The EU is on the cusp of mandating a plastic resurgence

Just as the world takes a major step in turning the tide on plastic pollution with a global treaty, the European Union is on the cusp of agreeing new regulations that could flood the market with millions of tonnes of new plastic.

Well intended but misguided amendments have been put forward on the Commission’s proposal for a Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which are now being debated in the European Parliament.

These amendments undermine the spirit of the regulation by trying to introduce mandatory reuse targets for cardboard, a material that is often unsuitable for multiple reuses. If accepted, these amendments would push economies away from the most recycled packaging materials and towards plastic alternatives, embedding a plastic economy into the market.

For example, FEFCO (European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers) calculates that these amendments would flood the supply chain with 8.1bn new plastic crates weighing 12mn tonnes. To ensure their suitability for reuse, some of those new plastic crates will need to be cleaned, requiring 16bn litres of water to wash just half of them, a resource no country can afford to waste.
more at: https://www.dssmith.com/media/our-stories/2023/6/the-eu-is-on-the-cusp-of-mandating-a-plastic-resurgence

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