Brussels

What kind of packaging should be in the EU, and what can you pack in general in the future? The EU Commission will give answers to this on Wednesday, when it publishes the information on packaging and packaging waste its regulations.

Leaked draft proposal has had time to cause a storm, especially in the industry that manufactures packaging and packaging raw materials, for which the future of business is at stake.

According to the leaked version, the commission intends to propose that restaurants and cafes should switch from paper-based single-use containers to multi-use containers, i.e. containers that could be washed and reused.

This is the regulation’s raflavian proposal, at least if you compare it to current consumption habits. In addition to that, the regulation intends to regulate, among other things, how much recycled plastic must be in new plastic bottles and how packaging recycling could be improved in the member countries.

Commission would set a target level for reusable containers. For example, 30 percent of cold and hot drinks should be served in such containers by 2030, and the share would rise to 95 percent in 2040.

20 percent of takeaway food should be packed in reusable containers in 2030 and eventually 75 percent.

The percentages may still change, but the direction is clear: the commission wants to reduce single use to a minimum, whether it’s plastic or paper. The goal is to reduce the amount of waste.

According to environmental organizations rather, the ambition should only be increased, because the consumption of packaging increased by about 20 percent during the past decade.

Commission the proposal is closely followed in Finland, especially by Huhtamäki, whose single-use packaging currently packs McDonald’s hamburgers and Starbucks coffee, as well as hundreds of other foodstuffs.

A large part of the used packaging ends up in recycling. According to EU health legislation, new food packaging cannot be made from recycled food packaging, but they can be used for other purposes.

For Huhtamäki, the company’s business is practically at stake in the presentation, because the commission is directly interfering with the core of the company’s business. The company’s turnover in 2021 was approximately EUR 3,575 million. More than a quarter of that comes from the segment that supplies cardboard and plastic disposable containers to, for example, fast food restaurants and cafes in Europe, South Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania.

CEO of Huhtamäki Charles Heaulme tells HS that the company has nothing against regulation in itself – it is needed if the EU is going to achieve its sustainability goals. However, based on the information so far, Héaulmé is worried that the commission is not relying on the investigated facts, but mainly wants the regulation to look good.

“If decisions are not based on science and facts, it can lead to unpredictable effects.”

The packaging industry has brought their concerns to the attention of the commission, but based on the draft presentation, they have not been taken into account. Industry lobbying after the presentation will be tough, it already is.

It is only a proposal from the Commission, which can be changed by the member states and the Parliament.

Héaulmé demands a more accurate assessment from the Commission on which increases emissions more during the life cycle, the reuse of the packaging or its single use.

Reuse always requires washing, which consumes water and can increase the use of chemicals. Many restaurants have outsourced their counters, which means that the environmental impact of transportation should also be taken into account.

“There is also concern about whether reusable food packaging is hygienic enough.”

In Héaulmen according to the packaging regulation started as a fight against plastic, which led to paper-based innovations in industry. Now they are also in the line of fire.

“If reuse increases, the vast majority of dishes will be plastic – which we had to get rid of. This regulation will increase the use of thick plastic, which is one unpredictable effect.”

According to Héaulmé, estimates of reuse may also be too optimistic. According to the packaging industry’s own assessment, multi-use packaging can withstand a maximum of a few dozen reuses, but no more than that.

Based on the experiments, customers also do not return multi-use containers 100% of the time, but about ten percent end up being put back into use.

Of course, attitude changes can be quick. Consumers were ready to give up plastic when the store started charging money for plastic bags or simply stopped offering plastic as an alternative.

European the paper packaging industry’s trade association EPPA has commissioned several analyzes from the consulting company Ramboll, according to which recyclable, paper-based disposable food packaging would be more environmentally sustainable than durable containers.

Professor Jyri Seppälä The Finnish Environmental Center questioned Ramboll’s choices in an interview with HS. According to Seppälä, the analysis does not take into account the fact that the EU’s energy production becomes less emitting than before, which reduces the environmental impact of reuse.

Read more: The packaging industry researched: Single-use packaging is better for the environment than durable containers – This is how Syke’s manager evaluates the result

According to Héaulmé, the packaging industry is also constantly becoming less emitting and more sustainable, whereby the environmental footprint of single-use packaging continues to decrease and their relative advantage over multi-use packaging remains.

“A few years ago, Huhtamäki did not use renewable energy at all, now the share is 25 percent and in 2030 it will be one hundred percent.”

The packaging industry and Héaulmé also point out that packaging extends the life cycle of food.

“A third of all produced food ends up wasted along the food chain. It corresponds to ten percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. I claim that the best way to deal with wastage is to pack the food as well as possible.”