Compulsory recycling, containers in fast food restaurants, deposit of cans, chemical substances... The EU finalized, on Monday March 4, a text to green packaging, while providing important exemptions - under conditions.
From parcels to coffee cups, Europeans have never generated so much packaging waste: 188.7 kg per capita in 2021 (a jump of 32 kg in a decade), for a recycling rate of only 64% ( 40% for plastic packaging), according to Eurostat.
The text imposes on the Twenty-Seven a binding objective of reducing their volume of packaging waste by 5% by 2030 (compared to 2018), then by 10% in 2035 and 15% by 2040. Targets Optional measures specifically concern plastic packaging waste.
Above all, all packaging in the EU must be recyclable from 2030, and indeed systematically recycled by 2035, to encourage the circular economy.
“It’s historic: for the first time in a law, Europe is aiming to reduce its consumption of packaging, whatever the material (glass, plastic, metals, etc.),” underlines its rapporteur, the MEP Frédérique Ries (Renew, Liberals).
#PPWR 🎉We have a deal 👏 Historic and unexpected agreement at the end of the day in Brussels to put the European packaging sector on the rails of circularity.
📦 More info very soon ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/VcDeHBmRtz
— Frédérique Ries (@Frederiqueries) March 4, 2024
Here are the main points of the compromise concluded between the Member States and the European Parliament:
Single-use plastic packaging
The compromise, which must still be confirmed by the Twenty-Seven and the European Parliament, provides for a flagship measure: the ban by January 1, 2030 of single-use plastic containers in cafes and restaurants, for food and drinks consumed on site.
Paper and cardboard containers will remain authorized.
For many months, fast-food giants and paper manufacturers have been extolling the "ecological" merits of cardboard packaging, recyclable or from sustainable forests, compared to plastic or reuse, which, according to them, would require using more water and energy.
They won their case.
Paper sachets of sugar or salt are also spared.
However, other single-use plastic containers will be banned by 2030: miniature shampoo bottles in the hotel industry, sauce pods, plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables, films wrapping suitcases in airports, etc.
The text also prohibits ultra-light plastic bags (except for exceptions for health reasons or prevention of food waste) and polystyrene "chips" blocking products contained in packages.
Read alsoFight against plastic pollution: “We will not get out of it by recycling”
Collection, recycling, instructions
Another innovation: all packaging must be recyclable from 2030 and actually systematically recycled by 2035. To maximize recycling, at least 90% of packaging materials (plastic, wood, aluminum, glass, cardboard, etc.) .) will have to be collected separately by 2029.
The text obliges the Twenty-Seven to establish a deposit system for plastic bottles and metal cans by 2029, meeting strict criteria of efficiency and transparency.
But a State may be exempt from this deposit obligation if it achieves a collection rate for this waste exceeding 80% in 2026, with a plan to reach 90% in 2029. According to a parliamentary source, only 4 countries, including Italy and France would be affected.
Nine States will have to establish deposit circuits from scratch.
The 15 states that have already established deposit systems will not be required to change them, provided they achieve a collection rate of 90%.
Border regions are encouraged to accept bottles and cans returned to the neighboring state.
Wooden packaging (camembert boxes, oyster baskets, etc.) or wax packaging (Babybel brand cheese) are exempt at this stage from the recycling obligation.
Reusable packaging
Legislation sets binding levels of packaging reuse for various sectors (e-commerce, household appliances, drinks, beer, etc.).
The wine sector, milk, and microenterprises are exempt, as well as, in general, cardboard packaging.
For drinks, several companies could come together to share the objective.
Initially envisaged, the objectives of reusable or refillable packaging for takeaway drinks and food disappeared from the final agreement.
Restaurant owners will simply be required to accept containers brought by their customers free of charge from 2027, and will have to offer reusable container options themselves.
A broad exemption from reuse obligations will be possible if a country exceeds the recycling target already planned by the EU by at least 5 percentage points (65% in 2025), if it is "on track" to reach its waste prevention target and whether it guarantees the adoption of recycling plans by its companies.
Italy, which had stubbornly defended its economic model based on a large reverse “reuse” recycling industry, would benefit from the exemption, with an overall recycling rate already exceeding 72%.
PFAS
Legislation prohibits, from 2026, the addition of polyfluoroalkyls (PFAS, nicknamed "eternal pollutants") in food packaging, where these chemical components remain omnipresent (pizza boxes, fish trays, pastry paper, etc.) despite scientific warnings about their harmful effects.
On the other hand, the agreement does not include the ban on bisphenol-A (endocrine disruptor), which MEPs demanded.
It will be discussed in another text.
Empty space of packaging
The text limits the empty space tolerated in packages, transport boxes and grouped packaging to 50%.
Recycled and biosourced plastic
The text sets minimum rates of recycled material in the composition of plastic packaging - for example at least 30% in drinks bottles by 2030, then 65% by 2040. "Mirror clauses" will impose on plastic packaging manufactured outside the EU to ensure that it meets European standards, and thus avoid the rise of imports of “fake recycled plastic”.
By 2027, the Commission will have to propose precise sustainability criteria for “bio-based” plastic (of plant origin).
With AFP
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