APEAL, The Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging, has published its position on the draft Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and will use an appearance at Interpack to call for a series of amendments to be made to help fully close the material cycle.
Visitors to the Interpack trade show, taking place in Düsseldorf till 10 May, can join speakers, including Alexis Van Maercke, secretary general of APEAL, at the 8 May event in Hall 7A booth B27 from 3pm local time.
APEAL fully supports the European Commission’s (EC) objective that all packaging on the EU market be reusable or recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030, as stipulated by the Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) 2.0. and in November 2022, cautiously welcomed the general approach of the PPWR published by the EC.
Alexis Van Maercke, said: “Packaging plays an essential role in protecting and preserving resources such as food and reducing waste. But the value of this role can be obscured by the impact of poor recyclability and ineffective recycling. APEAL believes the European Commission has taken a bold step to address some of these issues through this revised PPWR legislation.
“The transition to a regulation that acknowledges, and rewards, real recycling is an important step in the drive to achieve a truly circular economy. APEAL has prepared a full set of recommendations and amendments to improve the PPWR proposal.
“Stricter qualitative criteria should apply to packaging labeled as ‘recyclable’, while the introduction of packaging recyclability performance grades is timely and necessary. Non-recyclable packaging should be gradually phased out. Best performers should be rewarded via ecomodulation of EPR fees which reflect the real cost of collection, sorting and recycling.
“In addition, waste reduction targets should be set for each of the specific materials contained in packaging waste while formats such as steel pails, drums, canisters and kegs are sales packaging and should not be subject to the re-use targets set for transport packaging.
“APEAL supports the choice for a Regulation and a full ‘internal market legal base’ for the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (article 114 TFEU) and the steel for packaging sector believes that the review of the PPWR should be complemented by a review of the Landfill Directive 99/31/EC, aiming at accelerating the phase-out of landfill of packaging waste.
“Steel scrap is simply too valuable to end up in landfill.”
APEAL says it looks forward to working with the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Member States, and all relevant stakeholders to deliver upon this ambitious legislation, enabling Europe to move decisively towards a greener and more circular economy to be adopted before the 2024 European elections.
APEAL’s position paper can be downloaded here.
(PSA’s team of Naresh Khanna, Shardul Sharma, Ron Augustin, and Nessan Cleary are present at Interpack to bring you exclusive stories, insights, and scoops from the ground.)
