Environment and sustainability – October 2020

Rules and regulations in the EU
EU: The EC has launched a consultation on the revision of the packaging and packaging waste directive. According to a review (6.8 MB) by the European Court of Auditors (ECA), EU action is needed to meet plastic packaging recycling targets for 2025 and 2030. The EP has published a draft report (181 kB) supporting the New Circular Economy Action Plan. Austria: The government (in German) has presented a 3-point plan for plastic packaging waste: a reusable quotum, a DRS and a producer's levy. France: The government has presented a proposal (in French, 30 kB) to extend the ban on SUP bags to all plastic bags. Ireland: The government has published a Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy (3.73 MB), including a DRS. NL: The government reports (in Dutch) that the Council of Ministers has approved the draft decree (in Dutch, 306 kB) on deposits on cans and opened a consultation (in Dutch). The State Secretary informed the House of Representatives of this by letter. One of the attachments is research (in Dutch, 1.38 MB) on plastic coatings in cans. The update of the Implementation Programme Circular Economy 2020-2023 has been sent (in Dutch) to the House of Representatives. The government reports (in Dutch) that the draft National Environmental Policy Framework (NMK) has also been sent (in Dutch) to the House of Representatives. The NMK contains principles for updating the entire environmental policy. ACM has drawn up draft guidelines for sustainability claims in order to prevent deception. KIDV (in Dutch) has published a Recycle check for paper and board packaging. It will be sent to you after you have filled in your details. Slovakia: Draft legislation on EPR was sent to the EC. UK: The Scottish government has launched a consultation on banning some SUPs.

Rules and regulations outside the EU
Canada: The government has presented a plan (565 kB) to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030 by banning certain SUPs, minimum recycled content requirements and expanded EPR. Chile: The government has unveiled a new packaging recycling seal (in Spanish). China: Keller and Heckman reports that the government has published a notice (in Chinese) outlining upcoming restrictions on the use of plastics. US: EPA is calling for comments on a draft National Recycling Strategy. APR has published a new testing protocol to determine whether film packaging is compatible with the current recycling infrastructure.

Recycling and plastic waste
McKinsey has published an article entitled The European recycling landscape—the quiet before the storm?. A Milliken study (3.75 MB), published in ACS Macro Letters, highlights technical gaps in achieving circularity for plastics. A study (1.07 MB) by the University of Michigan, published in Environmental Research Letters, shows that one-third of the plastic used in the USA in 2017 was used for the production of packaging. WUR research, published in Frontiers in Environmental Science (1.98 MB), shows that toxic additives are transferred from plastic to fulmars. A University of Exeter seafood study, published in Environmental Science & Technology (1.08 MB), found plastic in all samples. KIDV has published the roadmap Multilayer flexible packaging in a circular economy. You will receive the report by e-mail after filling in your details.

NVC Chair Packaging Design and Management - Two master assignments
On 26 August, Irma Coster held a speech entitled ‘Optimization of multi criteria decision making support tools for packaging’ and a day later, Stijn Eikenaar held a speech entitled ‘Creating an optimization strategy for sustainable packaging’.’ Both speeches were part of their master assignment at University of Twente. Chairman of the assessment committee was prof. Roland ten Klooster who holds the NVC Chair Packaging Design and Management.

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