On November 22, 2022, the European Commission adopted the proposed PPWR, Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, aimed at promoting the reduction, reuse and recycling of packaging (1). An outline of a regulation in line with the EU Action Plan on the Circular Economy, already approved by the European Parliament on February 10, 2021. (2)
1) Packaging and packaging waste, the proposed regulation.
This proposed regulation aims to update the regulation of packaging and packaging waste placed on the domestic market, including packaging and packaging waste coming in from non-EU countries (PPWR proposal, Art. 4). In repeal of dir. 94/62/EC as well as reform of reg. EU 2019/1020 and EU Directive 2019/904).
The environmental labeling of packaging must also be harmonized at the European level, in the face of the kaleidoscope of national standards that in fact still hinders the free movement of goods, causing confusion among consumers and serious burdens on businesses. (3)
2) Packaging reduction, reuse and recycling, the goals
The packaging sector is now the leading user in the EU of virgin materials (for 50 percent of paper and 40 percent of plastics), as well as accounting for 36 percent of municipal solid waste. The volumes of all packaging, recyclable and non-recyclable, have moreover increased over the past few years.
Recyclable packaging is often not valorized, partly due to inadequate or non-existent necessary infrastructure. (4) Greenhouse gas emissions and pollution are also increasing. (5) Therefore, the Commission proposes a set of circular economy goals.
3) REDUCTION
The design of packaging should minimize its weight and volume. All blanks whose sole purpose is to increase the visual perception of the product will no longer be allowed.
Prohibited ‘blanks’ include those filled with paper cutouts, air cushions, air bubbles, sponges and foam fillers, wood wool, Styrofoam, Styrofoam shavings or other filler materials (Art. 9).
‘Very light bags,’ generally used for fruits and vegetables, will have to be drastically reduced. Without tolerating consumption greater than 40 bags/year per capita, by the end of 2025 (PPWR proposal, Art. 29).
4) REUSE
Reuse and refill are second on the scale of Lansink’s circular economy paradigm. Reusable or refillable packaging is the one that allows more uses and handling. Reloading and emptying operations must ensure material integrity and compliance with hygiene and safety standards (PPWR proposal, Art. 10). The recharge or reuse system must operate upon payment of a deposit by the user (Art. 25).
Vending machines, takeout, and food delivery are subject to reuse targets set in two stages, by early 2030 and early 2040:
- Hot or cold beverage dispensers. 20% of containers reusable or refillable by 2030, 80% by 2040,
- convenience foods, 10% and 40%,
- Spirits and other take-away drinks (except wine). 10% from 2030 and 25% from 2040,
- wine, 5% from 2030 and 15% from 2040 (PPWR proposal, Art 26).
4.1) Secondary and logistics packaging, ecommerce
Reuse of secondary and logistics packaging follows variously ambitious goals. 90%, starting from 2030, for transport materials of large household appliances. But only 30 percent for pallets and plastic crates, by 2030 (rising to 90 percent by 2040).
The privilege to ecommerce operators is incomprehensible, where (for products other than food) only 10 percent reuse of packaging from 2030, 50 percent from 2040. (7) In any case, packaging, ça va sans dire, must come into an actual and not a hypothetical reuse system.
4.2) Deposit and return systems
Member states should ensure the establishment of Deposit Return Systems (DRS), particularly on:
- Disposable plastic bottles with capacity up to 3 liters,
- Disposable metal beverage containers with capacity up to 3 liters.
Containers for milk, wine and spirits are excluded . A less understandable exemption is then provided for those countries that recycle 90 percent of these materials or submit a plan for their recycling by early 2027 (PPWR proposal, Art. 44). (8)
5) RECYCLING.
All packaging materials , starting in 2030, must be recyclable. And the materials obtained from recycling should be of such quality that they can constitute secondary raw materials (PPWR proposal, Art. 6). Recycling will have to achieve the intermediate and final targets below by the end of 2025 and the end of 2030, respectively:
- for all packaging, 65 percent (2025) and 70 percent (2030),
- plastics, 50% and 55%,
- wood, 25 percent and 30 percent,
- Ferrous metals, 70% and 80%,
- aluminum, 50% and 60%,
- glass, 70% and 75%,
- paper and cardboard, 75% and 85% (PPWR proposal, Art. 46).
5.1) Recycling plastics in MOCAs.
Food contact materials and articles (MOCAs) will have to contain minimum percentages of recycled material, with targets set for early 2030 and early 2040:
- MOCA in PET (6), 30% by 2030, 50% by 2040,
- packaging made of plastic materials other than PET (except for disposable beverages), 10% and 50%,
- Disposable plastic beverage bottles, 30% and 65%,
- other MOCAs, 35 percent and 65 percent.
By the end of 2026 , the Commission may adopt implementing acts where it establishes methods for calculating and verifying the share of recycled materials (PPWR proposal, Art. 7).
5.2) Compostable bioplastics.
Adhesive labels on fruits and vegetables, ‘very light bags’ (see. supra, para. 3), coffee pods and tea filters-within two years of the regulation’s entry into force-must be compostable ‘under controlled industrial conditions in organic waste treatment plants‘ (PPWR proposal, Art. 8). (9)
It is emphasized that compostable packaging should not affect the recyclability of other waste streams. It refers to the problem of contamination of municipal plastic waste with bioplastics and the lack of facilities suitable for composting such material.
6) Environmental labeling
Environmental labeling of packaging, to which Chapter III of the regulation is devoted, must finally be harmonized at the European level. Labels should inform consumers about the composition of the packaging and indicate whether it is part of the return system. If so, the label should contain a QR code reporting on reusability, trip and rotation calculation, and availability of a reuse and collection system.
Additional information relates to the share of material for recycling, how packaging or individual materials that make up packaging are disposed of, as well as the role of end users in contributing to waste prevention. Conversely, no marks or symbols should appear that could mislead consumers about the sustainability requirements of packaging.
7) Italy, various reactions
Various reactions to the Brussels proposal have been recorded in Italy itself. Where average recycling rates are on the whole appreciable, as seen, (10) while reuse unfortunately belongs to history.
7.1) Items against
Confindustria and Federdistribution, Conai and even a labor union (CISL), as well as the newly appointed Minister of the Environment, have criticized the choice of a regulation-that is, a system of uniform rules-instead of a directive (instead subject to national variables).
It would be of an ”ideological regulation,” in the words of Deputy Environment Minister Vannia Gava, according to whom the bail deposit system would go to ”dismantle the system of consortia in Italy […] that guarantee excellent levels of recycling with which Italy has exceeded EU targets 9 years in advance‘. (11) So for Stefan Pan, Confindustria’s delegate for Europe, the proposed regulation ‘freezes the packaging recycling strategy to focus on reuse‘ by overwhelming 700,000 companies that would risk closure. (12)
Conai even asserts the uselessness of the security deposit compared to the traditional separate collection system, as if reuse and recycling were the same thing. (8) And estimates an expenditure of 2.3 billion for 100 thousand Reverse Vending Machines. (13)
7.2) The value of the deposit with security
In contrast, the Deposit Return System (DRS), beyond the above reactions, has proven to be very efficient in the EU countries where it has been adopted. For the recovery of packaging, especially beverage packaging. Slovakia thus achieved the formidable achievement of 80 percent plastic collection in one year.
In fact, the value of the bail bond system is also recognized in Italy. The Comuni Virtuosi have dedicated a special campaign to it, which Great Italian Food Trade is joining. (14) In line with, among other things, the Reuse Manifesto of PLEF(Planet Life Economy Foundation). (15)
A study by Assobibe, moreover, shows how the adoption of one RVM(Reverse Vending Machine) for every 2,073 inhabitants, as in Germany, would result in a need for 25,534 machines for Italy, a quarter of those indicated by CONAI. (13)
7.3) Costs and benefits
Extended producer responsibility means that producers will have to bear the cost of disposing of their product packaging (PPWR proposal, Art. 40. In line with Art. 8 of dir. 2008/98/EC). And the deposit deposit system is also useful for selective collection of packaging materials (e.g., PET bottles), among other things.
Member states for that matter already pay the EU 800 euros for every ton of unrecycled plastic waste. A public expenditure costing Italy 744 million euros in 2021. That is, more than the investment required to install the 25 thousand RVMs projected by Assobibe at the costs indicated by Conai. Therefore, the system has a cost-effectiveness in addition to the environmental benefits.
8) Perspectives
The draft Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation is subject to co-decision legislative procedure. That is, it is necessary to reach an understanding between the European Parliament and the Council, in agreement with the European Commission. It is to be hoped that Italian politicians will soon learn to represent the collective interests of citizens rather than the particular interests of individual lobbies.
Dario Dongo and Alessandra Mei
Notes
(1) European Commission. Proposal for a revision of EU legislation on Packaging and Packaging Waste https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/proposal-packaging-and-packaging-waste_en
(2) Dario Dongo, Giulia Torre. Circular economy, European Parliament resolution on the action plan. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 26.3.21
(3) Dario Dongo, Giulia Torre. Environmental labeling of packaging, new rules to start 1.1.23. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 6.10.22
(4) The recycling rate of plastic packaging, it is recalled, is still very low compared to other materials. As well as causing microplastic pollution of the atmosphere, surface and groundwater, and soils. V. Dario Dongo. Plastic in packaging and agriculture, a trouble for environment and health. EU Court of Auditors Report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 26.1.21
(5) Dario Dongo, Alessandra Mei. Plastics and greenhouse gas emissions, an emergency to be prevented. Scientific study. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 9.2.20
(6) Marta Strinati. Recycled plastic in food packaging, new EU regulation. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 16.9.22
(7) Marta Strinati. The sustainability of ecommerce. The VVA study for the European Parliament. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 12.12.22
(8) Reuse is a materials management practice unanimously favored over recycling, in a circular economy and LCA(Life-Cycle Assessment) rationale, since the latter postulates the construction of new packaging instead not required in reuse assumptions
(9) Not surprisingly, the world leader in coffee capsules, Nespresso, has finally moved in this direction. To put an end, better late than never, to completely unsustainable packaging production. V. Dario Dongo. Coffee capsules, environmental costs and health risks. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 26.4.19
(10) Marta Strinati. Packaging recycling, the Italian example and new challenges. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 14.12.21
(11) Packaging, Vice Minister Vannia Gava: ideological regulation inadequate measures that condemn Italian excellence. https://www.mite.gov.it/notizie/imballaggi-viceministro-vannia-gava-regolamento-ideologico-misure-inadeguate-che-condannano?fbclid=IwAR2EZbjyQB2EUNGf6sZczLhJ7tZYSkm0aHr1bV0oSmuly2c9BumAjeva8iA Ministry of Environment and Energy Security. 30.11.22
(12) Sara Deganello. Packaging, on new EU rules, companies aim for slippage. https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/imballaggi-nuove-regole-ue-imprese-puntano-slittamento-AEooaNDC The Sun 24 Hours. 2.11.22
(13) The Security Deposit at the center of public debate is very good news nonetheless. https://buonrendere.it/2022/11/28/il-deposito-cauzionale-al-centro-del-dibattito-pubblico-e-unottima-notizia-nonostante-tutto/ In Good Standing. 28.11.22
(14) Marta Strinati. Security deposit system for beverage bottles. The Virtuous Municipalities campaign. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 13.3.22
(15) Marta Strinati. Encouraging the reuse of food containers, the PLEF Manifesto. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 23.6.22
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Graduated in Law from the University of Bologna, she attended the Master in Food Law at the same University. You participate in the WIISE srl benefit team by dedicating yourself to European and international research and innovation projects.
