Communicator
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Kokel, Nicolas
Message
2025/02/10 07:18 AM
The legislation will officially come into force on Feb. 11, 2025. EU regulations become binding upon publication on the Official Journal. All member states are required to comply with the regulation. The PPWR will apply from August 12, 2026, 18 months after the regulation comes into force. The European Parliament approved the final PPWR text in November 2024. The document is available in all EU languages. The EU Parliament had approved a preliminary version of the legislation on April 24, 2024, with 476 votes in favour, 129 against, and 24 abstentions. That version of the text only included a version in English and hadn’t undergone the required legal-linguistic review. The PPWR includes packaging reduction targets (5% by 2030, 10% by 2035 and 15% by 2040) and require EU countries to reduce, in particular, the amount of plastic packaging waste. Under the new rules, all packaging, except for lightweight wood, cork, textile, rubber, ceramic, porcelain and wax, will have to be recyclable by fulfilling strict criteria. It introduces, as of 2030, a recyclability performance grade scale from A to C stating the extent to which packaging is considered recyclable, being 95% grade A, 80% grade B, and 70% grade C. The legislation includes provisions on recycling targets of 50% for plastic packaging by 2025 and 55% by 2030 and foresees recycled content targets for all types of plastic packaging, with the most demanding ones set for 2040 – including 65% recycled content for SUP beverage bottles, 50% for PET contact-sensitive packaging, and 65% for other packaging. By 2029, 90% of single use plastic and metal beverage containers up to three litres will have to be collected separately, via deposit-return systems or other solutions that ensure the collection target is met. Throughout the two long years after the first draft PPWR was introduced, the text has generated a lot of controversy. Some industry groups claim the legislation lacks ‘material neutrality’ by singling-out plastics, whilst others argue that secondary legislation will be required to make it work. |
