European waste management and recycling associations today called on the European Commission to ensure that the implementing act it is developing for the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) leads to favoured status for European-made recyclates in European-made packaging.
It called for a ‘Made in Europe' approach, meaning that it is more favourable for recycled content requirements for European-produced packaging to be met by recycled plastic resin made from waste collected and recycled in Europe. It pointed to the recent implementing act for the EU Single-Use Plastic Directive as an example.
For packaging made outside Europe, the associations said that recycled resin should only count towards the recycled content targets if the commission deems the country of origin to meet EU standards for environmentally sound waste management. They added that the recycling facility that produces the pellets should also have to be independently certified to prove that it complies with the environmental, operational and traceability requirements that EU recyclers must meet, for recyclates to count towards post-consumer resin targets.
The commission had called for evidence last month on PPWR recycled content rules, inviting EU and non-EU stakeholders to submit feedback on the topics by 16 September. It plans to publish a draft implementing act after the consultation, with final adoption planned for the fourth quarter.
