INCPEN Newsletter
 

A message from Paul Vanston, INCPEN CEO

Dear Colleagues,

Transformation, upheaval and survival. These were three words I used in last month’s Newsletter to describe the challenges faced by Industry Council members, and representative organisations. In all likelihood, these challenges will remain in place for 2020 and much of 2021. Covid-19 and almost all scenarios relating to the end of the transition period with the EU will continue to amplify these challenges for businesses.

On the transformation front, the many Newsletter items below continue to demonstrate how packaging companies are innovating on functional properties, resources conservation, and circular economy principles. Packaging technologists among us do need to be encouraged and congratulated that the innovations you create will make valuable contributions to the climate and resources agendas.

Similarly there are industry-wide activities on UK and EU legislation that will help climate, resources and biodiversity agendas IF we arrive at a well-designed package of interventions that are environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable. Many receiving this Newsletter will already be involved in activities, and you have my thanks for the team efforts we’re producing.  

Three of the major current activities on legislation include (not exhaustive): -

• Packaging recycling and ‘consistency’ of recycling collections: there are extensive efforts across all materials to ensure packaging is recyclable once it becomes ‘used packaging’. There is a particular focus right now to ensure the Core Set of Dry Recyclables the Government proposes for all councils’ recycling collections in England should include aluminium foil and aerosols, and plastic films & flexibles.  On the latter, a sub-group of Defra’s Packaging & Collections Working Group was set-up in September to garner cross-sector inputs to inform officials & Ministers’ thinking on ensuring plastic films & flexibles are included in the Core Set.  I can report that a team effort among producer orgs and waste management companies is providing confidence to the Government that plastic films & flexibles should be included in the Core Set when the Government announces it in 2021 (subject to Ministerial views).  Whilst delivery end dates for achievement by all councils of 2030 and 2035 were mooted, the Sub-Group dismissed those as being too late. 2028 has been agreed upon (subject to Ministerial views) because that allows sufficient time for all councils following a policy announcement in 2021.  In practice, analysis identifies that 80% of councils would be in a position to deliver the whole Core Set of Dry Recyclables within a three-year period up to 2025.
  
  (Note: whilst some packaging may be described as ‘single-use’ in terms of how a householder may use it functionally, the packaging is most definitely ‘multiple-use’ in terms of how many times the materials can be recycled and put to good use over and over again. We need to do more to get this distinction across to those who may need support when using the term ‘single-use’).  
   
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): Work has been ongoing between the four UK governments, INCPEN, the BRC and the FDF, WRAP and Zero Waste Scotland to initiate the EPR Modulated Fees Research and Development Project. For INCPEN’s part, we will be investing 50% of the project costs in 2020/21 and the 4 Government the other 50%. The intention is for the governments and producers to co-design the new EPR Modulated Fees system so that it is ‘off the shelf’ ready for when the Scheme Administrator is appointed in due course. This project will start in October 2020 and last a year. No surprises that INCPEN’s investment means we’re insisting that the memberships of INCPEN, the BRC and the FDF will be embraced within the project, AND the bodies that comprise the INCPEN Trades Associations Group. The principle of ‘involving all the appropriate voices’ has been agreed by the four governments. Additionally, we have decided not to initiate a public procurement for consultancy support because the exercise would take us too close to the pre-election period for the Scottish and Welsh Parliamentary elections. Instead, WRAP (covering England, NI and Wales) and Zero Waste Scotland will provide capacity to support the governments and producers to get the project done. Further details on activities and involvement will be passed to colleagues shortly – but I’m happy to receive emails or calls from colleagues in the meantime.
   
• State of readiness for 2021: The governments have announced the next wave of consultations will be published in early 2021 on EPR (UK-wide), Deposit Return Systems (England, NI and Wales), and Consistency (England). It is important there is considerable effort – and as unified as possible between us – to make sure all our organisations prepare for these consultations BEFORE they hit our inboxes. That means the period from now through to December is a really important phase in preparations. Thus, the Industry Council will continue its preparations on all these fronts, including effective engagement with the wider packaging value chain. Deepening our relationships with local authorities, the waste management sector, and recyclers will be beneficial all round when we get to the ‘hard yards’ of negotiating tough aspects of the new systems. I know fellow representative bodies are working similarly, and many companies too. What may be helpful is an ongoing readiness to be open with each other to share plans, and to present unified approaches. I make that offer of behalf of the Industry Council, and I look forward to continuing to work with you all.

Lastly, along with ‘transformation’ there are the major challenges of upheaval and survival. I have to say the passions across businesses and organisations to getting through the Covid-19 and Brexit upheavals have been impressive. I’ve seen resilience and fighting-spirit more in 2020 than has been needed in the recent past. For my part, I wish to thank the efforts of everyone receiving this Newsletter for the incredible work to tackle challenges head-on in the most difficult of circumstances.  


The plan for the next month:  keep going!


My thanks and best wishes, Paul

INCPEN Member News

Legislation Updates

INCPEN Members (not including Trade Association Group colleagues) can see all legislation updates in full by clicking here.  If you experience issues logging in, please contact Alison Skuse.

Italy - CEP transposition introduces significant changes to packaging EPR - 21 Sep 2020
 

• New procedures for establishing individual systems and PROs (consortia) for waste packaging are introduced that allow for a competitive market to develop [currently CONAI is the only packaging PRO].
• A national ’EPR’ producer register is to be established by the Ministry of the Environment in which all producers of products subject to EPR must register [currently there is no packaging register]. Operational and procedural requirements will be detailed in an upcoming Ministry Decree.
• The minimum requirements on PROs are transposed as per the EU Directive (including fee modulation requirements), in addition to newly requiring PROs to report annually to the Ministry on transparency-related issues.
• With regard to producer financing: - 
  • producers of EPR-subjected products (excl. household packaging) must cover the full costs of the separate collection and management of their EOL products, unless waivered by the Ministry (in accordance with Art. 8a.4 of 2018/851);
  • producers of packaging are responsible for financing at least 80% of the cost of municipal separate collection of waste packaging and 100% of all other waste management and informational costs.
• The legal basis for the establishment of deposit-refund systems (DRS) for beverage packaging is established, however DRS’ remain voluntary unless regulated further by Ministry Decree.
• The material-specific and overall recycling targets have been transposed as per the EU Directive.
• The National Waste Prevention Program is strengthened to which anti-litter and anti-food waste measures are added.
• The provisions on the ‘waste traceability register’ and the ‘waste register’ have been overhauled, notably
  • clarifying that all entities or companies collecting or transporting waste on a professional basis are required to register; and
  • imposing additional reporting and record keeping obligations on various parties.
• New administrative sanctions are imposed for failure to comply with the new registration, reporting and record keeping rules.

Austria - 3 point plan to reduce plastic waste announced: DRS, reusable quota, plastic free - 18 Sep 2020
 

• A binding reusable quota (‘typically reusable glass bottles’) that will apply to beverages sold at retail: From 2023 at least 25% of all bottles sold must be reusable, 40% from 2025 and 55% from 2030.
• A DRS that will apply to beverages in single use plastic bottles and metal cans.
• A fee of an average of EUR 800 per tonne POM of plastic packaging, charged to producers and importers.  The fee will be: -
  • Modulated:  Reduction will apply to packaging that is particularly suitable for recycling and to packing with recycled content;
  • Linked to the amount of the EU plastic fee Austria must pay: If Austria's plastic recycling rate increases, the ‘savings’ from the lower payments to the EU will lower the Austrian plastic fee.

Greece - Waste Management plan approved, details of CEP transposition legislation emerge - 17 Sep 2020
 

• favors incineration and energy recovery over prevention and recycling;
• concentrates the country’s resources on lower tiers of the waste hierarchy (energy recovery and recycling) rather than higher tiers (prevention, minimisation and reuse);
• focuses too heavily on the establishment of expensive and inefficient treatment facilities;
• largely ignores waste prevention, food waste reduction and source separation, all of which are considered critical EU priorities;
• lacks detailed measures for meeting the EU recycling targets;
• states that “the pay-as-you-throw financing mechanism will be implemented in a pilot form over the period 2020-2030”;
• lacks cost estimations and analyses’;
• lacks credible and reliable data.

• the transposition of the mandatory recycling targets of the Directives;
• a pay-as-you-throw financing mechanism, mandatorily applied in large municipalities, and increases in landfill fees which will accrue to the Green Fund to finance municipal waste management and R&D projects;
• improvements and the enlargement of the Electronic Waste Register, as well as the connection of the General Electronic Commercial Registry (GEMI) with the EPR producer registers to combat freeriding producers;
• the establishment of a DRS for beverage containers;
• the introduction of coloured waste separation/sorting bins for different materials;
• measures for the reuse of packaging materials.

• large commercial entities and hotels to separate and properly manage food waste;
• hotels to separately collect packaging waste in hotel rooms;
• new buildings to provide space for the separate collection of municipal waste;
• public spaces and buildings to provide separate collection bins.

Ireland - Ambitious 'Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy' follows minimal CEP transposition - 16 Sep 2020
 

• Recycling targets will be incorporated into the permit conditions for collectors i.e. they will have to meet the CEP’s 55% MSW recycling target for 2025, 60% by 2030, etc. This should incentivise them to improve waste separation.
• Consumer will be better protected: The remit of the ‘Price Monitoring Group’ (PMG) – which monitors the price and service levels of the competing household waste collectors – will be expanded. Moreover, its data will provide critical input for the waste collection permit authority (NWCPO).
• Bin colours will be standardised countrywide: Green for recycling, brown for organic waste and black for residual.

• Specific targets will be set for packaging formats/products e.g. beverage and food cartons.
• Individual (self-) compliance will be abolished.  The Plan notes that this ‘will facilitate the mandatory introduction of EPR for all packaging producers before the 2024 EU deadline’. [There were around 140 registered individual packaging compliers with an estimated share of POM of about 6% in 2015].
• Mandatory EPR for all packaging producers before 2024 EU deadline, all producers will be liable for the eco-­modulated fees [As all packaging is already subject to EPR, the action probably suggests the intention to abolish the current small producer exemption (10 tonnes POM and a turnover above EUR 1 million)].
• All packaging will have to be reusable or recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030.
• Measures to support the use of recycled materials, including a virgin plastic levy, will be examined.
• Producers will be held liable for a minimum of 80% of the costs of managing packaging waste and producers of certain SUP packaging will also become liable for the costs associated with litter clean-up.
• The mainstream adoption of the MyWaste package label will be encouraged. [The label is part of the MyWaste initiative by the Regional Waste Management Offices.]

• A DRS for plastic bottles and aluminium cans from Q3-22. Consultation on design options are planned for Q3-20; consultation on the preferred model and draft regulations in Q1-21.
• A ‘latte levy’ to tackle the proliferation of disposable coffee cups and other measures on hot and cold single use drink cups, such as a ban on their unnecessary use (for example in sit-in cafes) and the obligations for retailers to grant price reduction to consumers using reusable cups. 

• Environmental levies on food containers and other measures such as a ban on their unnecessary use.

• Abolition of Individual (self-) compliance as a compliance option for ‘all EPRs’ [sic].
• Expansion of EPR to the waste streams listed in the SUP Directive: examining the feasibility of introducing EPR to textiles, paints, bulky waste, medicines, farm hazardous waste.
• Strengthening of the PRO approval process to ensure that end-of-life costs are ‘sufficiently’ covered by the fees paid by the producers and improving the governance and transparency of PROs [the disclosure of fee and financial data is not mentioned].
• Modulated EPR fees from 2023 ‘where possible’.

Denmark - Consultations on uniform sorting of packaging and non-packaging household waste - 14 Sep 2020
 

• a draft amendment to the Waste Order which would require municipalities i.a. to:-
  • separately collect 11 waste fractions via kerbside collection (new from Jun-21: ‘food and beverage cartons’ - the only fraction that contains only packaging waste - and food waste);
  • label waste bags and containers with new pictograms* from Jan-22;
  • achieve a 60% recycling rate for collected plastic packaging from Jul-21.
• draft guidance on the collection of household waste which describes the implementation options for the arrangement of municipal collection (such as combining collection fractions**) to account for differing conditions at apartment buildings, family homes, holiday homes, city centres, etc.
• draft guidance on sorting criteria, including examples of waste items that should be collected in each fraction.

• have easier administrative requirements;
• be newly allowed to take back expired products or packaging from other producers as long as they fall into the same product category;
• have to be established by producers/importers or entities contracted by them.

Greece - Public consultation launched on SUPD implementing law - 1 Sep 2020
 

News from Industry

• WEBINAR: Mon 5 October, 11-11:30am: RECOUP have been appointed auditors for #RecyClassUK, the first approved certification system for plastic packaging; They are hosting an 'Introduction to RecyClassUK Pack Certification' webinar. Click the link to register.
• Hydrogen-powered train makes UK maiden journey; The prototype, called the Hydroflex, made a 25-mile round trip in Warwickshire, reaching speeds of up to 50 mph.
• Biffa joins OPRL waste division; Biffa joins Veolia in joining the waste management division on the OPRL, after the French-owned company joined last month.
• Tobacco firms face mandatory rules on litter, says Pow; Litter from cigarette butts could be brought within extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules if the tobacco industry fails to join an effective voluntary scheme, environment minister Rebecca Pow has warned. Pow issued the threat at a meeting with tobacco industry representatives, Keep Britain Tidy (KBT) and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the minutes of which have been published by Defra.
• Suez finds rise in student recycling; Clear information and more convenient recycling points would boost students’ already increasing commitment to recycling. These are among conclusions of a report by waste management firm Suez into students’ attitudes towards recycling, conducted with the National Union of Students.
• Food industry warns on post-Brexit trade with N Ireland; Government urged to provide greater clarity as members weigh costs of regulatory border.
• Government’s 10pm curfew is laughably random – and deeply damaging to wholesalers; Credit where credit’s due. Throughout the Covid-19 chaos, the government has been admirably consistent in one message. That is: “Do as we say, not as we do.” And it’s been communicated with praiseworthy commitment. Hey, Dominic Cummings didn’t drive all the way to County Durham for the sake of his health. The clear-cut communique is now being further underlined via the watering holes in the Palace of Westminster. “Parliament’s bars will not be subject to the 10pm curfew or have to gather customers’ details despite the imposition of tougher rules on pubs last Thursday,” The Times reported this morning.
• Report reveals staggering savings to be made by switching to frozen; A new study commissioned by Birds Eye and Iceland indicates the acceleration of frozen food’s revival during the UK lockdown is set to continue and create long-term changes in shopping habits.
• Canned cocktail sales to surpass $146bn by 2030; The report from market research firm Fact MR said sales of RTD products will rise by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% to 2030, when the value of sales in the sector is predicted to surpass US$146bn.
• New super-enzyme eats plastic bottles six times faster; A super-enzyme that degrades plastic bottles six times faster than before has been created by scientists and could be used for recycling within a year or two. The super-enzyme, derived from bacteria that naturally evolved the ability to eat plastic, enables the full recycling of the bottles. Scientists believe combining it with enzymes that break down cotton could also allow mixed-fabric clothing to be recycled. Today, millions of tonnes of such clothing is either dumped in landfill or incinerated. The super-enzyme was engineered by linking two separate enzymes, both of which were found in the plastic-eating bug discovered at a Japanese waste site in 2016. The researchers revealed an engineered version of the first enzyme in 2018, which started breaking down the plastic in a few days. But the super-enzyme gets to work six times faster.
• Can technology help get shoppers back in-store? Despite an upsurge in online grocery shopping, many consumers still like to go into a physical store to select their own produce and to interact with others. But social distancing concerns and anxieties around hygiene mean consumer confidence is at an all-time low. Can technology help retailers tempt shoppers back in-store?  Research carried out by EY suggests almost half of UK consumers believe the way they shop over the next one to two years will change. Four-in-five people said they would be uncomfortable trying on clothes in a store and only a quarter said they feel comfortable going out to buy groceries.
• Waitrose to remove plastic packaging from its Christmas wrap; It will eliminate the use of single-use plastic in these products which cannot be recycled and usually end up on landfill. Instead, the Waitrose wrapping paper will include a small amount of extra paper to prevent the advertised length of role from being damaged and it will be covered with additional labels to prevent unravelling.
• Viridor and Kent County Council agree £6.2m deal; The 12-month extension to the contract covers over 62,000 tonnes of recycling including glass, paper, card, household plastics and aluminium cans. IT covers Ashford, Maidstone, Swale, Gravesham, Dartford and parts of Tonbridge Wells and Malling.
• Agency to investigate ‘illegal exports’ to Sri Lanka; The Environment Agency has requested more information from the Sri Lankan authorities to allow an investigation to be launched into illegal waste exports, after customs authorities in the south Asian country said it had begun repatriating 21 containers of waste back to the UK. 
• Making kayaks from Cornish coastline rubbish; Rubbish collected from the Cornish coastline is being recycled and made into sea kayaks.
• Treasury told to sort out EA funding; The Treasury has been urged to put fighting waste crime on a stronger financial footing and to end disruption caused by the Environment Agency’s lack of capacity. Those are among demands from the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) and mining  and minerals industry body IOM3 in a joint submission ahead of the Government’s expected comprehensive spending review.
• Macfarlane survey finds rise in recyclable packs for e-commerce; According to its fifth annual unboxing survey of UK consumers, 63% of respondents said that packs were recyclable compared to 51% in 2019. It also found that 32% of respondents received packs without branding and 33% of packages had no returns information.
• Greiner Packaging claims 33% material saving with cardboard-plastic combo; The K3 range is a light-weight thermoformed tub made with a minimum of 30% r-PET, which Greiner says can be increased to 100% r-PET – and is wrapped with a cardboard outer layer.
• Which? claims only 34% of packs are fully recyclable; The consumer product reviewer tested 10 different categories and claimed that only 34% had packaging that was fully recyclable. It also claimed that 41% had no labelling to indicate whether the pack could be recycled.
• Recycle Week | Research shows the ‘greenest people’ in Britain; Manchester residents claim the top spot for being the ‘greenest’ people in Great Britain, followed by Plymouth and Nottingham. In fact, Plymouth respondents achieved the highest score for their attitudes towards being eco-friendly.
• Recycle Week | OPRL launches new recyclability certification scheme; Initially available for rigid and flexible plastic packaging in partnership with RECOUP, the scheme will be extended across all packaging materials and will align with OPRL’s Labelling Rules and PREP self-evaluation assessments.
• Ribena adopts Transcend Packaging’s innovative paper U-bend straw; Ribena will be the first UK juice drinks brand to introduce the sustainable straws to its drinks cartons, with the new packs now available in Tesco as part of a trial of the new paper straw design.
• WRAP survey reveals public’s recycling mistakes; Recycling levels are higher than ever, but many people mistakenly put one or more items in recycling that are not accepted locally, WRAP’s latest survey of public behaviour has shown.
• 'The UK will lead by example': Boris Johnson urges nations to ramp up Paris climate pledges; Prime Minister to announce plans for joint UK-UN 'launchpad' event in December aimed at encouraging nations to enhance Paris Agreement commitments ahead of next year's COP26 Summit in Glasgow.
• Call for tax on waste sector carbon emissions; The UK should price carbon emissions from waste disposal to help reach net zero carbon emissions, an expert commission launched by Ovo Energy’s founder has said.
• Best recyclers are ‘worst contaminators’; The best recyclers are among the worst contaminators, research by Keep Britain Tidy has found. It said overt measures such as rejected bins and explanatory tags were the best way to change behaviour. Those keenest to recycle tended to assume they knew what could be placed for collections and rarely updated their knowledge, leading to collections contained with residual waste.
• Innovia unveils new carbon neutral label film; Encore C45cn is certified by the International Sustainability Carbon Certification (ISCC). Innovia says that the product is carbon neutral on a mass balance and cradle to gate basis.
• MPMA teams up with World Land Trust to launch refillable bottle; Each bottle will be sold through the World Land Trust website shop with proceeds supporting the charity. Through the sale of each refillable water bottle, the charity will receive £5 which is the cost of planting an individual tree as part of the WLT ‘Plant a Tree’ scheme.
• Lidl GB sets ambitious plastic waste reduction targets; The new goals form part of its strategy to eliminate plastic waste and support the continued reduction of plastic, despite the challenges posed by COVID-19.
• Suez in PreZero talks over part European sale; Suez has signed an agreement with the parent company of supermarket chain Lidl, which will see “exclusive negotiations” take place for the sale of Suez Recycling & Recovery operations in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany and Poland.
• Lego to switch from plastic to paper inner bags; The company, whose ambition is to make all its packaging sustainable by the end of 2025, said the paper bags, which are recyclable, are easier for children to open.
• Iceland joins call for plastic packaging transparency; Iceland is calling on the retail and wider business sector to become more transparent in their reporting of plastic packaging.
• Environmental organisations criticise BSI standard accrediting ‘litterable’ plastics; Environmental coalition Wildlife and Countryside Link and RECOUP have criticised a new standard for biodegradation of polyolefins.
• Discarded masks leading to ‘enormous’ amount of waste; Hygiene services firm PHS has launched a service for the safe disposal of plastic face masks as MPs warn of an 'enormous' amount of waste building up. This came after a warning from the RSPCA that thoughtless discarding of such personal protective equipment (PPE) used in the Covid-19 pandemic had become a danger to wildlife. PHS said that PPE collected in its waste bins will be diverted from landfill and sent to energy-from-waste plants.
• Mixed battery recycling plant launched; A new mixed chemistry battery recycling facility will open in October to meet growing demand from electric car users. Fenix Battery Recycling is to next month open what it says is the first facility in the UK to offer on-site recycling for multiple battery types.
• Not so fast fashion: Public backs calls for government to clean up fashion industry; Hubbub report reveals widespread support for policies to curb environmental impact of clothing industry. The fast fashion movement may have reshaped the clothing industry, but it is at risk of alienating a majority of the public who are increasingly concerned about the sector's out-sized environmental impact. 
• KM Packaging launches mono material polypropylene lidding films; The sustainable films, from the global flexible packaging and lidding films supplier, seal and peel to PP and PE-lined PP trays and can be used during microwave cooking as well as being suitable for ambient, chilled, or frozen applications.
• Cooking oil recycling service comes to UK; Cooking oil recycling firm Oleo Recycling is to launch a fully integrated collection and disposal service in the UK. Its collection vehicles will provide a national service calling on customers as needed, the company said.
• FPA warning over Irish coffee cup levy; The Foodservice Packaging Association (FPA) has expressed its concern over plans in Ireland to propose a ‘latte levy’ and a levy on cold drinks cup levy.
• DS Smith and Laithwaite’s team to deliver closed loop solution; DS Smith and Laithwaite’s Wine, the UK’s largest online wine merchant, have joined forces to certify a closed loop recycling system across the two companies’ supply chains.
• Suez in deal for huge PET recycling plant; Waste firm Suez and plastics technology concern Loop Industries are to build the first Infinite Loop facility producing 100% recycled and infinitely recyclable plastic at a location to be chosen in Europe. They said this could produce some 4.2 billion bottles a year. Loop owns patented low-energy technology that enables waste plastic to be recycled an infinite number of times, and the company has said this happens without any degradation in quality. 
• Call for levy on unrecyclable fashion; Environmental group Hubbub has called for all major retailers to measure food waste levels as well as for compulsory investment in textile recycling by fashion shops in its manifesto for a post-pandemic recovery.
• BPF hits back at BBC’s War on Plastic; The programme, presented by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Anita Rani, looks into the amount of plastic that is produced and claims that “every minute, the equivalent of a truck full of plastic is emptied into the world’s oceans”. But in a statement, the BPF argued that the programme did not set out why plastic was used in the first place for packaging. It added that the “enemy is not plastic, the enemy is plastic waste”.