As reported by the European Parliament and the European Council, the Council Presidency and the representatives of the European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement on 4 March 2024 on a proposal for a regulation on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR) after the EU Packaging Regulation was initially blocked (take-e-way reported). The agreement is to be regarded as provisional until it is formally adopted by both institutions.
The provisional agreement retains most of the sustainability requirements proposed by the Commission for all packaging placed on the market and the core targets. Here are selected elements of the agreement:
- The requirements for substances contained in packaging will be tightened by introducing a restriction on the placing on the market of packaging that comes into contact with food and contains perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) above certain thresholds
- The core targets for 2030 and 2040 with regard to a minimum recycled content in plastic packaging are retained (compostable plastic packaging and packaging whose plastic content is less than 5% of the total weight of the packaging are to be excluded from these targets)
- three years after the entry into force of the Regulation, the Commission is required to assess the state of technological development of bio-based plastic packaging and, on the basis of this assessment, to establish sustainability requirements for bio-based ingredients in plastic packaging
- For the retail sector, a maximum void fill rate of 50% is set for secondary packaging, transport packaging and packaging for e-commerce
- Producers and importers are obliged to ensure that the weight and volume of the packaging is minimised - unless the design of the packaging is protected (provided this protection was already in force at the time the regulation came into force).
- New binding reuse targets for 2030 and indicative targets for 2040 are set. The targets vary depending on the type of packaging used by economic operators, e.g. transport and sales packaging (excluding packaging for hazardous goods or large appliances and flexible packaging that comes into direct contact with food) and secondary packaging. Cardboard packaging is also generally exempt from these requirements.
- A general, renewable, five-year exemption from meeting the reuse targets will be introduced, which will apply under certain conditions. The new rules also exempt micro-enterprises from meeting these targets and provide for the possibility for economic operators to form pools of up to five final distributors to achieve the reuse targets for beverages.
Next steps: The provisional agreement will be submitted to the representatives of the Member States in the Council (Coreper) and the Parliament's Environment Committee. If the text is approved, it must then be formally adopted by both institutions before it is published in the Official Journal of the EU and enters into force. The regulation will be applied 18 months after its entry into force.
Ntv reports, citing government circles, that the German government will agree to the compromise reached by the Commission, Council and EU Parliament. The VERE Association has also received corresponding information from the circles involved.
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