Sabine Verheyen, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and First Vice-President, and Christian Berger, Member of the NRW State Parliament for the CDU, visited the Jokey Group at its headquarters in Wipperfürth.
The meeting centred on the new EU Regulation on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR) adopted by the Council of the European Union at the end of December 2024. Verheyen learnt how Jokey is developing recyclable and climate-friendly packaging solutions, using recycled secondary raw materials and setting up targeted closed-loop systems.
The Council of the European Union approved the new regulation on 16 December 2024. The EU packaging regulation PPWR aims to reduce the environmental impact of packaging. Among other things, the regulation requires companies to adapt the design and utilisation of materials in order to increase recycling and reuse. Key aspects include reducing the weight of packaging and promoting the circular economy. During a tour of production at the Wipperfürth site, the CDU politician was able to see for herself how Jokey is already implementing the requirements of the PPWR, from the design to the recycling of its packaging solutions and the reuse of secondary raw materials (recyclates).
Following her visit to the Jokey Group, Sabine Verheyen emphasised: „A functioning, practical circular economy is essential in order to make packaging solutions more sustainable - especially in the plastics sector. Jokey is a pioneer in the development of recyclable and climate-friendly packaging and shows what is possible. I will continue to campaign for clear and practicable implementation of legislation to promote innovation in this area.“
The Jokey Group processes thousands of tonnes of recyclate from household packaging collections. The aim of the company is to, to maximise the substitution of virgin plastics in the production of packaging for the non-food industry by 2030.
„We would like to thank Mrs Verheyen for her visit, the good discussion and the open exchange,“ says Jens Stadter, CEO of the Jokey Group. „Giving political decision-makers well-founded insights into our industry, its diverse challenges and the interactions of international markets is a matter of course for Jokey,“ continues Mr Stadter. With its production sites in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, the Jokey Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of rigid plastic packaging.
The central topic of discussion was Article 29 of the PPWR, which calls for the reuse of packaging - including packaging containing residual chemicals or food waste. Jokey takes a very critical view of such an obligation from an ecological, hygienic and economic perspective and does not consider it to be expedient. In its current form, the obligation would pose the risk of inefficient processes that could jeopardise the current progress of the circular economy. Sabine Verheyen emphasised that the concerns of the industry must be heard in the legislative process in order to reconcile environmental policy objectives with economic feasibility.
The meeting with Sabine Verheyen was attended by Ralf Kemmerich (Chairman of the Board of Directors), CEO Jens Stadter, CFO Peter Dörmbach and Sustainability Officer Michael Schmitz.
Source: Jokey Group
