New Key Analysis of EU Packaging Regulations

On March 15, 2024, the President of the European Council and representatives of the European Parliament reached a temporary political agreement on a proposal to regulate packaging and packaging waste. Its purpose is to address the issue of increased packaging waste generated by the European Union, while coordinating the internal packaging market and promoting a circular economy. This proposal considers the entire lifecycle of packaging. It has established requirements to ensure packaging safety and sustainability, requiring all packaging to be recyclable and minimizing the presence of substances of concern. It also established label coordination requirements to improve consumer information. According to the waste classification system, the proposal aims to significantly reduce the generation of packaging waste by setting binding reuse targets, restricting certain types of disposable packaging, and requiring economic operators to minimize the use of packaging.

The agreement to be reached is a temporary agreement, awaiting formal approval from both institutions.

Main content of the agreement

Sustainability requirements and recycled components in packaging

The text of the temporary agreement retains most of the sustainability requirements for all packaging on the market and the overall goals proposed by the committee. It strengthens the requirements for substances in packaging and restricts the market release of food contact packaging containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exceeding a certain threshold. In order to avoid overlapping with other legislation, the joint legislators instructed the committee to evaluate whether it is necessary to modify the restriction within four years from the date of implementation of the regulation.

This temporary agreement maintains the overall goal of minimum recycling content in plastic packaging by 2030 and 2040. The co legislators agreed to exclude compostable plastic packaging and packaging with plastic components accounting for less than 5% of the total packaging weight from these targets. The European Commission will have to review the implementation of the 2030 targets and assess the feasibility of the 2040 targets. The agreement also calls on the committee to evaluate the technological development status of bio based plastic packaging three years after the regulation comes into effect, and to develop sustainability requirements for bio based plastic packaging based on the evaluation results. The content in plastic packaging.

The new regulations will reduce unnecessary packaging, set the maximum vacancy rate for grouped packaging, transport packaging, and e-commerce packaging at 50%, and require manufacturers and importers to ensure that the weight and volume of packaging are minimized, except for protected packaging designs (provided that such protection has already taken effect on the date of the regulation).

Reuse goals and fulfill obligations again

This text sets new binding reuse targets for 2030 and indicative targets for 2040. These objectives vary depending on the type of packaging used by the operator: alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (excluding wine and aromatic wine, milk, and other highly perishable beverages), transportation and sales packaging (excluding packaging for dangerous goods or large equipment, and flexible packaging in direct contact with food), and grouped packaging. Cardboard packaging is usually not subject to these requirements.