At the European Reuse Conference in Brussels, 80 organisations from civil society and business called on the EU Parliament and the Council of Ministers in an open letter to enshrine ambitious waste prevention targets and reusable quotas in the planned EU packaging regulation.
The ninth edition of the conference was organised by Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), the European Association of Beverage Wholesalers (CEGROBB), the German Association of Private Breweries and the EU Circular Economy Platform Reloop. The aim of the event is to together with Delara Burkhardt MEP and Mattia Pellegrini, Head of Unit at the EU Commission responsible for the Packaging Regulation send a visible signal that reusable solutions help to avoid mountains of packaging waste, conserve resources and protect the climate.
The DUH, CEGROBB, the Association of Private Breweries and Reloop on this: "According to the European waste hierarchy, waste should be avoided first and foremost. It is high time that the EU put this principle into practice. That is why we welcome the fact that the Targets for the avoidance of packaging waste and the expansion of reusable systems in the EU Packaging Regulation are to be binding. However, companies such as McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Pepsi are trying to avoid having to deviate from their one-way policy.
Reusable quotas for takeaway packaging have now been cancelled in the EU Parliament rapporteur's report. This is a worrying development, because to-go packaging for drinks and food ends up in the environment particularly frequently. At 25 per cent by 2040, the reusable quotas for drinks bottles in the Commission's proposal are also far too low. The EU Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers must not bow to the single-use lobby and must take the waste hierarchy seriously by promoting reuse through ambitious targets."
According to the associations, the framework conditions for reusable systems must be designed in such a way that neither existing systems are jeopardised nor greenwashing through fake reusable packaging with few returns is permitted. To achieve this, the definition of reusable systems must, among other things an incentive to return reusable packagingThe aim is to establish a deposit system, usually a deposit, as well as a mandatory return of returnable bottles via structures of one-way deposit systems in retail.
Numerous innovative reusable solutions presented at the conference show that single-use packaging can be replaced practically everywhere by climate-friendly reusable alternatives. Reusable solutions for drinks bottles, to-go food boxes, coffee cups and transport pallets are being used more and more throughout Europe. There are also standard reusable jars for dairy products and other foods such as sauces and spreads. The German initiative "Mach reusable pool" was honoured with the European Refillable Award. For his Innovative and energy-efficient washing technology for cleaning a wide range of reusable packagingwhich, among other things, facilitates the removal of labels, the French company Uzaje honoured with the European Reusable Award.
"In order to transform the European packaging market into a genuine circular economy, we need an EU-wide reusable economy. That is why we want to introduce target quotas for waste prevention, reuse and the use of recyclates in packaging in the EU Packaging Regulation for the first time. In addition, proven deposit systems for plastic bottles and beverage cans should become mandatory for the Member States to combat environmental pollution."
Mattia Pellegrini, Head of the EU Commission's 'From Waste to Resources' Unit, responsible for the Packaging Ordinance
Bans on certain single-use plastic products already adopted by the EU would contribute to reducing plastic, but in some cases only lead to substitution by single-use alternatives made of other materials and are therefore not sufficient to counter the dramatic waste crisis, says Delara Burkhardt, S&D MEP and shadow rapporteur for the EU Packaging Regulation. "Waste prevention and reusability as the top levels of the European waste hierarchy must therefore form the core of the EU Packaging Regulation through ambitious implementation targets, also against pressure from the disposable packaging lobbywhich some politicians are threatening to give in to. European waste prevention and reusable packaging targets must be adopted before the end of this legislative period. The growing mountains of packaging waste will not allow any further delay."
Source: DUH
Special: EU Packaging Regulation
