European Parliament Adopts Position on Packaging and Packaging Waste Legislation

The text includes some exemptions from reuse obligations

On November 22, 2023, the European Parliament adopted its position on new EU-wide rules on packaging and packaging waste. Under the Parliament-approved text, packaging that is in direct contact with food would be exempt from reuse obligations.

The revamped text will become the Parliament’s mandate for negotiations with EU governments, once the Council has adopted its position.

As reported by FRUCOM, the relevant changes introduced in the Parliament-approved draft are as follows:

Article 22, Annex V, row 1

Text proposed by the Commission
Single-use plastic grouped packaging	Plastic packaging used at retail level to group goods sold in cans, tins, pots, tubs, and packets designed as convenience packaging to enable or encourage end users to purchase more than one product. This excludes grouped packaging necessary to facilitate handling distribution.	Collation films, shrink wrap

Amendment adopted
Single-use plastic grouped packaging	Plastic packaging used at the point of sale to group goods sold in cans, tins, pots, tubs, and packets designed as convenience packaging to enable or encourage consumers to purchase more than one product. This excludes grouped packaging necessary to facilitate handling in business-to-business distribution.	Collation films, shrink wrap

 

Article 26, Paragraph 12, Subparagraph 1, Introductory Part

Text proposed by the Commission

Transport packaging used by an economic operator shall be reusable where it is used for transporting products:

Amendment adopted

From 1 January 2030, 95% of the transport packaging used by an economic operator shall be reusable where it is used for transporting products:

 

Article 26, Paragraph 13, Subparagraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission

Economic operators delivering products to another economic operator within the same Member State shall use only reusable transport packaging for the purpose of the transportation of such products.

Amendment adopted

From 1 January 2030, economic operators, including online platforms, delivering products to another economic operator within the same Member State shall use only reusable transport packaging for the purpose of the transportation of such products.

 

Article 26, Paragraph 15 b (new)

Amendment adopted

Economic operators shall be exempted from the obligation to meet the targets laid down in paragraphs 7, 12 and 13 of this Article for all transport packaging that is in direct contact with food as defined in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 and feed.

For more information, see the full text approved by the Parliament and the Parliament’s press release.