About: packaging
Product design policy will be key to circular economy, EU says
As the European Union seeks to transition to a ‘circular economy’, the policy focus in 2021 will turn to products: how they are designed, and why so many seem to be made to throw away.
88,000 Eiffel Towers nowhere near enough…
The world has managed to recycle enough plastic since the 1950s to equal the weight of 88,000 Eiffel Towers. Pretty impressive. The bad news is this is less than one-tenth[1] of the 8.3 billion tonnes[2] of plastic produced over the...
Sinkevicius: COVID-19 cannot be an excuse to curb EU’s green ambition
Member states cannot use the COVID-crisis as an excuse to weaken the EU's environmentral and health protection efforts, European Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius told EURACTIV Italy in an exclusive interview. InfographicPromoted content
Aluminium beverage cans show 31% average reduction in carbon footprint over 2006-2016
Higher recycling rates were a key enabling factor for the impressive 31% average reduction in carbon footprint over the 2006-2016 period, as highlighted in a new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of aluminium beverage cans (25cl, 33cl and 50cl volumes) in...
Italy’s plastic tax proposal angers ‘packaging valley’ before crucial regional vote
The government is open to rediscuss a proposed tax on single-use plastics, out of concern for the country's world-leading packaging sector based in Emilia-Romagna where regional elections are scheduled in January.
German associations call for binding reusable packaging quotas
Since the start of this year, a new packaging law that aims to reduce disposable plastics has been in force in Germany. But so far, the share of disposable plastics has actually seen an increase in the beverages sector and German associations criticise the lack of binding regulations. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Tough new EU recycling rules could be game-changer for packaging
In the coming years, EU citizens are set to see a change in the way they recycle waste at their homes and businesses – and in the way that recycling is measured.
Recycling metal packaging
New EU-wide recycling targets, adopted last year, will have a significant influence on the way people recycle things like beverage cans. EURACTIV looks at how difficult it will be to meet the new targets.
EU official: ‘Actual recycling could be lower’ with new methodology
When it comes to meeting the EU’s new recycling targets, metals will have a big head start. But EU member states could find it harder to reach future objectives under a new methodology being considered at the European Commission, says Maja Desgrées du Loû.
Paper, the forgotten forest destroyer
As the world awakes to the threat posed by palm oil and soy to our forests, it’s in danger of overlooking how paper and packaging drives industrial logging, mis-shapes millions of hectares of forest landscapes and creates monoculture plantations, writes Sini Eräjää.
Crunch time for crisp makers as EU waste targets loom
The European Commission has set an EU-wide objective for all packaging to be recyclable or reusable by 2030. But crisp packets are a particular headache for policymakers and the recycling industry because they are so tiny and lightweight.
Brussels plans new EU packaging rules to cut waste
The European Commission has started gathering views from EU member states, the packaging industry and online retailers ahead of a comprehensive review of EU rules on packaging waste, part of efforts to boost reuse and recycling rates by 2030.
What’s the point of recycling?
It is easy to rank EU member states by how proficient they are at recycling but the details behind the statistics are more complex. Scratch beneath the surface and there is a quasi-philosophical issue lying in wait.
Europeans will have to recycle half of their waste by 2025
European households and businesses will have to recycle at least 55% of their municipal waste by 2025, according to stricter new rules passed by the European Parliament on Wednesday (18 April).
Packagers warn against EU waste policies eroding single market
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. VideoPromoted content
Food waste prevention: what’s packaging got to do with it?
Food waste is a largely underestimated problem: Globally, about one third of food produced is wasted. In Europe, this amounts to 90 million tonnes every year. More than 40% of European food waste comes from households, of which 60% is avoidable.
French government and plastics lobby clash over Bisphenol A
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.![Fresh vegetables at a market. [Shutterstock/Sunlover].](https://www.euractiv.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/06/vegetables_market_shutterstock_sunlover.jpeg)
The sustainable sourcing of materials is crucial to the circular economy
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).