In November 2023, the European Parliament adopted its position on the new EU Packaging Rules (PPWR) to address the ever-increasing amount of waste and to promote reuse and recycling.
The main EU packaging rules:
- Reduce packaging (e.g. ban on the sale of very lightweight plastic carrier bags),
- reduce certain types of packaging (e.g. severely limiting the use of certain formats of disposable packaging such as miniature hotel toiletries and shrink wrapping of suitcases at airports),
- ban the use of ‘perpetual chemicals’ (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances or PFAS) and bisphenol A in food contact packaging,
- promote reuse and refill options for consumers,
- better collection and recycling of packaging waste.
MEPs want EU countries to ensure that 90% of materials contained in packaging (plastic, wood, ferrous metals, aluminium, glass, paper and cardboard) are collected separately by 2029.