The ongoing consultation for the approval of the European Commission’s proposal regarding the revision of the Directive on Packaging, Packaging Waste and Plastic Waste Recycling is critical for the Plastics Industry. The goal is for all packaging on the European market to be reusable or recyclable (in an economically viable way) by 2030. To achieve the above goal, it is proposed to increase the use of recycled plastic in packaging as well.
For this reason, businesses in the sector both at European and national level are asking for incentives to accelerate the necessary investments that will ensure the recyclability of all plastic packaging, encourage the reuse of materials and increase recycled content, offering a true Circular Economy for plastics in Europe.
The primary objective is to reduce packaging waste by 15% by 2040 per capita per member state (with a reference year of 2018). This will lead to an overall reduction of waste in the EU by around 37%.
In addition, deposit refund systems for plastic packaging of water and soft drinks should also start operating immediately. In 2025, 65% of all packaging waste must be recycled, while individual targets are set for each of the packaging materials. The above proposals are expected to be integrated into the European institutional framework in 2023.
