INCPEN Member News

Legislation Updates

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Poland - Amendment to overhaul packaging EPR regime being drafted - 15 June 2021

• household packaging (3 million tonnes POM) would pay an estimated annual total of PLN 1.64 billion (EUR 361 million / EUR 9.8 per capita / EUR 110 per ton POM), of which 92% would be payable to the Fund for Environmental Protection (through the packaging fee - see below) and used to finance municipalities, while 8% be financed through PROs that take back collected waste from municipalities.
• non-household packaging (2.6 million tonnes POM) would not have to pay a packaging fee but are estimated to pay PLN 663 million (EUR 145 million / EUR 3.8 per capita / EUR 56 per ton POM) to PROs.

• Producer obligations will be separated for household and other packaging.
• Producers of household packaging will be subject to a mandatory ‘packaging fee’ on volumes POM, payable monthly to the Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFEP) in addition to the recycling fees charged by the PROs and any product charges payable [as a sanction for failure to meet the targets]. Monies from the packaging fees will be distributed to the regional authorities (voivodeship marshals).
• Packaging PROs will be: -
  • subject to additional requirements, including a) a new requirement to obtain an operating permit from the Ministry and b) an increase of the minimum share capital from the current PLN 2.5m (EUR 560,000) to PLN 5m (EUR 1.1m) [as currently imposed on WEEE PROs];
  • required to modulate recycling fees set them at the following minimum levels [note: these seem contradictory to the overall revenue projections for PRO, who are much lower – see above]

• The Institute of Environmental Protection - National Research Institute (IOŚ-PIB) will oversee the packaging regime and act as a coordination center/clearinghouse by: -
  • receiving audited packaging waste data from recyclers and issuing confirmation documents [Note: A new ‘database of products, packaging and waste management’ is set to launch in 2022];
  • allocating household packaging waste volumes to PROs and individual compliers in proportion to volumes POM.
• The recycled content requirements and the collection targets on PET bottles (up to 3L) of the EU SUPD will be transposed through the Amendment [Note: The remainder of the EU SUPD (prohibitions and EPR requirements) will be transposed through an upcoming Amendment to the Product Fee Act - which recently completed a public consultation].

Spain - MIC looks to establish a repairability index labelling scheme for EEE - 7 June 2021

• The documentation provided by the producer to facilitate the product’s repair (the producer’s commitment to making information available for the repair/reuse sector and guidance for end-users);
• The ease of disassembly and access to the part/component needed to be replaced;
• The availability of spare parts or specific tools;
• The cost of spare parts/tools in relation to the value of the product;
• Other supporting criteria specific to the type of EEE (i.e., remote assistance, free software, updates etc.).

1. What positive impacts do you think a repairability index can generate?
2. For which categories/types of EEE should a repairability index be applied?
3. When selecting the categories/types of EEE, which factors should be considered: those with a) high sales volumes, b) longer shelf life, c) greater generation of pollution/waste, or d) others.
4. In which order should these factors be prioritized?
5. Would you add additional criteria? If so, why?
6. Should a repairability index be applied voluntarily or mandatorily?
7. To what extent would the index influence your purchase decision when choosing between two EEE with similar characteristics?
8. Should the index label be displayed a) next to the price at the point of sale (both in stores and virtually), b) on the packaging or c) both options
9. Which indicator do you consider most understandable, a) a score from 1 to 10, b) colours green to red, c) or both?
10. How do you assess obtaining information in digital format on the specific parameters that have made it possible to calculate the score of the product?
11. In addition to a repairability index on EEE, would you find it useful to have a parallel index for the consumable parts that the product incorporates, such as batteries?

News from Industry

• Defra working with DIT on UK plastic recycling; Defra is working with the Department for International Trade (DIT) on developing plastic processing infrastructure in the UK to reduce the need for exports, the Environment Minister Rebecca Pow has said.  And, the minister added that the government will be looking to bring the planned ban on plastic exports to non-OECD countries forward, although it was not specified when this might be.
• Stationers' Innovation Excellence Awards 2021; After a year's absence because of the pandemic  the Company is delighted that the Stationers' Innovation Excellence Awards are back.  On Tuesday, 22 June 2021 the winners were announced and awards presented at a live hybrid, ceremony.  
• Mushroom supplier to pay charity £54k for ignoring packaging regulations; The Environment Agency has accepted an Enforcement Undertaking from a Worcestershire-based fresh mushroom supplier who broke packaging regulations. The Enforcement Undertaking is being used to help inspire ocean friendly behaviours. An Enforcement Undertaking is available to the Environment Agency as an alternative sanction to prosecution or monetary penalty for dealing with certain environmental offences. It is a legally-binding voluntary agreement proposed by a business (or an individual) when the Environment Agency has reasonable grounds to suspect that an environmental offence has occurred. Walsh Mushrooms Group of Vale Park, Evesham, is now working within the rules and has made a payment of £54,880.33 to the Marine Conservation Society to make amends for the failures.
• Irish seek wiggle room for UK on protocol; The Irish want to help Britain win more flexibility in enforcing post-Brexit trade rules, but they worry that British calls for “radical change” to the Northern Ireland protocol really are code for wrecking it. “We are making the case strongly at an EU level for flexibility and pragmatism, but also an adherence to what was agreed,” Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said after hosting the first meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in two years. His Dublin Castle discussions with Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis ended Thursday on a relatively upbeat note. They agreed that such meetings — supposedly an important part of Northern Ireland’s 1998 peace accord, but held rarely since Tony Blair left Downing Street in 2007 — needed to become regular events once again.
• Brexit not so sweet for UK’s sugar beet farmers; Liz Truss hailed the U.K.'s trade agreement with Australia as a Brexit milestone, but sugar farmers in the trade secretary's own Norfolk constituency are worried the deal isn't sweet enough. Britain’s sugar businesses are divided when it comes to the white stuff. One group, dominated by iconic British brand Tate and Lyle, imports cane sugar from tropical countries and refines it to make the final product. During the U.K.'s EU membership, tough import restrictions dreamed up in Brussels raised import costs and strangled the business, with the company's London refinery operating at a loss in recent years. Yet keeping the cane out benefited farmers in the U.K. growing sugar beet. Another food giant, British Sugar, which has a factory in the heart of the international trade secretary's Norfolk patch, refines this home-grown beet which is largely produced in the east of England. Brexit — and the trade deals that follow it — could shift the balance of winners and losers.
• British Takeaway Campaign welcomes HFSS ad ban exemption for SMEs; Small and medium businesses will be exempt from the ban, with those employing 249 or fewer employees will be permitted to advertise foods high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS), according to The Telegraph. Restrictions for online ads will not be subject to a total ban, with those terms applying only to paid-for advertising while brand-only advertising, which don’t include any HFSS products, will not be affected.
• Global Britain must prove it can lead a global change in how we treat our planet – CCC; In its latest report published today (24 June), the Climate Change Committee (CCC) says time is running out for the UK Government to implement ‘realistic’ climate change commitments. The findings of the latest CCC progress reports which look at the UK’s progress in reducing emissions and an assessment of progress in adapting to climate change, it says the UK Government has been ‘too slow’ to follow its ‘historic climate promises’ with delivery.
• EfW emissions require ‘urgent’ action, CCC says; Government policy must “urgently” address rising greenhouse gas emissions from energy from waste (EfW) plants, the government’s independent advisers on the climate said today (24 June).  The Climate Change Committee says existing plants must be retrofitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, while any new plants must be built with the technology or be ‘CCS-ready’.
• Naturopathica launches vegan vitamins in compostable packs; The inner sealing layer is a transparent film alternative to conventional plastic films, which is designed to biodegrade just like organic waste in a home compost. The middle layer is made with NatureFlex metallised compostable film, made mainly from wood pulp from sustainably managed forests, and provides barrier protection to keep the product protected. The outer layer is made from Paperwise; reclaimed agricultural waste, which also gives second life to waste usually burned, ensuring that Vegan Life gives back what it’s taken from the earth.
• First prototype LEGO brick made from recycled plastic revealed; The LEGO Group today (23 June) unveiled a prototype LEGO® brick made from recycled plastic, the latest step in its journey to make LEGO products from sustainable materials. The new prototype, which uses PET plastic from discarded bottles, is the first brick made from a recycled material to meet the company’s strict quality and safety requirements. A team of more than 150 people are working to find sustainable solutions for LEGO products. Over the past three years, materials scientists and engineers tested over 250 variations of PET materials and hundreds of other plastic formulations. The result is a prototype that meets several of their quality, safety and play requirements – including clutch power.  
• Frugalpac eyes growth and investment for paper wine bottle; The company claims Frugal Bottle is claimed to be five times lighter than a glass bottle, and is also claimed to have a carbon footprint six times lower than glass. The firm insists it is the world’s first commercially available wine and spirits bottle made from 96% recycled paper.
• Bacteria used to transform plastic waste into vanilla flavouring; Researchers have discovered that the common bacteria E. coli can be deployed as a sustainable way to convert post-consumer plastic into vanillin, a new study reveals. Vanillin is the primary component of extracted vanilla beans and is responsible for the characteristic taste and smell of vanilla. The University of Edinburgh study, published in Green Chemistry lays the foundation for further studies to maximise vanillin production towards industrially relevant levels. The research was funded by a BBSRC Discovery Fellowship and a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship.
• Birmingham City Council to roll out fleet of mobile recycling centres; A fleet of Mobile Household Recycling Centres (MHRCs) is set to roll out on the streets of Birmingham as part of the council’s effort to achieve cleaner streets.
  The four MHRCs will each feature three vehicles: a regular refuse collection vehicle for waste with no other use, a van for taking away items that can be reused by charities and a wagon with multiple compartments, enabling people to drop off waste for recycling by material type – just like at a conventional HRC.
• Lidl loses out in ‘battle of the gin bottles’; Lidl has recently been forced to stop selling its own brand gin on the grounds that it looks too similar to that produced by Hendrick’s. The move to ban the sale of the lookalike gin came following a trade mark infringement claim brought by Scottish gin maker, William Grant & Sons, which produces Hendrick’s. In his ruling at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Lord Clark commented on the ‘visual and conceptual similarity’ between the two gin bottles and noted that ‘bottle shape and colour are often intended as distinguishing features of gin products’.
• Gen Z leads rise in the ‘fix-it-yourself’ trend for everyday home repairs; From the simple change of a fridge lightbulb, to replacing a drum paddle in a washing machine, over half of Brits (55%) have adopted a ‘make, do and mend’ mindset through the pandemic, with new research from appliance spare parts retailer eSpares suggesting a growing generation of FIY (fix-it-yourself)-ers. The study of 2,000 people suggests repairing, restoring and fixing appliances is more popular with young people in particular. Nearly three in five (58%) 18-24 year-olds say they turned their hand at repairing everyday household appliances in the past year. As well as being spurred on by the pandemic, this age group is motivated by a desire to be more environmentally friendly (40%) and for their own satisfaction (40%).
• ‘Huge rise’ in surplus food redistribution in UK during lockdown – WRAP; WRAP has reported a ‘huge rise’ in surplus food redistribution in the UK during lockdown with the equivalent of more than 220 million meals worth of food prevented from going to waste.
  WRAP’s report ‘Surplus food redistribution in the UK 2015 – 2020’ shows that more than 92,000 tonnes of surplus food, worth £280 million – the equivalent of 220 million meals – redistributed in 2020. Total food was redistributed between 2015 and 2020 amounts to 320,000 tonnes, worth almost a billion pounds (£970 million) and equivalent to more than three quarters of a billion meals (760,000,000).
• Waitrose ‘Unpacked’ sales grow by almost 9% in six months; In response to a growing customer demand for refillables, Waitrose has announced that it is launching more new products as part of its pioneering ‘Unpacked’ refillable concept, including loose tea for the first time. Sales of refillables at its four Unpacked shops have grown by nearly 9% in the past six months with a number of products proving particularly popular with shoppers. Sales of refillable frozen fruit and vegetables for the same period have increased by more than 50%, detergent and washing-up liquid sales have grown by 24% and pulses, pasta and grains have risen by almost 8%.
• Fully electric, autonomous passenger shuttles take to Cambridge roads; The first custom-made fully electric, autonomous passenger shuttles will take to UK roads in ground-breaking trials in Cambridge. Transport minister Rachel Maclean MP was among the first passengers on board the Aurrigo shuttle last week as it embarked on a fully autonomous journey around the University of Cambridge’s West Cambridge campus. The shuttles are fully electric and will have a range of 100 miles. The vehicles are charged at the end of each day. 
• Waitrose aims to cut plastic with roll out of strawberry punnets; Waitrose has said it will eliminate near 17 tonnes of plastic and adhesive this summer following the launch of new strawberry punnets. The new Air-Light punnet has been developed by packaging manufacturer Sharpak and will be available as part of a trial this summer. The strawberries are supplied by Berry Gardens. According to the retailer, the pack is made of 80% recycled material and is more lightweight. It also incorporates a cushioned design that helps protect the fruit from damage, eliminating the need for a separate bubble bad. Waitrose added that the glue use to fix the pad to the packs has been removed.
• Corona ‘achieves net zero plastic footprint’; Corona has announced it has become the first global beverage brand with a net zero plastic footprint. The milestone means the beer brand claims it recovers more plastic from the environment than it releases into the environment.  This achievement is part of Corona’s vision to be a sustainability leader in consumer packaged goods and work on the problem of marine plastic pollution.