Environment and sustainability – August 2021
Developments in the Netherlands
The Green Deal for coffee pods and tea bags in with food waste has been sent to the EC and KIDV (in Dutch) has added two icons for this to the Disposal Guide. The Dutch government has opened a consultation for a new Packaging Reporting Scheme. A WUR report (in Dutch, 3.19 MB) examines which beverage packaging could be better recycled with a DRS. In a policy brief (in Dutch, 1.27 MB), PBL (in Dutch) formulates building blocks for a circular economy. NRK (in Dutch) responded in a letter (in Dutch, 475 kB) to the State Secretary. KIDV has launched the Sustainable Packaging Compass and a test protocol on the releasability of labels and adhesives on PP and PE packaging. CBS (in Dutch) reports the largest increase in household waste in almost 25 years in 2020. A CE Delft report (in Dutch, 1.37 MB) examines the effects of a national tax on virgin plastics.
Developments in the rest of the world
EU: The EC has opened a public consultation on rules for protecting the marine environment. Australia: The government has fast-tracked Western Australia’s Plan for Plastics by four years. Belgium: OVAM gives an overview (in Dutch) of amendment 8 (in Dutch) of the Vlarema. France: Draft legislation on the minimum of reused packaging and on criteria for ending the waste status for paperboard has been sent to the EC. The first annual report (in French, 1.82 MB) on the national pact on plastic packaging (in French) has been published. Germany: A report (in German, 2.56 MB) by UBA (in German) shows that the target of 70% beverages in returnable bottles was not met in 2019 (41.8%). Ireland: The government has published a Circular Economy Bill (491 kB). Italy: Rethink Plastic and others have reported Italy to the EC for exempting biodegradable and compostable plastics from the transposition of the SUP directive. Malta: Draft legislation transposing the SUP directive has been sent to the EC. New Zealand: The government has announced that some plastics and six SUPs will be phased out by July 2025. Norway: The government (in Norwegian) has announced mandatory labelling for several SUPs. Philippines: The House has approved a bill banning certain SUPs. Portugal: A number of comments have been issued on draft legislation sent to the EC about marking certain packaging, including the prohibition of the ‘tidy-man’ symbol. Sweden: Draft legislation transposing the SUP directive has been sent to the EC. UK: RECOUP has updated its Recyclability by Design guidelines for plastic. Ukraine: SGS reports that a law (in Ukrainian) prohibiting certain plastic bags has been published. US: SPC has launched an interactive guide to EPR bills. A Keller and Heckman article looks at EPR bills in Ontario, Maine and Oregon. The U.S. Plastics Pact has revealed a Roadmap to 2025 (5 MB).
Research
In an article (760 kB) published in Science Advances, WUR scientists conclude that 1% of rivers worldwide shed almost 80% of plastic emissions. Research (761 kB) by Washington State University, published in the Journal of World Systems Research, shows that plastic waste has some economic benefit for developing countries. FPE (133 kB) reports on an LCA study (summary, 886 kB) on pouches used for pasta sauce and olives. Recently four speeches were held as part of master assignments at University of Twente. Thijs van der Linden: Translating strategic sustainability goals into Eco-design practices in the metal packaging development process, Joerie te Grotenhuis: Developing a strategy for sustainable packaging solutions for the livestock and animal nutrition sector, Sebastiaan Althof: Developing a method for reusable packaging design and a supporting design tool and Femke Veldhuis: Development of a framework and method to formulate a sustainable packaging development strategy. Chairman of the assessment committee was prof. Roland ten Klooster who holds the NVC Chair Packaging Design and Management.
NVC members receive this information with all the relevant links in the monthly NVC Members-only Update. If you have any questions, please contact us: info@nvc.nl, +31-(0)182-512411