What’s happening with the ban on plastic packaging in Russia

In Russia, this year the use of certain types of plastic packaging will be banned for the first time. So far, the restrictions have affected only certain types of PET packaging, but in the future the authorities are going to expand the list in order to achieve 100% recycling of polymer packaging. Market participants note that it is necessary not only to displace packaging, which due to its properties is difficult to recycle, but also to stimulate demand for recycled products. Thus, it is difficult for secondary polymers to compete with primary raw materials, which is why the implementation of even announced processing plant projects is stalled.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has officially launched the process of banning plastic packaging. On March 25, the Ministry published a document that prohibits the production and use in Russia of translucent PET bottles of all colors, with the exception of blue, green and brown, as well as opaque PET bottles, with the exception of white containers. Multi-layer PET bottles and PET packaging produced using a circular PVC label are also prohibited. From 2025, PET packaging with a label attached using adhesive that is insoluble in aqueous or alkaline solutions will be banned.

Last year, the list of goods that were proposed to be banned or limited was much wider and included 28 items. As Mikhail Katsevman, vice-president of the Russian Union of Chemists and president of the Union of Plastic Processors, stated at the conference “The Second Life of Polymer Materials” in mid-March, if all 28 types of polymer packaging were banned, the volume of raw materials for processing would decrease by about 30%.

Due to complaints from polymer processors and packaging buyers, the authorities have decided to wait to expand the ban.

It is expected that another 17 types of packaging will be banned no earlier than 2030. We are talking about multi-component bag-in-box packaging, flexible vacuum packaging, doypacks, flowpacks, multilayer tubes for toothpaste, nets for vegetables and fruits, etc. It is planned to replace all these products with single-layer and monomaterials that are easier to recycle.

Market participants’ opinions on the upcoming ban are divided. Thus, the general director of the Union of Plastic Processors (UPP) Petr Bazunov notes that the greatest difficulties may arise with limiting the circulation of packaging with a polymer label. According to him, Russia does not produce hot-melt adhesives that are soluble in water or alkali. “In addition, the equipment for gluing labels to bottles is configured specifically to work with polypropylene and hot-melt adhesive. It is impossible to replace the label with a paper one, taking into account the difference in printing and gluing technologies,” points out Mr. Bazunov.

“The state is obliged to develop a clean economy and show business and investors a traffic light not only with a green light, but also with a red light,” argues Sodnom Budatarov, head of the “Management of Production and Consumption Waste” program at the Institute of State Public Administration of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. He expects that in the future there will be a document with a gradation of packaging into non-recyclable, difficult to recycle and recyclable.

The government’s main complaint about certain types of polymer packaging is that it is of no interest to producers and processors of secondary resources, since it is difficult or impossible to recycle. And according to the “garbage reform” launched in 2019 and the parameters of extended producer responsibility approved at the end of last year, in 2027 100% of produced polymer packaging should be recycled into secondary materials.

In general, according to the SPP, Russia generates from 4 million to 6 million tons of plastic waste per year, but current sorting and processing capacities make it possible to allocate no more than 12% of waste suitable for recycling and further use in the production of finished products.

To increase these indicators, an effective chain of waste collectors, sorters and recyclers must be built. In the meantime, an imbalance remains in the recycling sector. On the one hand, polymer processors lack raw materials of suitable quality, and on the other, demand for their products. The National Research University Higher School of Economics points out that the system of separate waste collection in Russia does not yet allow for full utilization of already built plastic processing enterprises.

As noted by the head of EcoPartners (owns the TotalCycle waste processing plant) Konstantin Rzaev, before the imposition of sanctions against Russia, the main driver of consumption of recycled polymers was the principles of sustainable development. Following them, companies sought to add recycled materials to their products, even if it was not cost effective. This practice supported the demand for recyclable materials. Now the ESG factor has faded into the background and, in order to ensure demand for their products, suppliers of recyclable materials are forced to reduce prices. “Unfortunately, we are again forced to come to the model that existed before 2017, when secondary polymers fought for their existence with the help of lower prices compared to primary raw materials,” notes Konstantin Rzaev. Therefore, in his opinion, the state and business need to stimulate the emergence of new consumers of secondary raw materials. So far, about half of the announced projects in the field of plastic waste recycling have not even reached the design stage.

According to the Russian Ecological Operator, coordinator of the waste management reform, in order to achieve the indicators specified in the federal project “Integrated MSW Management System” until 2030, it is necessary to create capacities for processing 22 million tons and recycling 14.2 million tons of waste , as well as the disposal of 11.9 million tons of waste. The total volume of investments required until 2030 is estimated at 450 billion rubles.

But the current results of the reform are not satisfactory for sector participants. “The garbage crisis in the country is still getting worse, landfills are overflowing, the country is plunging into waste, waste recycling is growing slowly, and “garbage reform” is stalling,” says Mikhail Katsevman.

Olga Mordyushenko