Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

At every stage, from manufacturing to consumption, packaging is used for containment and protection, while being designed to catch the eye of consumers and provide them with information, thereby fulfilling a necessary (not to say essential) purpose. Packaging is an important European economic sector, generating a turnover of EUR 355 billion in the EU in 2018.

Encouraged by new consumption practices, it is also an ever-increasing source of waste, the total for the EU having increased from 66 million tonnes in 2009 to 78.5 million tonnes in 2019. In 2020, each European was generating 177 kg of packaging waste, a figure that will increase by 19% to 209 kg in 2030 if nothing is done.

Paper and cardboard are the most common forms of packaging waste (41%), followed by plastic (19.5%), glass (19%), wood (15%), metal (5%) and aluminium. Plastic (+27 %) and paper and cardboard (+25 %) are the two forms of waste that have registered the highest growth since 2009.

In addition, packaging is a major user of virgin materials (40% of plastics and 50% of paper are used for packaging in the EU) and accounts for 36% of municipal solid waste.

In addition to these environmental concerns, the optimal functioning of the internal market is being undermined by differing regulatory approaches and uneven performances at national level. While 64% of packaging is currently being recycled at European level (Eurostat 2020), national divergences remain, with levels ranging from 40% in Romania and Malta to 80% in Belgium, with a European target of 70% for 2030.

These are all factors that justify moving forward with this proposal for a regulation on packaging and packaging waste that was published on 30 November 2022 as part of the European Green Deal seeking to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

I. Commission proposal for a circular packaging economy

In full accordance with the waste hierarchy, the Commission plans to:

 reduce unnecessary packaging by banning certain forms of packaging in the HORECA sector, as well as requiring Member States to reduce waste by 5% in 2030, 10% in 2035 and 15% in 2040 by keeping packaging to a minimum in terms of weight and volume, while maintaining safety and functionality;

 reutilise packaging, with the introduction for the first time in an EU text of re-use and refill targets;

 recycle larger amounts more efficiently, setting various objectives, including recycled content targets for all plastic packaging, and making 100% of packaging recyclable by 2030.

The Commission is also seeking to:

 improve collection rates for packaging by introducing mandatory deposit systems for plastic bottles and aluminium cans;

 widen extended producer responsibility (EPR) to cover all forms of packaging, while a adjusting the financial contribution accordingly.

While the rapporteur concurs with this and indeed wishes to go further with Commission’s ambitious objective of firmly establishing a circular European economy, she believes it necessary to find appropriate responses to remaining concerns as to the effectiveness of the proposed measures.

II. The rapporteur’s priorities

1. Plastic pollution;

Plastic is still being produced on a massive scale. In the absence of measures, a 46% increase in the volume of waste is expected by 2030, and a 61% increase by 2040. It is therefore surprising that the Commission’s proposal does not contain more ambitious measures to reduce waste production, all the more so given the EU’s involvement in the drafting of an international treaty against plastic pollution to be adopted in 2024.

The rapporteur therefore proposes to get to the root of the problem:

 by setting plastic packaging recycled content targets to be achieved by 2030 (similar to measures taken regarding SUPsfor PET bottles);

 by setting specific waste reduction targets for plastic packaging, that is to say 10% by 2030, 15% by 2035 and 20% by 2040;

 by setting a limit on the number of lightweight plastic carrier bags (thickness between 15 and 50 microns) and very lightweight plastic carrier bags (less than 15 microns). The rapporteur is drawing on data provided by Eurostat in November 2022: while the 2015 EU legislation on lightweight plastic carrier bags appears to be bearing fruit, these results are being undermined by the continuing increase in the consumption of very lightweight plastic carrier bags. Corrective measures are manifestly needed here.

2. Mandatory separate collection for packaging

The rapporteur proposes a separate collection target of 90% for 2029 regarding all types of packaging covered by the legislative proposal and no longer only for plastic beverage bottles under the SUP directive, in a bid to increase recycling rates and content in line with the wishes of the sectors concerned.

3. PFASs

PFAs, which are widely used to fireproof or waterproof packaging, particularly food packaging, will be subject to further restrictions under the forthcoming REACH review based on a proposal tabled by four Member States and Norway. The rapporteur would like to take the opportunity to ban PFAS in paper and cardboard food packaging here and now, as Denmark did in 2020 and as Belgium is about to do.

4. Sustainable innovation

While the rapporteur supports the measures being advocated by the Commission to encourage innovation, she would like to take them further and incorporate these core concerns throughout the text:

 adding a digital reference instead of a standard reference;

 promoting sustainable biomass as a key resource for ‘defossilising, the plastics economy;

 including a new definition of ‘innovative polymer’ of biological origin, which neither contains nor generates persistent synthetic polymers microparticles during biodegradation.

5. Re-use mechanisms

The rapporteur wishes to make better use of national best practices (six Member States have already set packaging re-use targets), in order to rethink in depth the system proposed by the Commission based on four radical proposals:

 Making a distinction between re-use and refill targets;

 Removing re-use targets for the food and drink takeaway sector under the current legislation. The rapporteur proposes shifting the obligation incumbent on the HORECA sector as part of a refill system (B2C-Business to Consumer);

 Assigning responsibility for re-use targets to the final distributor in the drinks sector. The rapporteur suggests drawing inspiration from national practices (recent laws in Spain and Austria) which include mandatory re-use targets for the final distributor only and indicative targets for the manufacturer.

 Asking the Commission to assess for 2028 the inclusion of new sectors with significant re-use potential: take-away food and drinks, detergents, hygiene, packaging of prepared meals, pet food.

6. Micro-companies

The Commission provides for a derogation from re-use measures for micro-companies (less than 10 employees and an annual turnover of no more than EUR 2 million), this being left, however, to the discretion of the Member States, which are free to decide whether to ban certain types of packaging, such as single-use packaging in the catering sector.

In order to clarify the situation for these small economic actors, prevent disparities between Member States and avoid an excessive administrative and economic burden, the rapporteur would like to apply this derogation at European level.

7. Legal certainty

The packaging sector, which has a key role to play in bringing about change, is being asked to incorporate the requirements of the regulation, adopting the requisite measures and adapting as necessary, without being given any overview of the criteria to be used. The rapporteur refers here to the impressive number of delegated acts to which the Commission has had recourse and which she is seeking to limit by incorporating the essential requirements into the regulation. She is also seeking to anticipate a series of deadlines with the same objective of legal certainty, which is essential for the success of this (revolutionary) development.

8. Inclusion of e-commerce actors

In line with the German and French legislation, the rapporteur is seeking to ensure that online service providers are bound by the same EPR (extended producer responsibility) obligations as producers as defined in the regulation.

This new regulatory framework provision must set clear parameters for all concerned. This means ensuring that the relevant legislation incorporates firm principles, such as respect for waste hierarchy, fair competition and sustainable innovation.

The EU has everything to gain, starting with better control of its resources and a well-orchestrated and competitive European packaging strategy meeting environmental and social concerns.