Environment and sustainability – September 2022
Rules and regulations and other developments in the Netherlands
During an information session (in Dutch with English subtitles) the Packaging Waste Fund gave an overview of the changes for 2023. More information in Dutch is given on the following subjects: the SUP, the definition of 'producer or importer', the EPR commercial waste and the packaging administration. According to research (in Dutch, 1.48 MB) by Plastic Soup Foundation, the Netherlands was EU’s largest exporter of plastic waste to non-OECD countries in 2021. The VVD has asked the House questions (in Dutch) about the news. KIDV has updated the Fact sheet Environmental Claims with a section on plastic-free packaging.
Rules and regulations outside of the Netherlands
EU: As part of the SUP directive, standard EN 17665:2022 to demonstrate that plastic caps and lids remain attached to beverage containers has been published. CEN has also received an EC mandate to start work on standardisation for plastics recycling and recycled plastics. Austria: The government (in German) has given an update on the DRS for plastic bottles and beverage cans to be introduced in 2025. Belgium: A decree leading to VLAREMA 8 (in Dutch) has been published. OVAM (in Dutch) reports that in 2023, companies must switch to transparent bags for their residual waste. France: Resolution n° 205 (in French) has been introduced calling for more restrictions on plastic packaging. Germany: ZSVR has published the 2022 edition of the minimum standard for determining the recyclability of packaging. Ireland: Draft legislation on a levy on single-use disposable cups has been sent to the EC. Kenya: Kenya Plastics Pact has published a roadmap (1.73 MB) to reach their 2030 goal. New Zealand: The government has published guidance for sellers and manufacturers of the SUPs banned from 1 October 2022. Sweden: FTI reports that as of 2024, producers must contract an approved EPR organisation to manage their packaging, according to a new EPR ordinance (in Swedish). Draft legislation on determining EPR fees taking into account recyclability and draft legislation on EPR has been sent to the EC. US: Keller and Heckman reports on the progress of a number of proposed bills to improve recycling accessibility.
Recycling plastics
A report (10.13 MB) by Minderoo Foundation and KPMG shows that establishing systems that enable collecting, sorting and recycling of multiple types of plastic is essential to meeting the EU’s circularity goals. McKinsey has published a report addressing the challenges of plastic waste: circularity and leakage. Another report (1.02 MB) by McKinsey focuses on the carbon footprints of various types of plastics. PNNL researchers have developed a method to convert plastic waste into fuel using less of the precious metal ruthenium, making the catalyst much cheaper. DGIST researchers have developed an eco-friendly filter that removes microplastics from water. Using a new method, Tokyo University of Science researchers have improved the estimation of microplastic contamination in rivers. Ghent University chemist Sibel Ügdüler is developing methods to recycle plastic packaging more cheaply and with higher quality. She was recently awarded the Eos Pipet 2022 (in Dutch) for most promising young researcher.
More research and reports
For his thesis (6.45 MB) at Lund University, Carl Craft performed an LCA study of cosmetic packaging. ECR Community has published a report, that you can download after filling in your details, on how retail & CPG companies are implementing circular economy solutions. Zero Waste Europe has published a Eunomia report (12.24 MB) identifying the main obstacles to the circularity of single-use glass. A University of Salento study (1.13 MB) published in Science of The Total Environment, discusses the effectiveness of DRSs for glass packaging in the EU.
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