Environment and sustainability – October 2021
Rules and regulations in the EU
The EC has published Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1752 for the reporting on the separate collection of SUP drink bottles. The EC welcomes a new step taken by the Circular Plastics Alliance to ensure recyclability of 26 plastic products (including packaging) that altogether account for over 60% of plastic waste collected. RecyClass has published a Sorting Protocol for Plastic Packaging. France: The government (in French) has announced regulations (in French) forbidding selling fruit and vegetables packaged in plastic as of 1 January 2022. Citeo (in French) has announced that the new waste sorting instructions Info Tri (in French) have been approved. A draft decree on consumer information on environmental qualities and characteristics has been sent to the EC. Part of the decree is a specification of the prohibition of the words ‘environmentally friendly’ and ‘biodegradable’. The government has launched a public consultation (in French) on the draft decree on the minimum of reused packaging to be placed on the market annually. Germany: The government (in German) is amending the Biowaste Ordinance (in German) to minimise plastic in organic waste. Italy: A draft decree transposing the SUP directive has been sent to the EC. Latvia: A draft law aligning the DRS regulations with EU regulations has been sent to the EC. NL: The Packaging Waste Fund fees for 2022 have been published. The State Secretary has given answers (in Dutch) to questions about the DRS for plastic bottles. Milieu Centraal (in Dutch) and PRN have developed a new paper separation guide (in Dutch) for consumers. CBL (in Dutch) has published a position paper (in Dutch, 616 kB) on sustainable packaging. The government has published a study (in Dutch, 4.7 MB) on possibilities for increasing the use of reusable packaging in supermarkets. Romania: The government (125 kB) has approved regulations for a DRS for one-way drink packaging. Spain: The government (in Spanish) has opened a public consultation on draft regulations that transposes the SUP-directive among other things. Part of the decree is a ban of plastic packaging for fruits and vegetables.
Rules and regulations outside the EU
A report (12.13 MB) by IPEN proposes a stronger ASEAN response to fight global waste dumping. Australia: APCO has published a guide (469 kB) to support organisations to use more recycled content in their packaging. China: The government has unveiled a plan on controlling plastic pollution over the next five years. India: A Guidance on Single-Use Plastics (684 kB) has been published. WWF reports the launch of the India Plastics Pact. Kenya: The Kenya Plastics Pact has been launched. New Zealand: The government has released the National Plastics Action Plan 2021-2024 (4.3 MB). UK: The government has published new amendments to the Environment Bill and has updated the policy paper on the Plastic Packaging Tax that will take effect from 1 April 2022. The Competition and Markets Authority has published the Green Claims Code (505 kB). US: Keller and Heckman reports that California Governor Newsom has signed SB 343 declaring the “chasing arrows symbol” or any other symbol indicating recyclability, to be deceptive unless at least 60% of the population can recycle the packaging locally.
More news on the environment
WPO (576 kB) has published a global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide (7.48 MB). HolyGrail 2.0 has reached its first milestone with the successful validation of the project's first prototype detection sorting unit. Pro Carton has commissioned a study (18.13 MB) that compares the carbon footprint of carton packaging with plastic alternatives. A Hereon study, published (2.86 MB) in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters, shows that microplastics can serve as a transport vehicle for metals.
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