The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) is calling for more environmentally friendly packaging and a significant increase in reusable packaging, particularly in the mail order business and for to-go packaging. Companies should review their packaging and systematically optimise it ecologically.
In the opinion of UBA Vice-President Lilian Busse, the decision on Packaging design and disposal over the next few years whether the transformation to a genuine circular economy will succeed. „We need to create a Trend reversal with the increasing volume of packaging. The avoidance and high-quality recycling of packaging material must become the norm in order to protect the climate and conserve resources,“ says Busse. This requires not only minimising packaging and using significantly more reusable packaging, but also making packaging highly recyclable and using significantly more recyclates in its production.
Federal Environment Agency: recycle more packaging waste
The recycling rates for packaging waste from private end consumers are developing positively: 50.5 per cent of the waste collected in yellow bins and bags, including the discards, was recycled last year. The Packaging Act requires at least 50 per cent. All Quota requirements for individual packaging materials were recognised in 2020 on average met and exceeded by the dual systems. For example, 93 per cent of the ferrous metal packaging involved in the systems was recycled. In the case of plastic packaging, 60.6 per cent was recycled. „A very large proportion of our packaging is recycled. I strongly disagree with the myth that everything that ends up in the yellow bin or yellow bag will be incinerated anyway,“ says Lilian Busse. Nevertheless, there is a great need for action, as the legal requirements will increase again next year. Even more packaging waste will then have to be returned to the cycle.
In order to support the avoidance and recycling of packaging materials, the Federal Environment Agency companies to systematically review and ecologically optimise their packaging ranges. Packaging should Highly recyclable design and Recycled materials wherever possible included. The UBA also considers it urgently necessary to expand the existing activities for the supply of unpackaged goods and reusable products - and not only in beverage packaging but also in other areas, such as mail order and on-the-go consumption. The more widespread and self-evident waste-preventing reusable systems are, the easier it will be for people to do without single-use packaging. „We need nothing more and nothing less than a fundamental reversal, to absolutely reduce the amount of packaging waste,“ says Lilian Busse.
Sharpening political guidelines
Also with the Legislation sees the UBA Need for action. Important decisions need to be made at European and national level. Packaging that is not easily recyclable should disappear from the market wherever there are other packaging options for the goods it contains or where packaging is unnecessary. The European Union should also set a target for packaging Minimum content of recycled plastics from waste after use throughout the EU and tackle oversized packaging.
Source: Federal Environment Agency
