Though there are private investment initiatives that fund solutions (and false solutions) to plastic pollution, they are not sufficient. Public investments must step-up to enable the systemic change needed to fund real solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. Let’s explore how this can work!
Prevention and reuse – the only solution to record levels of packaging waste
Levels of packaging waste in Europe are at an all-time high. Over the last decade, its growth
outpaced the economy rising faster than the volume of traded goods. The latest Eurostat data
on packaging waste, published in October 2023, reaffirms this upward trajectory with a new
record of 188.7 kg per capita in 2021 – a 6% increase in waste generation in only one year.
The same data also reveals that recycling rates have stagnated since 2010. The packaging
sector is now responsible for approximately 59 million tonnes in CO2eq, more than the annual
emissions of Hungary. Packaging is also a major driver of virgin resources exploitation – using
40% of plastic and 50% of paper in Europe.
Disposable Paper-based Food Packaging. The false solution to the packaging waste crisis.
A new report by the Rethink Plastic Alliance, European Environmental Bureau, Zero Waste Europe, Fern and the Environmental Paper Network reveals the environmental harm caused by replacing single-use plastic with single-use paper packaging. The report clearly shows the need to move away from ever-polluting single-use packaging and towards well-designed reuse systems. The NGO coalition calls on the EU to seize the opportunity the Packaging and Packaging Waste regulation offers, and implement the necessary changes.
Unveiling the Complexities: Exploring LCAs of Reusable Packaging in the TakeAway Sector
Open Letter calling for well-designed reuse systems in the PPWR revision
We, the signatories of this letter (civil society organisations and reuse businesses across Europe), are concerned that misinformation and intense lobbying from the single-use packaging industry and the take-away sector are undermining the need for reuse as a driver for waste prevention, resource
conservation and climate protection in the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).
This regulation represents a critical opportunity for the much-needed transition towards more circular
packaging systems at a time where it is crucial to tackle emissions, pollution and resource use in all
sectors. The focus of decision-makers should remain firmly on the key objective of the PPWR,
which is reducing packaging waste and improving the environmental performance of this increasingly wasteful sector.
Fact sheet: Reusable Take-away Packaging
7 reasons why reusable take-away packaging is a sustainable alternative for climate protection and resource conservation.
EU rules on packaging: NGO perspectives on the urgent need to reduce paper packaging
This briefing focuses on non-governmental organisations’ (NGOs) position on the recent devastating increase in paper packaging. For the wider NGO position on EU packaging rules please see the position paper developed by the Rethink Plastic alliance.