Restaurants, recycling, deposits… the EU wants to make packaging even greener
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Compulsory recycling, containers in fast food restaurants, deposit of cans, chemical substances… the European Union finalized on Monday a text to green packaging, while providing important exemptions. Following a compromise with the European Parliament, the text imposes on the Twenty-Seven a binding objective of reducing their volume of packaging waste by 5% by 2030 (compared to 2018), then by 10%. % in 2035 and 15% by 2040. Optional targets specifically concern plastic packaging waste because, if each European produced almost 190 kg of packaging waste in 2021, the figure would increase to 209 kg in 2030, if no further action was taken.
On recycling and instructions
This is the heart of the text: all packaging must be recyclable from 2030 and actually systematically recycled by 2035.
To maximize recycling, at least 90% of packaging materials (wood, aluminum, glass, cardboard, etc.) will have to be collected separately by 2029. This was already the objective set, in principle, for plastic bottles. The text obliges the Twenty-Seven to establish a deposit system for plastic bottles and metal cans by 2029, meeting strict criteria of efficiency and transparency.
But a State may be exempt from this deposit obligation if it achieves a collection rate for this waste exceeding 80% in 2026, with a plan to reach 90% in 2029. According to a parliamentary source, only 4 countries, including Italy and France would be affected. Nine States will have to establish deposit circuits ex nihilo. The 15 states that have already established deposit systems will not be required to change them, provided they achieve a collection rate of 90%. Border regions are encouraged to accept bottles and cans returned to the neighboring state.
Packaging made of wood (boxes of Camembert, oyster baskets, etc.) or wax (cheese) are exempt at this stage from the recycling obligation, as are textiles, rubber, ceramics or porcelain.
On single-use plastic packaging
Single-use plastic containers will be banned by January 1, 2030 in cafes and restaurants, for food and drinks consumed on site. Paper containers will remain authorized. Fast-food giants and paper manufacturers extolled the “ecological” merits of cardboard packaging, recyclable or from sustainable forests, compared to plastic or reuse – which according to them would require using more water and energy: they won their case. Paper sachets of sugar or salt are also spared.
However, other single-use plastic containers will be banned by 2030: miniature shampoo bottles in the hotel industry, sauce pods, plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables, films wrapping suitcases in airports, etc.
The text also prohibits ultralight plastic bags (except for exceptions for health reasons or prevention of food waste) and polystyrene shavings blocking products contained in packages.
The Union had already banned, in 2021, single-use plastic products, such as straws or stirrers of coffee, with more or less success.
“Eternal pollutants” banned in food in two years
The legislation prohibits, from 2026, the addition of perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, the famous PFAS or “eternal pollutants”, in food packaging. These chemical components are omnipresent todayin pizza boxes, fish trays, pastry paper, fruits and vegetables, and even toilet paper, despite scientific warnings about their harmful effects. On the other hand, the agreement does not include the ban on bisphenol-A (endocrine disruptor), which MEPs demanded but which will be addressed in another text. In France, the use of BPA is prohibited in the composition food containers since January 1, 2015, particularly in baby bottles.
Big vagueness on reusable packaging
Legislation sets binding levels of packaging reuse for various sectors (e-commerce, household appliances, drinks, beer, etc.) but there are numerous exceptions or complex rules. Initially envisaged, the objectives of reusable or refillable packaging for takeaway drinks and food disappeared from the final agreement. Restaurant owners will simply be required to accept containers brought by their customers free of charge from 2027, and will have to offer reusable container options themselves.
The wine sector, milk, and microenterprises are exempt, as well as, in general, cardboard packaging. For drinks, several companies could come together to share the objective.
A broad exemption from reuse obligations will be possible if a country exceeds the recycling target already planned by the EU by at least 5 percentage points (65% in 2025), if it is “on track” to reach its waste prevention target and whether it guarantees the adoption of recycling plans by its companies. Italy, which had stubbornly defended its economic model based on a large reverse “reuse” recycling industry, would benefit from the exemption, with an overall recycling rate already exceeding 72%.
The text limits the empty space tolerated in packages, transport boxes and grouped packaging to 50%.
More recycled plastic
The text sets minimum rates of recycled material in the composition of plastic packaging. In beverage bottles, the rate must be at least 30% by 2030, then 65% by 2040.
“Mirror clauses” will be imposed on plastic packaging manufactured outside the EU to ensure that it complies with European standards, and thus avoid the rise of imports of “fake recycled plastic”.
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