Helen Roush, Executive Vice President of Paperitalo Publications

A few weeks ago, it was announced that The European Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement to make packaging more sustainable and reduce packaging waste in the EU.

The press release states that "the proposal considers the full life-cycle of packaging. It establishes requirements to ensure that packaging is safe and sustainable, by requiring that all packaging is recyclable and that the presence of substances of concern is minimised. It also lays down labelling harmonisation requirements to improve consumer information. In line with the waste hierarchy, the proposal aims to significantly reduce the generation of packaging waste by setting binding re-use targets, restricting certain types of single-use packaging and requiring economic operators to minimise the packaging used."

The press release goes on to state that "The text of the provisional agreement maintains most of the sustainability requirements for all packaging placed on the market and the headline targets proposed by the Commission.

It strengthens the requirements for substances in packaging by introducing a restriction on the placing on the market of food contact packaging containing per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) above certain thresholds. To avoid any overlap with other pieces of legislation, the co-legislators tasked the Commission with assessing the need to amend that restriction within four years of the date of application of the regulation."

European paper manufacturers and packaging producers will have to find sustainable solutions within the boundaries of the agreement. UPM said in a recent press release that they are ready for this.

You can read the full press release by clicking here.