Packaging waste regulation offers a final test of Europe’s commitment to the Green Deal

 

In the face of an escalating packaging waste crisis, European citizens and circular businesses are still eagerly waiting for the EU institutions to finally deliver credible rules to stop the growth of throwaway packing, writes Marco Musso.

Marco Musso is Senior Policy Officer for Circular Economy at the European Environmental Bureau (EEB),  a network of around 180 environmental citizens’ organisations based in more than 40 countries. He wrote this op-ed on behalf of the coalition of environmental NGOs working on the EU rules to cut packaging waste.

The proposal for a Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation in November 2022 marked an important step in the right direction by putting forward binding packaging waste reduction targets as well as concrete measures to get rid of unnecessary packaging and promote reuse.

Unsurprisingly, this was met with opposition from those interested in maintaining the wasteful status quo based on an overreliance on disposable packaging – which consumes an astounding 40% of all plastic and 50% of all paper in the EU.

Championing the lobbying efforts to water down the regulation were the producers of single use paper-based packaging and McDonalds who promoted untransparent studies to sow doubts on the benefits of waste prevention and reuse, spreading unfounded fears about hygiene and food waste as well as prophecies of economic doom.