Sustainability & Regulatory Affairs Update

We have been following developments on the Single Use Plastic legislation moving through the European Commission and how it might impact on the carton industry. Clearly, as an industry, our aim needs to be to eliminate the need to use plastic and we’re aware that some of our members are making significant progress in achieving biodegradable barrier materials. The latest situation in Brussels is that Parliament voted on 24 October supporting the amendments proposed by the EP ENVI committee but added some additional requirements which could mean that some paper based products that currently contain plastics might face restrictions including items such as: - Cups for beverages, burger boxes and one portion containers for fruits, vegetables, desserts or ice-cream – with a consumption reduction of at least 25% by 2025. The Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR), which will be mandatory in member states by 2025, is expected to also include costs for cleaning up litter. The European paper industry is slowly advancing towards its voluntary target for Paper & Board recycling of 74% by 2020. The recycling rate in 2017 was 72.3%, up 0.3% on the previous year.