November 29, 2024 17:07
With the favorable vote of the European Parliament's Environment Committee (ENVI) on the linguistic adjustments to the text ('corrigendum'), the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) was formally adopted on November 28, as no explicit vote was requested by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
The PPWR was previously approved by the European Parliament on April 24. Since then, the text has been refined linguistically and legally, as well as in its definitions, but not in its substance, and is now available in multiple languages, not only English.
To avoid bureaucratic delays, the regulation was adopted through a tacit approval procedure: the text is considered approved if no political group or at least 36 MEPs request a vote within 24 hours, which did not occur.
After the formal ratification by the EU Council, expected in December, and its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (likely in January), the new packaging regulation will come into force 20 days later, without requiring adoption by Member States. Its application, however, will begin after a transition period of 18 months.
Virginia Janssens, Managing Director of Plastics Europe, a European association of plastic producers, was among the first to express appreciation for the vote, describing it as "critical to accelerating the transition of the European plastics system to circularity and net zero." However, Janssens also voiced concerns about the EU's declining competitiveness, as highlighted in the latest Plastics – the Fast Facts report.
The new regulation mandates a reduction in the amount of packaging placed on the market: 5% by 2030, 10% by 2035, 15% by 2040.
All packaging must be recyclable and, for the most part, effectively recycled. The regulation bans certain single-use plastic packaging starting in 2030, prohibits the use of PFAS in food packaging, and mandates the use of bioplastics for specific items. It also sets minimum recycled content targets, promotes reuse, and requires the establishment of deposit-return systems for certain types of packaging.
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