By the end of 2021, the Commission will propose a new legislation aiming at making all packaging fully recyclable by 2030 as part of its circular economy action plan.

In 2018, Europe generated 174.1kg of packaging waste per inhabitant. Therefore, EU aims to cut down on waste as quickly as possible in order to halt the overconsumption that is damaging the planet and adding to climate change. The main objectives of the legislative revision will focus on reducing waste packaging, waste prevention and reuse, as well as recyclability design in all packaging.

As part of the revision, the EU executive has also talked about “introducing recycled content targets for specific packaging formats”. The European Parliament considers this as a way to create a new market for secondary raw materials in Europe, and boosting the demand for recycled material rather than relying on virgin material.

However, the mandatory recycled content target should only be imposed where the recycling value chain is not functionning well, like the plastic value chain.

EU aims to tackle waste packaging with new legislation – EURACTIV.com