EPR packaging recycling may become a major trend in European countries

        With the continuous improvement and implementation of the EU Draft Packaging Regulation (PPWR), in addition to the already implemented German Packaging Law, French Packaging Law, Austrian Packaging Law, etc., European countries will begin to improve and implement their packaging waste management measures one after another.

        Swiss EPR will adopt a national recycling system

        Switzerland is planning a national plastic packaging and beverage carton packaging recycling system. As part of the "Collection 2025" project, more than 70 organizations across the value chain, from Swiss producers, brands and retailers to recyclers and disposal companies, are working to develop a circular economy for the recycling of plastic packaging and beverage cartons. Major retailers such as Aldi, Coop, Denner, Lidl and Migros are actively involved. The aim is to introduce a unified waste recycling management system for plastic packaging and carton beverage packaging that is cost-effective, ecologically efficient and customer-friendly. To this end, Switzerland will provide nationwide garbage collection bags in the future, which will be of uniform color and size and printed with uniform information.

        In addition, according to Swiss Recycling, the Swiss recycling umbrella organization, they are reviewing a unified recycling fee pricing system throughout Switzerland. The funds needed to operate the waste collection and recycling system will be guaranteed by the proceeds from the sale of garbage bags, recycling fees paid by distributors and recycling income. All costs from collection to sorting and recycling will be included.

        By 2030, the recycling rate of plastic packaging will reach 55%, and the recycling rate of beverage carton packaging will reach 70%.

        The UK postpones the implementation of the EPR packaging tax

        Since the beginning of this year, the UK has been implementing the new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, which replaced the previous packaging waste regulations. The new regulations include the planned extended producer responsibility tax on packaging. Distributors will now temporarily not have to pay this packaging recycling fee until 2025, instead of 2024 as originally planned. In different cases, the recycling costs incurred by companies that need to fulfill the obligation depend on the packaging materials and quantities they put on the market. The more recyclable the packaging is, the lower the recycling fee.

        The UK government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) pointed out that although the implementation of the packaging recycling tax has been delayed, distributors must register from this year and provide information on packaging type, material and weight.

        German EPR Airport Plastic Bottle Recycling Project

        September 3, 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the German Airport Plastic Bottle Recycling Project "Spende Dein Pfand". The project was initially initiated by students, and later German Green Dot and Stuttgart Airport jointly developed a specific recycling project, so the German Airport Plastic Bottle Recycling Project "Spende Dein Pfand" was officially launched on September 3, 2013. The "Spende Dein Pfand" project placed specially designed plastic bottle recycling bins at the security checkpoints of eight major German airports. Passengers must clear away plastic beverage bottles that are not allowed to be brought in before entering security. If there is no such project to collect discarded plastic bottles, the deposit for these plastic bottles cannot be redeemed, resulting in waste.

        Through this recycling project, more than 12 million plastic bottles have been collected and recycled so far, creating a total of more than 3 million euros in revenue and providing stable jobs and income for more than 40 long-term unemployed people. Jörg Deppmeyer, Managing Director of Der Grüne Punkt, said: "After ten years of operation, we have achieved satisfactory and proud results. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary, we are very grateful to all those who participated in the project, including of course the millions of passengers who took the initiative to deliver plastic bottles. In addition, the right infrastructure and the investment of relevant personnel make it possible to create jobs."

        More and more countries are gradually planning to implement their own plastic packaging taxes. Multinational companies engaged in raw material supply, design and manufacturing need to pay close attention to the additional costs of the company and the different compliance requirements of each country, such as EPR and waste management fees, which will be converted into corporate costs.