Deposit scheme, EU | The EU tightens the rules for packaging

A new packaging regulation will be adopted by the EU Parliament on Wednesday. What consequences it will have for Norway’s mortgage system is currently unclear.

But according to a spokesperson for the EU Parliament, Norwegian beverage producers do not need to worry about the deposit scheme.

– The EU’s goal is not to destroy systems that work, reassures the person concerned to NTB.

Later on Wednesday, the new packaging regulation will, according to all sun brands, be adopted by the EU Parliament. Then only a formal approval by the EU’s Council of Ministers remains before the regulation comes into force.

Business worried

Recently, both business and politicians have expressed strong concern that the new EU rules will mean that Norwegian plastic bottle producers will have to go back to good, old-fashioned bottle washing.

The new regulation requires the so-called reuse of ten percent of beverage packaging that is sent out on the market.

This is something that in Norway has gone away from in the last 10–15 years. Instead, plastic bottles and cans are pressed together before the material is sent for recycling.

Building up a reuse scheme in addition would cost large sums in conversion and would mean increased emissions in the form of washing and transport.

Exceptions may be made

But according to the EU Parliament’s spokesperson, the new rules do not apply if by 2026 it can be documented that 80 per cent of bottles and cans are collected.

– They will not have to set up a return system for reuse if they can demonstrate that current practice is good enough to achieve the goal, says the spokesperson.

In Norway, the return rate for the most common form of soda bottles, so-called PET bottles, is already up to 97 per cent, according to NHO.

There, however, there is still uncertainty as to what the new regulations will entail. The big question is whether the requirement for reuse will still apply.

Not considered the consequences

– We are working to find out what the regulations mean, says head of NHO’s Brussels office Anne Margrethe Lund to NTB.

The government, for its part, welcomes the new regulation with great calmness.

– In the main, the Norwegian mortgage system will remain, says Climate and Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen to NTB.

– But exactly how we are going to implement the re-use requirement, we have to come back to. But I am sure that we will find a good solution, he says.

As far as NTB is aware, the Norwegian authorities have not yet assessed the consequences of or the possibilities for exemptions from the directive.

This is one of the world’s fastest growing environmental problems

No to disposable packaging

Another part of the regulation will, however, become highly noticeable to consumers in the future.

From 2030, it will be prohibited to serve food in disposable packaging in restaurants and cafes.

The purpose is to reduce the mountain of rubbish from, for example, fast food restaurants. The regulation will also ensure that far more of the plastic and paper in the packaging is collected and reused.

The regulation also covers single-use plastic around foodstuffs such as vegetables, as well as single-use portions of sauces, sugar, spices and milk, and miniature versions of toiletries and plastic sealing of luggage.

Gradual cuts

In 2018, the packaging industry had a turnover of around 355 billion euros. At the same time, the amount of packaging waste increased from 66 million tonnes in 2009 to 85 million tonnes in 2021.

In 2021, each European generated 188.7 kilograms of waste from packaging. Without measures, this would have increased to 209 kilograms in 2030.

The new regulation calls for the amount of waste to be cut by 5 percent by 2030 from the 2018 level. This will increase to 10 per cent in 2035 and 15 per cent in 2040.

The regulation is EEA-relevant, and Norway has introduced previous EU legislation in this area.

(©NTB)¨