New EU regulation on packaging, "we are at the end of disposable life"

From 12 August the new EU regulation on packaging e packaging waste (Ppwr). For now this is a first series of limited obligations like the roof ai heavy metalslimits on substances Pfas in packaging in contact with foods and the declaration of conformity EU paid by the manufacturer.

“It is the realization of things that have been talked about for almost twenty years, we are at the end of thedisposable“, explains Massimo Artorige Giubilesitechnologist and expert food safety e environmental hygiene.

The environmental cost falls on companies

“European rules are unified and the environmental cost of the packaging falls entirely on the company that places it on the market, with a sanctioning system heavy, which goes as far as blocking the market and seizing goods”, adds Giubilesi who is also the founder of the consultancy firm Jubilees & Associates. “It is just one step in a much broader journey, which we will see unfold in the coming years,” he underlines. “They have not been discovered now, but until now they had been rather neglected: today the limits become more stringent and packaging in contact with food can no longer be placed on the market if it exceeds the established thresholds. An apparently obvious but important principle: the analysis carried out remains valid as long as nothing changes, but every modification of the recipe or material requires updating the technical file“.

Environmental obligations and packaging design

And on an environmental level? “It becomes an obligation to design the packaging thinking about what will happen when it has exhausted its function, and it must be indicated in the declaration of conformity. The material must already be designed according to recycling: we will have more recycled plastic in new packaging and more reuse. The regulation effectively leads to the overcoming of PVClimits i colored pigments and, from 2030, will impose a maximum of 50% empty space in transport and shipping packaging e-commerce. And it establishes a stronger relationship between producers and users, with real supply chain contracts.”

What changes for consumers

What changes for consumers? “More clarity and transparency”, observes the expert, “with the ban on romantic or emotional wording, less waste and more possibilities for reuse. And better awareness throughout the value chain: for those who produce, those who distribute and those who use”.