Reusables relapse? NGOs question European Parliament’s circularity ambition after waste reform exclusion

20 Jul 2023 --- Members of the European Parliament met to vote on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) revision yesterday with the topic of reusables taking center stage. The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) has disapproved of the voting results, which suggest politicians “aim to favor the throwaway packaging industry and undermine measures to curtail record levels of waste.”

The EEB reported that the updated voting eliminated all reuse targets previously set for the hotel, restaurant and cafe sectors and all 2040 reuse targets across sectors. Other provisions removed in the PPWD revision were mandatory deposit return systems (DRS) for beverages and “most of the measures to tackle unnecessary packaging,” says the EEB.

Environmental organization Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) aligns with the EEB, claiming that the votes lead the industry further from a reusable economy and provide more leeway for packaging waste.

“The outcome of today’s vote contradicts the parliament’s commitments to the circular economy and the Green Deal. Up to now, EU policies have focused on managing waste rather than preventing it, leading us to a packaging waste growth of 20% in 10 years. The need for ambitious waste prevention and reuse targets is unquestionable,” Larissa Copello, packaging and reuse policy officer at ZWE, tells Packaging Insights. 

“It is very unfortunate that some industry players and members of parliament are not seeing the opportunity behind the reuse targets, which has amazing potential for producers to achieve both resource and cost efficiency for their packaging. We hope the European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety will correct the course and adopt a text that seizes the opportunity for reuse and waste prevention.” 

Packaging industry members raise concerns over reuse models' carbon footprint.However, leading packaging companies have raised concerns about the ecological effects of reuse models due to the water and energy consumption needed for collection and cleaning. 

A step backwards?
The EEB insists that the PPWD revision in its current form will continue to offer derogations, loopholes and no legal certainty to the packaging market, undermining the EU’s objective to make all packaging reusable or recyclable by 2030.

 “The removal of waste prevention measures will make it impossible for member states to deliver on waste prevention targets also included in the proposal,” the bureau says.

However, Rachel Sheldon, sustainability and innovation manager at Greiner Packaging UK and Ireland, previously told Packaging Insights: “If you look at the carbon footprint and water usage for these [reuse] systems, there’s clearly a need for some single-use products.”

Annika Sundell, EVP for innovation and business development at Walki, echoed the concern: “We have seen in different LCAs that reusable packaging is not always the best option if you take a holistic view on sustainability.”

A 2021 LCA revealed that transitioning quick-service-restaurant dining to reusable tableware would be equivalent to adding one million petrol cars to Europe’s roads. The reusable system was found to generate almost three times more CO2-equivalent emissions and consume about three and a half times more freshwater than the paper-based single-use system.

Room for optimismZero Waste Europe calls the most recent PPWD vote contradictory to the circular economy. 
The European Parliament’s Committees on Industry, Research and Energy, Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and Agriculture and Rural Development Committees voted on their respective reports on the PPWD. The final decision lies with the Environment Committee, which will vote in September. 

A vote in the IMCO Committee overturned a draft report by France’s right-wing member of parliament Virginie Joron (Identity and Democracy Group) by an alternative compromise text tabled by a conservative, socialist, liberal and green coalition.

The alternative amendments included more substantial requirements on online marketplaces to ensure compliance with extended producer responsibility fees. The EEB says this overturning “offered a glimmer of hope for the regulation.”

“The vote by the industry committee undermines the objectives of the regulation without offering any credible solutions to reduce packaging waste,” concludes Marco Musso, senior policy officer at the EEB. 

“The environment committee and the parliament must reject this irresponsible attempt to defend wasteful practices, leading to record levels of packaging waste and pollution. Decision-makers should resist vested interest and seize this opportunity to promote more [environmentally] sustainable packaging practices.”

By Sabine Waldeck