussions on the due diligence directive (see EUROPE 13331/23).
In addition, the text was heavily lobbied by stakeholders, led by McDonald’s, on the issue of takeaway sales. On this point, the reuse obligations have been abolished, as their application proved to be very complex in reality.
The text will now be submitted to the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (‘Coreper’) at meetings to be held on 14 and 15 March. It is at this point that the last agreement of this mandate concerning the European Green Deal will be reached. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)