Firms warned over EU packaging rules

Date: 30/03/2000

By Renée Cordes

EUROPE'S main packaging industry association has delivered a stern warning to members to implement a raft of new measures to comply with new Union-wide rules which entered into force at the start of this year.

EUROPEN, the European organisation for packaging and the environment, is urging firms to take action to meet a series of "essential requirements" in accordance with guidelines drawn up by the European standards body CEN, which are due to adopted next month.

These include a checklist for companies to ensure that they fulfil their obligations under the terms of a 1994 EU directive aimed at limiting the amount of waste from packaging materials which finally came into force on 1 January.

"Every company with anything to do with packaging and packaged goods entering the European market will be affected by these standards, so it is essential to understand them and their implications for business," said Julian Carroll, managing director of EUROPEN.

The CEN guidelines are aimed at eliminating uncertainty in implementing the EU directive. The organisation points out that firms in the UK and France are already facing prosecution for allegedly failing to comply with the Union rules.

Essentially, the directive stipulates that the weight and volume of packaging should be kept to a minimum to reduce the potential damage to the environment.

CEN is seeking to ensure that companies meet this requirement by providing a more detailed analysis of the action needed in the areas of waste prevention, the reuse and recovery of packaging materials, energy and organic substances.

The move comes as Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström is putting the finishing touches to proposed changes to the directive. Work on the new goals began after most Union governments said they would surpass the recycling targets laid down in the current legislation - with the exception of Ireland and Portugal, which are lagging considerably behind.

Although the European Commission is still considering various options, it is expected to call for a substantial increase in recycling and reuse targets over the next five years. But companies working in this sector are urging the EU executive to delay proposing changes to the legislation until it has more information about the environmental impact of the sector's activities.

The European Recovery and Recycling Association also argues that the rules should not be amended until there is a way to compare reuse and recycling figures directly. Recycling targets are currently based on weight, while those for refuse are set by volume.

The lobby group argues it would make more sense from an environmental point of view to set a limit on the amount of packaging waste which can be sent to landfill sites, and let individual governments decide precise recycling targets.

Europe's main packaging industry association has delivered a stern warning to members to implement a raft of new measures to comply with new Union-wide rules which entered into force at the start of 2000.