Europe discusses stricter use of plastic – 03/13/2024 – Market

The EU (European Union) is about to impose a total ban on the use of most plastics in the packaging of food and drink products coming from outside the bloc, in a last-minute effort proposed by France to change new environmental legislation under discussion, according to European Commission officials.

Officials from the commission’s trade department are, however, involved in discussions with member states to try to remove this total ban, which until now had planned to encourage recycled plastic.

They said France’s last-minute amendment to the law would raise the price of everyday goods in the EU, alienate the developing world and disrupt trade as many imports into the bloc are packaged in plastic.

The French-led amendment was made in a provisional agreement between member states and the European Parliament last week and would, in effect, block plastic from outside the EU that does not meet the bloc’s standards.

Officials said very few recycling plants outside the EU could comply with the bloc’s packaging legislation, and so their plastic products would effectively be banned.

They added that the shortage of plastic under the law would increase its price, with a ripple effect on the cost of products.

But Pascal Canfin, the French MEP who chairs parliament’s environment committee, defended the interim agreement with member states and said it was “completely unacceptable” that commission officials were calling EU capitals to “tear it down”. .

“We are creating a new market for recycled plastic with this regulation and we want to ensure that there is fair competition for our industry compared to imports,” he added.

EU legislation, proposed by the commission in 2022, aims to reduce waste by setting targets for recycled content in packaging used in products sold in the bloc.

The rules have been the subject of intense lobbying pressure due to their impact on a wide range of industries, from hospitality to logistics.

France’s insertion of requirements to ensure only imported recycled plastic is made to the same standards as those in the EU is the result of an effort by Paris to protect domestic industry, according to commission officials and diplomats.

The country, arguing that domestic producers face higher costs due to EU regulation, has repeatedly defended the use of so-called mirror clauses in new laws that would force third countries to follow the same production methods as those in the bloc.

But these clauses often violate World Trade Organization agreements and have been resisted by more liberal EU member states, such as the Netherlands and Germany, and by the commission.

Several member states are concerned about the “mirror clause” in EU packaging legislation and could reject it at a meeting on Friday where ambassadors are expected to approve the law.

“We are concerned about the implications and are examining the legislation,” an EU diplomat said. A majority of member states must support the law for it to be approved.

Lawyers for the EU Council and the European Parliament called the provisional agreement on EU law compatible with international trade rules.

The commission said it is “reviewing” the agreement. A French official said recycling to EU standards was a priority for Paris.

EU recyclers said allowing recycled plastic from third countries without comparable environmental standards would pose an “existential threat” to the bloc’s domestic industry.

“We have invested massively in recycling capacity, currently idle due to lack of demand [porque] Competition from recycled materials from low-cost countries is already an industrial reality,” said Sophie Sicard-Lemaire, deputy director of sustainable development and institutional affairs at French recycling company Paprec.

“It would be absurd for European consumers to finance low-cost recycling of Asian packaging while, at the same time, recycling of European packaging waste remains trapped in a permanent price crisis.”

The EU recycling industry generates 10.4 billion euros in revenue annually, according to Plastics Recyclers Europe, a trade body.

Germany, Italy and the Netherlands have the highest number of plastic recycling facilities in the EU.