International Plastics and packaging legislation

Resource with overview of all global legalisation. (Amazing)

European legislation and market, news

Facilitating the Adoption of Takeaway Reuse Systems. Cost Assessment of Moving from Single-use Packaging to a Takeaway Reuse System and Assessment of the Necessary Policy Measures. Eunomia. September 2024. (File copy here.)

PPWR deal limits single-use plastics, mandates DRS, and enables consumer reuse. March 2024. Packaging Europe overview.

TOMRA launches world's first open managed system for reusable takeaway packaging. Aarhaus, Denmark. Jan 2024.

Influential studies on reusable take-away packaging found to be biased in favour of single-use. August 2023. A rebuttal of the corporate LCAs that have drawn conclusions again st RUP in support of the businesses that paid for them. (Media release)

Unveiling the Complexities: Exploring LCAs of Reusable Packaging in the Take-Away Sector. August 2023. A rebuttal of the corporate LCAs that have drawn conclusions again st RUP in support of the businesses that paid for them. (Full paper)

The economics of reuse systems. June 2023. An excellent paper published by ZWE and Searious Business into the unit economics of reuse systems.

NZTE overview of ERP schemes through UK and EU.

WEF paper on the economics of returnable packaging. Founder, Again (London)

Dizzie reuse vision UK, Europe. Comprehensive overview of their vision to enable reusable packaging through scales FMCG. Good outline of the money cycle. Acknowledges packaging non-return (page 7) but not as a cost (page 8). If link becomes inactive, static copy here.

EU Commission: Single-use plastics directive 2019.

Overview. Directive, Summary. Notable to food service packaging: Compulsory markings. Extended Producer Responsibility - producers to cover cost of waste collection and litter clean up. Also awareness-raising.

European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment, Turning the tide on single-use plastics, Publications Office, 2021, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2779/800074. A very readable document. (PDF on our server here)

EU Commission: Packaging and Packaging Waste directive (PPWD), 2022.

Overview. Directive(Consolidated). Summary. Notable to food service packaging: ‘promote the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovering of packaging waste, instead of its final disposal’. By end 2024, EU countries should ensure that producer responsibility schemes are established for all packaging.

Some more info about the 2022 revisions. Notably with respect to driving reuse.

Key Point: EU countries should encourage the increase in the share of reusable packaging* put on the market and of systems to reuse packaging in an environmentally sound manner without compromising food safety or the safety of consumers. This may include:

• deposit-return schemes

• targets

• economic incentives

• minimum percentages of reusable packaging placed on the market for each type of packaging, etc.

The European Commission wants to ban cafes and coffee shops from using disposable cups when customers drink their beverages on-site. And by 2040, 80 percent of takeaway cups must be reusable. Restaurants and fast food chains won’t be allowed to use disposable packaging if people eat on the spot. (Link)

Zero Waste Europe

ZWU is a well funded organisation that is supporting city across the EU to adopt zero waste actions, targets and measurements in order to meet the directives of the EU Commission.

They have an arm, ReuSe Vanguard Project (RSVP) that is specifically targeted to support the adoption of reuse systems. Good overview here. They are developing a Blueprint for best practice, and are actioning a coordinated roll out of scale-up projects in 6 European cities using the Blueprint. They are also developing a joint comms strategy titled #getback.

Zero Waste Cities is one of their initiatives. This is a good over view: THE STATE OF ZERO WASTE MUNICIPALITIES REPORT 2022. A run down of localised reuse systems is included.

The RSVP project first published: ReuSe Vanguard Project (RSVP) – Deciphering the EU’s Packaging Landscape: identified take-away food and drink as “ELPs’ (Ecosystemic Leverage Points) - areas of most potential to create change in the EU. Also some good market size data:

Following on from this, they then published this more specific paper: Deciphering the EU’s packaging landscape for warm takeaway drinks. This has some amazing market size data.

New ERA - European Reuse Alliance

NewERA is a collective of the reuse systems (like Again Again) that are active in EU, with a purpose to Craft the vision of reusable packaging in Europe. Established Nov 2022. Can join as a member.

Austria

Austria has been one of the first European countries to implement binding and enforceable reuse targets in November 2021 in their Waste Management Act by mandating a beverage reuse quota of 25% by 2025. 

Germany

Overview. Bans on first tier in place.

In Germany, there is a mandatory deposit on disposable beverage packaging (see above under 1). Excluded from the DRS are, among others, beverage packaging with a filling volume of less than 0.1 or more than 3 litres, certain types of packaging and packaging for certain alcoholic beverages, juices and milk products.

A deposit is also imposed on most reusable drinks packaging. However, there is no legal obligation.

Reusable alternative: From 2023, restaurants, bistros and cafés selling food on the go or To-Go drinks are obliged to offer their products in reusable packaging as well. The reusable alternative must not be more expensive than the product packaged in disposable packaging. Reusable cups must be available for all sizes of to-go drinks. Exempted are businesses with a total of five employees or less and a shop area of no more than 80 square metres (e.g. small snack bars, late-night shops and kiosks). But even they must provide the option of filling customers own reusable containers.

Germany’s largest supermarket chain, Edeka, has launched their own cash deposit model, Re-Good, for cups and bowls. Cash deposit model (1(cup)+1(lid)/5euro). Would be a good use case to look at integration for.

France

Overview. Circular economy law 2020. Inform, measure, reinforce ERP and ‘objective of ending all single-use plastic packaging on the French market by 2040.’

In February 2021, 19 stakeholders of the food delivery sector signed a Charter of commitment for the ‘Reduction of the environmental impact of packaging and Development of reuse in the food delivery sector’ with the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, which notably sets a target of 50% of packaging delivered without single-use plastic by 1 January 2022 and 70% by 1 January 2023.

France has a reuse packaging target law which requires 5% of packaging placed on the market to be reusable by 2023 and 10% by 2027.  It has also been imposing the use of reusables in fast-food restaurants for on-site dining since January.

The “3R” decree laid out the potential for reduction, reuse and recycling by 2025, and set targets for this in order to delivery on the country’s objective of ending all single-use plastic packaging on the French market by 2040.

• Overall, at least half of the reduction can be obtained through reuse (bulk sale, deposit/refund, refills)

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation have a good overview on the actions taken to delivery on this decree, here.

Réseau Consigne, The Consigne Network is the association that brings together professionals in the reuse of packaging in France. Website in French only.

Netherlands

Has an EPS in place - producers of SUP responsible to contribute to clean up, waste disposal and education. Timing of this coming in is dependant on the actual produce and varies.

From 2023, single-use items are banned in the case of eat-in consumption unless the office, snack bar, or shop provides a separate collection for high-quality recycling. A minimum of 75 percent must be collected for recycling, and that will increase by 5 percent per year to 90 percent in 2026. For on-the-go consumption, the seller must offer a reusable alternative - either cups and storage boxes that the buyer brings or a return system for recycling. Here 75 percent must be collected in 2024, rising to 90 percent in 2027. (Link)

And from 2024, disposable packaging on ready-to-eat meals will come with an extra charge. This additional charge is unnecessary if the packaging is reusable or the meal is packed into a container the customer brought along. The exact amount of the extra charge is still to be determined. (Link)

Mission Reuse is an initiative of Enviru to build an ecosystem that makes reusable packaging visible, accessible, and affordable for consumers and companies in their daily lives. Is doing many pilots. Works with Recycling Netwerk (mostly academic research). Also with Natuur & Milieu, an environmental organization that works collaboratively on sustainable solutions.

PwC was commissioned to do a feasibility study into a digital DRS (DDRS) in place of the proposed DRS. They concluded it was possible, and better (outcomes and cost) but this hasn’t been widely accepted by industry who prefer just a cash model.

Switzerland

The City of Geneva has passed legislation: From the 1st January 2025, single-use plastic plates, cutlery, cups and meal boxes can no longer be used. The city has funded 1000s of cups and food bowls, and is providing heavy subsidy for reCircle subscription. Users can access with cash deposit OR tech, but this doesn’t look integrated with POS). They can get cash deposits back on the app too.

ReCircle now has 1658 patterns vendors, just in Switzerland. Runs both a cash ledger and a CC opt out for free. Good model. Tracking the transactions, and not the containers. Cheap containers. Highish deposit ($5/$10). No pricing published on website, but in this paper, the Geneva subsidy is 150CHF. (about $150NZD)

SPain

From 1 Jan 2023 a tax on non-reusable packaging has come in place, in essence an ERP using tax levers, and a price must be charged for each plastic product given to the consumer.

Voluntary DRS only.

GoZeroWaste is an Barcelona org that is offering solutions and education.

United Kingdom

From 1 Jan 2024 an Extended Producer Responsibility ‘tax’ will come into force. Govt compliance requirements page here.

United States

New York EPR regulation journey. 2023_05.