Europe | Update draft of Single-Use Plastics Directive

Eurofins newsflash Food Contact Materials - Europe - Amendment of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 on food contact plastic materials

Update draft of Single-Use Plastics Directive

On 18^th January 2019, the Council of the European Union published an amendmend (5483/19 ) of the draft Directive on the reduction of the impact of certain plastics products on the environment (Single-Use Plastics Directive).

The main changes with the European Commission’s original proposed draft of May 28, 2018 are:

Add examples to the definition of “single-use plastic product”
Revisions to existing definitions and the new definitions: Oxo-degradable plastic and Biodegradable plastic
Compliance dates
Include specific single-use plastic products (Part A of the Annex)
Add products made from expanded polystyrene to the list of Part B of the Annex

The main Deadlines:

2025	A requirement for PET beverages to be made from at least 25% recycled plastics calculated as an average for all PET bottles placed on the national market A requirement to achieve an annual 77% separate collection rate by weight for single-use beverage bottles with a capacity of up to three liters, including their caps and lids
2026	A requirement to achieve a measurable quantitative reduction in the consumption of the single-use plastic products listed in Part A of the Annex in comparison to 2022
2029	A requirement to achieve an annual 90% separate collection rate by weight for single-use beverage bottles with a capacity of up to three liters, including their caps and lids
2030	A requirement for PET beverages to be made from at least 30% recycled plastics, calculated as an average for all PET bottles placed on the national market

This amended draft Directive’s is not a final version because additional amendments may be added by the European Parliament or the Council. The provisional date to adopt this Directive would be June 2019.