Following the European Parliament's decision on new packaging regulations in the EU, the IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen has criticised in particular the last-minute stipulation - apparently due to an oversight - that certain industrial and commercial packaging should be 100% recyclable from 2030.
The association also criticises the Numerous loopholes for disposable packaging made of materials other than plastic, which have been exempted from the requirements for recyclability and the use of recycled materials as well as from the reusable requirements and disposable bans in many areas of the law.
The The Association for Plastic Packaging supported the original objectives of the EU Packaging Regulation from the very beginning: The aim was to achieve binding and standardised Europe-wide requirements for the recyclability of packaging, the use of recycled materials and the reduction of packaging waste through more ecologically sound reusable packaging and the minimisation of single-use packaging to the extent necessary to meet the requirements for product protection and consumer information.
However, the short-term restructuring of the reusable packaging requirements for industrial and commercial packaging led - apparently inadvertently - to a drastic expansion and increase in quotas come. This would mean, for example, that pallet wrappings for securing loads in national transport between companies would always have to be reused for the same purpose, which is not technically possible.
The sudden tightening had therefore caused great concern in the business community with regard to transport safety and supply chain security. Following criticism from the industry, the Commission has now announced that it will to examine exceptions for pallet wrapping by the end of the year. A number of MEPs, on the other hand, had called for the cancellation of the reusable packaging obligation for industrial and commercial packaging, but were unable to get their way.
„The ball is now in the Member States“ court. Only they can now make the necessary corrections to the reusable packaging obligations and thus ensure legal and planning certainty. It is not enough for the Commission to possibly decide on exemptions from the reusable packaging obligation for certain packaging formats in a few years' time. The uncertainty in all supply chains is enormous because nobody knows how goods will be transported in Europe from 2030."
Dr Martin Engelmann, Managing Director of the IK
In addition, many regulations on packaging bans, reusable quotas, recycling requirements and use quotas for recyclates should only apply to plastic packaging or provide for exceptions for other packaging materials. There is no basis for this unequal treatment of packaging materials - the loopholes even undermine the objectives of the PPWR.
„Obviously, politicians are often more concerned with symbolic actions against plastic than with the consistent implementation of a circular economy and the reduction of packaging waste. A switch to plastic-coated paper packaging, which consumers perceive as more ecological even though it leads to more packaging waste that is difficult to recycle, is unfortunately pre-programmed. We call on decision-makers to remove the loopholes and create the same rules for all packaging materials.“
Dr Isabell Schmidt, Managing Director for Circular Economy at IK.
Source: IK
