packaging-makers-‘still-concerned’-about-reuse-targets-in-new-eu-law

The European Commission’s new packaging law has drawn criticism from manufacturers, who warn against a shift of focus from recycling to reusing materials. While the new proposal is watered down, concerns remain.

The Commission’s proposal for a new packaging regulation was met with lukewarm reception from the industry, despite watered down reuse targets compared to earlier versions.

Just 20 days before the Commission tabled its proposal, a group of over 60 associations in the packaging value chain had raised the alarm to express “serious concerns” with the objectives envisaged by the EU executive.

The Commission’s “disproportionate” emphasis on refill and reuse risked jeopardising years of efforts to recycle, including “billions of euros” worth of investments in recycling infrastructure, they warned in a joint statement.

Three weeks later, the tone was more conciliatory.

The Commission proposal “begins to consider the significant contribution of recycling to the circular economy alongside reuse,” said FEFCO, the European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers.

“This recognises the complementarity of both reuse and recycling systems in improving circularity,” the group said in a statement, welcoming the Commission’s “balanced approach” which also includes measures to improve packaging design for recyclability.

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Health and safety concerns

But even though reuse targets were watered down in the Commission’s final proposal, manufacturers are still worried these will undermine existing recycling systems.

“We do still have concerns on reuse targets,” said Eleni Despotou, director general of FEFCO.

“Targets are not necessary for fully recyclable and recycled packaging, which is already applying the circular model,” Despotou told EURACTIV. “The choice between recyclable or reusable packaging should be based on scientific evidence when it can be demonstrated that one option is better for the environment, economy and society,” she said.

EUROPEN, a trade association representing the packaging value chain, insists that refillable packaging should be required to deliver a better environmental outcome in real life conditions compared to single-use alternatives.

To ensure this, reuse targets “should be evaluated according to specific criteria related to hygiene, food health and safety requirements,” the association argues, pointing to “serious shortcomings” in the Commission’s final text.

360° Foodservice, a trade association representing the foodservice packaging sector, said it was disappointed with the Commission proposal, warning it was going “too far too fast” when it comes to reuse targets.

The group, which counts McDonalds and Starbucks among its members, say they “understand the direction of travel” and the need to improve sustainability of packaging, especially for take-away and delivery food.

However, they warn that high targets for reusable packaging risk “opening the doors to unscrupulous players rushing to set up low quality, unsafe and unsustainable reuse systems that would discredit reuse.”

“We’re talking about up to 80% of all takeaway cups and 40% for takeaway food packaging going for reusable packaging,” said Roberta Colotta, secretary general of 360° Foodservice.

“When you scale up new systems or products too quickly, the risk is that there might be operators that will cut corners and put on the market or choose systems that are neither sustainable or safe but they are the cheapest option,” she told EURACTIV.

According to Colotta, there is a precedent with the 2019 single-use plastic directive, which forced restaurants to replace plastic straws with paper ones. European manufacturers made efforts to convert production and make paper drinking straws in compliance with EU standards but they were undercut by cheaper products imported from China that didn’t meet the same standards.

“This is what happens when you impose drastic change and you rush it through – you lower the quality, and you lower the health and safety standards,” Colotta told EURACTIV.

According to the association, there are some European companies active in reuse – mostly small businesses – which are doing it right, making sure that reusable packaging is produced in Europe and not in countries with lower standards.

These companies should be protected from unfair competition, she argues.

She also had a warning for the EU’s Green Deal chief Frans Timmermans, who pressed people to bring their own cups in takeaway restaurants in order to reduce waste.

“When Timmermans says that people will have to bring their own cups to get their coffee, what he is doing is potentially creating a health hazard,” she warned, recalling how the COVID crisis highlighted the health benefits of throw-away products.

“We understand the direction of travel, but we need to do it right,” Colotta said.

“Responsible, safe and sustainable reuse systems managed by the operator can be implemented, but we need time to assess how and when,” she concluded.

Harmonised packaging

In Brussels, EU officials admit that reusable packaging may not be the best solution for all consumer items. Deposit return schemes, for example, work best for glass bottles that can be returned to the retailer. And with harmonised formats introduced for glass bottles, these won’t have to be shipped to the retailer over long distances, officials argue.

“This is what Germany has done for beer bottles,” a senior EU official explained, saying the European Commission will legislate to harmonise the packaging format for a number of items like glass bottles.

“If the same bottle is used by Chouffe in Belgium and San Miguel in Spain, it won’t have to be sent back in Spain [for refilling],” the official argued.

“Let’s focus on these categories where reuse makes most sense from an environmental point of view,” the official said, citing beer and soda bottles as examples of packaging with high reuse targets in the Commission’s proposal.

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[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]

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