Sustainable Packaging Archives

French recyclers were in Brussels last week with a big ask – EU regulators must reward the whole recycling value chain for preventing emissions of global warming gases, they claimed, a message received with caution by the European Commission, which points to a lack of data.

Ahead of negotiations to finalise the revision of EU packaging waste legislation, the European packaging industry is calling for the free movement of packaged goods to be safeguarded. EURACTIV's media partner edie.net reports.

What has been mixed in the current dual quality food conversation is ‘quality versus recipe’, as consumers have different preferences on sweetness and saltiness and we just have to accept it, FoodDrinkEurope leader told EURACTIV.com in an interview.

EU opts for public awareness campaign on the impacts of plastics on the environment saying a tax would not be sustainable, reports EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian.

The snail pace so far in terms of implementation of the EU Action Plan on the Circular Economy is embarrassing, write Anders Wijkman and Catia Bastioli.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Thursday (27 July) promised Slovakia and other Eastern European member states he would help stamp out the "totally unacceptable" sale of lower quality food products in their markets.

In December 2015, the European Commission presented a new Circular Economy Package that will impact a wide range of sectors, including packaging

Contrary to popular myths, most plastic pollution at sea occurs on the seabed and on beaches, not on the surface. If we want to secure the health of our oceans, we need to start looking at preventing marine plastic litter at source, writes Chris Sherrington.

Most food products are now packaged in plastic. German researchers have now shown that plasticisers can enter the body, disrupt hormone production, and cause people to gain weight. EURACTIV Germany reports.

The European Commission's Circular Economy package is a balanced and achievable proposal but what now counts are the steps taken by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers to ensure a global mindset, effective enforcement, and strong recycling ambition, write Maarten Labberton and Magdalena Garczynska.

The French government wants to ban the use of the chemical bisphenol A in plastic packaging in 2015. The plastics industry has responded by saying the government is being "unrealistic" about the challenges this change will produce. EURACTIV France reports. 

SPECIAL REPORT / The sustainable sourcing of raw materials is a crucial phase at the beginning of the economic cycle. Yet this initial sourcing phase has so far been largely neglected by targeted EU resource efficiency policies. “But it’s time for change,”, said WWF, Unilever and the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE).

SPECIAL REPORT / Industry leaders united around a call for fair, transparent and universal minimum extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirements in an ongoing review of EU waste management targets, at a Brussels conference last week. 

The European Commission is preparing new policy proposals to reduce waste and reach greater recycling rates, in order to move towards a zero-refuse economy.

Touted by some as a two-fold solution to the EU's energy and waste problems, incineration is not the answer the EU looking for as it debates changes to its waste and landfill rules, argues Ariadna Rodrigo.

Central Europe's relatively low rates of recycling represent an untapped potential with easy gains, said participants at a Steel Packaging Summit in Košice. EURACTIV Slovakia reports.

European responses to waste generation have been fragmented (twelve directives since the 1970s) and inefficient until now. The Commission's proposed Thematic Strategy (21 Dec. 2005) sets up a framework for a holistic review of the existing EU waste policy, based on prevention and recycling.

A long-standing case over Germany's mandatory return scheme for used cans and bottles was dropped by the Commission after changes were introduced in the system to make it compatible with EU internal trade rules.

The Environment Council has emphasised the importance of keeping a clear waste hierarchy that puts the priority on prevention, thereby soothing green NGO fears that it wanted to prioritise incineration for generating energy.

The Commission's proposals on waste are foggy on key definitions that are at the heart of the new strategy focusing on life-cycle thinking, a panel of MEPs, business and NGO experts agreed.