If the EU’s packaging waste regulation starts to be applied in the form it has been agreed upon, it will cause investment needs of hundreds of millions of euros for the Finnish brewing industry.
On Wednesday in Strasbourg, the European Parliament gave its final approval to the new packaging waste regulation.
The final form of the regulation was a victory for the Finnish forest industry, whose concerns were well taken into account. Instead, the beverage industry was disappointed.
If the packaging waste regulation starts to be applied in the form it has been agreed upon, it will cause investment needs of hundreds of millions of euros for the Finnish brewing industry. It also leads to the creation of two different bottle return systems.
CEO of Panimiolito Tuula Loikkanen however, still hopes that this would be avoided with the help of the EU Commission’s executive instructions.
“We will try to influence that in the fall, when the new parliament and commission have been formed. We are trying to find solutions.”
Loikkanen says that the predictability of the legislation would be important for the industry. Now we have to guess what will happen.
“We have no idea how long we will have to live in this uncertainty. It is, of course, terribly inconvenient for the industry. If the company’s line has reached the end of its useful life, it is now really difficult to decide how to renew it. Shall we go with the old model or not,” says Loikkanen.
The member companies of the Brewery Association include, among others Hartwall, Olvi and Sinebrychoff.
Investments of tens of millions
The packaging waste regulation obliges beverage manufacturers to produce at least ten percent of beverages in reusable packaging by 2030.
The obligation does not apply to milk, wine, flavored wines or spirits.
In Finland, pawned beverage packaging is currently circulating as a raw material, not as reusable packaging. The packages are flattened or crushed. Their raw material is used as new packaging.
In the future, 90 percent of beverage packaging could therefore continue to circulate as raw material, but ten percent should be sold in refillable packaging.
How would this be solved in industry?
“Each brewery makes its own decisions. The problem is that the investments cost tens of millions, regardless of whether it is done for ten percent of the production or one hundred percent,” says Loikkanen.
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Packaging waste regulation
On Wednesday, the European Parliament approved the EU regulation on packaging and packaging waste with 476 votes in favor, 129 against and 24 abstentions.
The entry into force of the regulation still requires final approval from the Council of the EU member states.
According to the new rules, packaging must be reduced by 5 percent by 2030, 10 percent by 2035 and 15 percent by 2040.
The EU prohibits single-dose packages for, for example, spices, sauces, cream and sugar, mini-sized shampoo bottles and very light plastic carrier bags.
At least ten percent of drinks (except milk, wine, flavored wines and spirits) must be sold in reusable packaging covered by the reuse system.
According to him, another problem from the point of view of the Finnish brewing industry is that, according to the interpretation, the regulation does not apply to ciders or tentacles. It only applies to beer.
“Breweries that make many kinds of drinks have to think about this too. This is quite a mess. If breweries can wait to make investment decisions, I hope they do. We have to get clarity on what the regulation really means.”
Loikkanen says that if the regulation is applied in this form, it will require investments not only from industry, but also from trade. Stores must accept refillable bottles. The bottle return system also needs to be renewed.
“Currently, bottles can be returned to almost every kiosk. But small shops or kiosks cannot accept bottle baskets. For the refillable bottles, you have to build your own system where they rotate.”
Logistics systems will also be renewed when the material is no longer recycled as a raw material.
“We have to think about how to transport whole bottles, for example, from Helsinki to Iisalmi and back.”
Olvi panimo is located in Iisalmi. The Hartwall brewery, on the other hand, is located in Lahti.
The law was made according to the German system
The problems brought by the packaging waste regulation to the beverage industry and the deposit system are not limited to Finland, but also apply to other Nordic countries.
Instead, refillable bottles are already circulating in Central Europe.
The EU tried to make a one-size-fits-all sock for all countries, and did it according to the German system.
“This is not seen as a problem there. They don’t have to make any changes,” says Loikkanen.
According to him, the commission did not take into account that what works in short-distance Central Europe does not work in long-distance Northern Europe.
Loikkanen says that the brewing industry is behind the goal of the packaging waste regulation. The amount of packaging waste must be reduced.
“That’s not the problem. The problem is implementation. The goals should have been given, but the measures should have been left to the national decision.”