There are probably few topics that currently occupy the packaging industry as much as the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). The EU Parliament voted in favour of the regulation in April and it is now entering the home straight. But there are still uncertainties.
In packaging people, the podcast from packaging journal and interpack, we therefore spoke to an expert on PPWR. Dr Wolfgang Trunk is working in Brussels to get the regulation off the ground.Â
Episode 20 - Dr Wolfgang Trunk: "I learn something new every day"
As a policy officer at the EU Commission in Brussels and team leader in the Environment Directorate-General, Wolfgang Trunk is closely involved in the development process of the PPWR. And the topic is far from being out of his ears:
„I still find it a fascinating subject. Every day I learn something new. It's such a wide-ranging and multi-layered topic, so I still enjoy hearing the word and engaging with it.“
The EU Parliament adopted the PPWR in April. The road to this point was difficult in parts and characterised by uncertainties. Overall, however, the industry is looking forward to the upcoming harmonisation with hope. However, the vote in Parliament is not the end of the story, as Wolfgang Trunk knows:
„One thing that is still bothering me is the provisional text of the regulation, which has now been approved by Parliament and the Council. Now it's a matter of legal linguistic scrutiny of the text. The lawyers are now going over the text once again, word for word. Then the translations will be prepared and in the autumn the newly formed Parliament will have to approve it once again. Then the regulation will go through the Environment Committee and the plenary and only then will the regulation go to the Council and then the 27 member states will have to approve the text. And what concerns me, of course, is the implementation: what does the regulation mean for the economy and consumers?“Â
Answers to questions from the industry
In the current packaging journal podcast, packaging journal confronted Dr Wolfgang Trunk with specific questions from readers. Listen to the answers in the podcast
One of the major advantages that the industry sees in the PPWR is harmonisation within the EU. This is because there are currently still different rules and standards in the various member states, for example when it comes to recycling. How harmonised can it really become? Wolfgang Trunk sees it as a great achievement that the PPWR and the harmonisation it is intended to bring about were created and pushed through in such turbulent times.Â
„The economy is currently confronted with 27 different systems, which leads to billions in lost efficiency or costs. We now want to reduce this. Through this standardisation, which we have created in many areas, we are creating major cost savings. Of course, we reach our limits when member states say that they have a special situation. One concrete example is compostable packaging in Italy. A system has already been developed here. That is why compromises are being made here in terms of harmonisation. We are giving Italy the option that these packaging formats can only be composted in Italy. So this is an exception, a special option with which we are creating flexibility for the country.“Â
packaging people, the podcast from packaging journal and interpack will be published from August onwards once a month. It can be accessed via all known podcast portals, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer or Google Podcasts and subscribed to. It is also available on the online pages of packaging journal and interpack.