Associations criticise planned amendment to the Packaging Act

„All forces are currently needed and are being pooled to amend the PPWR. The Ministry's initiative comes at an inopportune time. Making regulations now that could be revoked in a year and a half by standardised European legislation harbours the risk of a policy that is hasty and short-term in its effect on the outside and creates enormous uncertainty and additional burdens within the industry.“

Karsten Hunger, Managing Director of the IPV

The industry has been working very actively for years on the Reduction of packaging materials and their successful recycling. The alliance of associations emphasises that the EU internal market must be seen as a unit; going it alone is not what makes a European economy strong.

Parallel to reusable packaging Consumers have established alternative packaging solutions made from highly recyclable materials. In the to-go business, the demand for reusable alternatives remains manageable. „We recommend not bypassing the consumer when making policy,“ explains Markus Suchert (Managing Director of the BdS). „Germany is a leader in the recycling of packaging and should continue to strengthen this successful economic cycle.“ 

It is completely unclear how small craft business branches in busy locations are supposed to deal with these requirements with potentially high return rates with soiled packaging. The enforcement authorities for the Packaging Act - food monitoring is not responsible for this - would have a huge amount of work to do. It is important to bear in mind that the öThe environmental impact of food waste is many times greater than that of packaging. Against the background of the necessary reduction of CO₂-emissions, the pure reduction of packaging should not be the focus of policy. What counts is the smallest possible ecological footprint with the best possible functionality of the packaging over the entire life cycle.

Source: IPV