Key talking points from the proposed EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation
by Aaron Sarah at 16:23 in Circular Economy, Emerging, Packaging under Environmental
After much speculation and anticipation, the EU has released its proposed Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, a revision to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD). One of the key changes within the proposal is a change in legal standing, turning it into a 'Regulation' and not a 'Directive'. This means that if implemented, the new regula...
The EU proposes Direcitve to reduce the impact of certain plastic products on the environment
by Ellen Thornton at 14:43 in Circular Economy, Emerging, Packaging under Environmental
On 18th January, the Council of the European Union published the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment. The objective of this proposal is to prevent and reduce the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, in particular the aquatic e...
European Parliament votes to back ban on single-use plastics
by Ellen Thornton at 14:14 in Emerging, Environmental, Packaging under Environmental
On 24th October, the European Parliament voted to back an EU ban on throwaway plastics by 2021. Items such as plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks will be banned if approved by the Member States ministers at the next stage of talks. In addition, MEPs added oxo-plastics and certain polystyrenes to the to the ban proposed by the commission. Furthermore, ...
Packaging Waste and Sustainability Forum 2018
by Ellen Thornton at 14:58 in Circular Economy, Emerging, Environmental, Packaging under Environmental
On the 5th, 6th and 7th of June this year, the annual packaging waste and sustainability forum was held in Brussels. The days were filled with interesting talks from members of the European Commission, producers and retailers, industry representatives and producer responsibility organisations (PROs) who addressed topics such as the new EU recycling target...
Amendments to circular economy draft opinion
by Ellen Thornton at 11:04 in Circular Economy, Emerging, Environmental, Packaging under Environmental
On the 8th March, the European Parliament published amendments to the Cohesion policy and the circular economy draft opinion. The amendments include numerous changes and several new paragraphs concerning implementation of the circular economy in Member States and the impact of China's new restrictions. The amendments bring a focus onto the need fo...
The EU Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference Blog
by Ellen Thornton at 08:41 in Circular Economy, Emerging, Environmental under Environmental
On the 20th and 21st February, the European Commission held an EU Stakeholder Conference on the circular economy. The conference aimed to address the challenges and opportunities in delivering the circular economy through plenary sessions, a number of break out sessions and keynote speeches. The first plenary session discussed the EU Strategy for Plastic...
Circular Economy package update
by Ellen Thornton at 08:05 in Circular Economy, Emerging, Environmental, Packaging under Environmental
On 18th December, the Estonian presidency reached a provisional agreement with representatives of the European Parliament on all four legislative proposals of the waste package. The revised circular economy package was presented by the European Commission on 3rd December 2015 with four waste legislative proposals of the waste package and an Action Plan in...
Understanding packaging waste complexities
by Michelle Carvell at 09:42 in Battery, Environmental, Packaging, WEEE under Environmental
The EU's focus on resource preservation and reuse has put manufacturers under increasing pressure over the past two decades to meet strict legislative requirements on environmental reporting. However, the compliance process can be a tricky path to navigate – especially when reporting requirements differ in each country.Manufacturers across Europe have bee...