EU can manufacturers contest new packaging reuse rules
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Liz Newmark speaks to experts in the metal packaging industry about their views on the European Commission’s proposal for new regulation on packaging and packaging waste
The European Commission’s new proposal for a European Union (EU) packaging and packaging waste regulation, released in November 2022, contains unrealistic reuse and refill targets, European can industry experts have told CanTech International. Their comments come as negotiations begin between the Commission – the EU’s executive, the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers on securing agreement over the draft text.
And the text really matters, because this law is couched as an EU regulation, which is directly applicable in all 27 member states, rather than the packaging and packaging waste directive that it replaces, that gives these national governments more leeway over implementation. The regulation – if approved, as is expected, albeit with some amendments – will set mandatory EU-wide targets for companies to ensure their products are provided in reusable or refillable packaging: “This is proposed for sectors where this makes most sense,” a Commission memorandum said.
For example, drinks businesses will have to offer 20% and 80% of their cold and hot takeaway beverages in reusable packaging – or enable consumers to bring their own containers for refilling – by 2030 and 2040 respectively.
Under the law, EU beer and other alcoholic drinks manufacturers and final distributors (except wine businesses) would have to sell 10% of their goods in refillable containers by 2030 and 25% by 2040. Wine sellers would have a lower refill target of 5% by 2030 and 15% by 2040. For takeaway prepared meals from restaurants, the refill targets are set at 10% by 2030 and 40% by 2040.
“In the absence of regulation to protect reuse and refillable markets, there has been a steep decline in reusable packaging over the past 20 years,” said Adalbert Jahnz, the Commission’s spokesperson for environment. “The essence of the proposals is to suggest a new form of economy based more on reuse than on single-use packaging.”
But metal packaging organisations say that the EU proposals fail to acknowledge that reusable and “highly recyclable” one-way packaging are complementary and necessary ways of achieving the circular economy goals of the European Green Deal, the current Commission’s pro-environment umbrella policy. “The former should not replace or compromise the latter,” European industry association, Metal Packaging Europe (MPE), said when the proposal was released.
“We remain concerned about the relatively high and unjustified refill quota, for which the Commission has not provided any environmental impact study,” commented Maarten Labberton, director packaging group at European Aluminium (EA).
European food industry association FoodDrinkEurope’s senior manager of public affairs, Silvia Lofrese, agreed. She said such targets should be set at EU level “to allow a first gathering of data; then, at a second stage, targets at member state level could be established – thus being evidence based and following an impact assessment.”
In addition, the proposal fails to cover the full scope of reusable solutions currently available on the EU market for cans and other beverage packaging, including refill-at-home solutions which also play a role in cutting beverage packaging waste, said Nicholas Hodac, director general of European industry association UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe.
Hodac also said the proposal failed to ensure that the design of the measures will guarantee positive environmental outcomes, but instead would lead to “dramatic economic consequences,” – and not in the positive.
The reuse goals are particularly damaging for the metal packaging industry, Hodac argued. “The targets may have for example a detrimental impact on companies that are only or mainly using (and have invested heavily in) 100% recyclable aluminium cans and that are committed to ensure those are collected at [a] 90% [collection rate].
“Today, the aluminium beverage cans sector recycles three out of four cans, with an ambition to reach 100% recycling by 2030 with the help of well-designed deposit return systems (DRS),” he said. Current metal recycling rates are already high: with 73% of aluminium beverage cans and 85.5% of steel packaging recycled in 2020, according to MPE’s latest data.
Hodac also said the timing by when the calculation methodology for the reuse and refill targets will be developed is unrealistic, “currently set for December 2028, while the first targets are due by 2030.”
To be effective, Hodac called for the calculation method to be made available to businesses at least five years ahead of the first deadline, to allow the sector to plan. In short: “The proposed revision of the EU legislation on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR) seems to be a missed opportunity,” as Kale Symons, MPE communication manager, told CanTech International.
“MPE hopes legislators will amend this text to ensure a level playing field among packaging materials. Any proposals regarding reuse and waste prevention should be evidence-based.”
Meetings are already taking place with Belgian liberal group MEP Frédérique Ries, who will lead discussions for the European Parliament (EP). An EP official informed CanTech International that her report, including proposed amendments, is due in April. The first discussion at the EP committee on environment, public health and food safety is scheduled for early May.
“It is hard to predict when the proposal will be adopted and turn into law as it is not completely fixed when the proposal will be discussed by the EP and Council and discussions may take more than one round,” said Jahnz, but the process is likely to take until at least the end of 2024.
What is certain is the amount of production and income at stake in a huge European metal can market. Each year, some 98 billion units are produced for the EU beverage, food, health and beauty, household and industrial markets, MPE says. This means that, on average, every EU citizen consumes four units per week.
FoodDrinkEurope further notes the “administrative and cost burdens the proposal places on companies, particularly Europe’s 289,000 food and drink SMEs [small-and-medium sized enterprises],” should the law be passed in its current form.
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Despite overwhelming opposition to its reuse and refill targets, and concern about the packaging and packaging waste regulation proposal’s economic impact, reactions have not been all negative, however. The metal packaging sector applauds the legal instrument change from a directive to a regulation to facilitate a harmonised approach to packaging across EU member states, including for sorting and minimum requirements for deposit return systems (DRS) – that are also approved by industry.
“European Aluminium is very much in favour of deposit return systems,” Labberton said. “With DRS across Europe ultimately by 1 January 2029, we should be able to meet our joint roadmap (MPE plus EA) goal towards 100% of can recycling by the year 2030.
“However, these DRS should be balanced and have at least variable deposit fees (a lower one for small containers up to 50cl and higher fees for one litre or more), no cross subsidies between the materials covered in DRS and a not-for-profit neutral DRS operator which should directly sell the collected used beverage cans (UBCs) on behalf of participating retailers and fillers to the aluminium recyclers for can-to-can remelting,” he said.
“We also welcome the continued focus given to extended producer responsibility (EPR) and the proposed rule whereby EPR fees shall be modulated based on recycling performance grades, also taking into account ‘multiple recyclable’ versus ‘limited recyclable’ packaging.
“This is why most EPR systems generally apply lower EPR fees for our materials, also considering the positive scrap value of well-sorted aluminium, steel and glass,” said Labberton.
“We are convinced that permanent materials like aluminium will qualify for class A, the highest performance grade [and so reduced EPR fees] in the Commission proposal.”
Alexis Van Maercke, secretary general of the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging (Apeal), welcomed the proposal as a “step in the right direction,” for example the introduction of packaging recyclability ‘performance classes or grades’ for each packaging unit, with best performers rewarded via “ecomodulation” [lower EPR fees].
“As steel drums, pails and canisters are primary not transport packaging, they should not be subject to reuse and refill targets,” he added. These targets will mainly apply to aluminium cans, as they dominate the food and beverage can market at around 80% aluminium, 20% steel, according to Spanish can manufacturing information service, Mundolatas.
Van Maercke, however, called for stricter qualitative criteria to label packaging as “recyclable,” and said, “recycled content targets should only apply to materials with a low demand and uptake of recyclates.”
Apeal is also calling for the packaging and packaging waste regulation reform to be complemented by a revision of the EU landfill directive 99/31/EC, to accelerate the phase-out of the landfilling of packaging waste.
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