As disclosed by EU, the current Directive 94/62/EC on Packaging and Packaging Waste1 (PPWD) failed to reduce the negative environmental impacts of packaging. Part of the reason includes the different regulatory approaches adopted by different Member States, which led to an uneven market supervision and regulatory enforcement situation. Moreover, according to EU, since “40% of plastics and 50% of paper used in EU is for packaging use, EU will see a further 19% increase in packaging waste by 2030.”
The Proposal is applicable to all kinds of packaging and all packaging waste, no matter the waste is from industry, retail, households, etc.
It raised requirements covering the entire life cycle of packaging, from the compliance of packaging itself, to the placement on the market as well as extended producer responsibilities (EPR) for post-consumer packaging waste.
The Proposal has three specific objectives, “to reduce the generation of packaging waste; to promote a circular economy for packaging in a cost-efficient way; and to promote the uptake of recycled content in packaging”.
