The European Council has called for changes to the proposed Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation in what it said was a bid to give EU member states greater flexibility.
Under EU rules the council – composed of each member state – can suggest a ‘general approach’ to the European Parliament and Commission as those two bodies continue to negotiate over the shape of the regulation.
The council noted 190kg of packaging waste was generated by each European in 2021 and this would grow by nearly 20% in 2030 if no action were taken.
It said in a statement: “We cannot let that happen. Today’s general approach gives a strong message that the EU is committed to reducing and preventing packaging waste from all sources.”
The council called for requirements to make all packaging recyclable and for improved consumer information labeling.
It also called for binding reuse targets, restrictions on certain types of single-use packaging and requirements on companies to minimize the packaging used.
Council members proposed that once packaging becomes waste, it should be collected, sorted and recycled “to the highest possible standard” with extended producer responsibility schemes in place.
Its statement said: “The council’s text strikes a balance between keeping the proposal’s ambition to reduce and prevent the generation of packaging waste, and allowing member states sufficient flexibility in the implementation of the regulation.”
The council backed the commission’s proposal that all packaging placed on the market must be recyclable
The council added packaging would be considered recyclable “when designed for material recycling, and when the waste packaging can be separately collected, sorted and recycled at scale” with the latter condition applying from 2035.
The council also agreed that tea bags and sticky labels on fruit and vegetables must be compostable.
Manufacturers and importers would have to ensure that the weight and volume of packaging were minimized.
In line with the commission’s proposal, the council set overall headline targets for reducing packaging waste, based on 2018 quantities: 5% by 2030, 10% by 2035, and 15% by 2040. These targets will be subject to a review by the commission eight years after the regulation takes effect.
The council set various new reuse and refill targets for 2030 and 2040 for large household appliances, take-away packages for food and beverages – though the latter excludes wine – and transport packaging except for dangerous goods. Cardboard packaging is also exempted from these requirements.
EU members would by 2029 have to ensure the separate collection of at least 90% annually of single-use plastic bottles and metal beverage containers with deposit return systems for those packaging formats.
APEAL, the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging, regretted a “lack of ambition” regarding recyclability measures in the council’s ‘general approach’.
Secretary General Steve Claus said: “[The] council missed the opportunity to signal the importance of delivering an ambitious packaging and packaging waste plan for Europe”.
Claus added: “Ambitious recyclability performance grades, including strong qualitative recyclability criteria, would have been a great step forward to a truly EU Circular Economy, ensuring that packaging that can be recycled multiple times and can feed a closed material loop scheme is duly recognized at the top of the recycling hierarchy”.
Sergio Baffoni, senior paper packaging campaigner at the Environmental Paper Network, said: “The council’s support for paper packaging exemptions unfortunately undermines the regulation’s aim to reduce packaging waste.
“Instead, it will just increase cardboard packaging, adding to the already three billion trees cut down every year for packaging alone! True ambition would not include this exemption. Forests are not packaging factories.”
