EU regulates packaging new

Draft of the European Packaging Regulation PPWR presented. The Green Dot supports with information offers.

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The EU is pursuing ambitious plans to bring the sustainability of packaging to a top level within a defined period of time. This is shown by the draft of the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) presented at the end of November 2022. The original directive, which must first be "transposed" into national law by each member state, will become a regulation. This means that the regulations will automatically come into force in all 27 EU member states within the deadlines specified in the text of the regulation, uniformly twenty days after publication in the official EU journal. This deprives the member states of the leeway that a directive would leave them to adapt European law to national circumstances.

 

The new regulations have it all: for example, from 2030 packaging may no longer be placed on the market if it does not achieve a certain minimum level of recyclability. The weight, volume and empty space of packaging will be reduced to the necessary minimum - packaging whose design aims to "increase the perceived volume of the product", e.g. through a double bottom, will be banned.

 

Other important regulatory areas for Green Dot customers

 

The EU wants to reduce the consumption of resources by packaging and improve the recyclability of packaging. Therefore, it will set further targets that Green Dot customers will also have to adapt to:

  • There will be concrete targets for the avoidance of packaging waste, e.g. the reduction of per capita waste generation.

  • Plastic packaging will have to be made partly from recycled materials. For this, there will be differentiated recyclate use quotas, also for contact-sensitive packaging.

 

The increased administrative effort associated with the PPWR should not be underestimated, such as the required preparation of comprehensive declarations of conformity at the packaging level.

 

Waste separation to become easier for consumers

 

With the PPWR, the EU Commission also has input security in mind, because the correct separation of used packaging is the ticket to a functioning circular economy. As a result, EU-wide requirements for the labelling of packaging are to make it easier for consumers to separate waste. Uniform pictograms on the packaging and on the respective country-specific recyclable material containers will clearly identify the type of material.

 

Use the information services of the Green Dot

 

After the publication of the PPWR draft by the European Commission, it will now first be discussed in the European Parliament. Adoption of the regulation is not expected before the end of 2023. If you want to avoid cost-intensive adjustments to operational processes by reacting too late, you should familiarise yourself with the regulatory density of the PPWR today, despite the transitional periods. In February and April 2023, Green Dot will be offering online events on the European Packaging Ordinance PPWR to help with this. Green Dot experts will provide information on the planned deadlines, some of which could have serious consequences for obligated companies. These events will only take place in German.