CEN Enquiry Regarding Packaging – Design for Recycling of Plastic Packaging

CEN Enquiry regarding Packaging – Design for recycling of plastic packaging was launched on 19 September 2024. The enquiry will run until 12 December 2024.

The national standards bodies will now transmit a national consultation concerning each of the parts. In the UK, the national standards body is BSI.

PPWR strategy is to define recyclability (guidelines and protocols) in delegated acts, that will be launched in 2027.

EU Commission has provided CEN a mandate to develop standards for methodologies, guidelines and protocols (standardization request M584). The intention of these ‘standards’ is to harmonise recycling, including recyclability guidelines, and to define the technical criteria to qualify packaging as ‘recyclable’.

The aim is to become part of the PPWR decree on recyclability in 2027.

PPWR is introducing 2 aspects; Recycling Performance by 2030; Recyclability ‘at scale’ by 2035.

A definition of ‘recyclable at scale’ has not yet been agreed. This is partly because a few, including RECOUP, pointing out that this bit needs to allow for the rules ‘in a given country’.

Previously, CEN Groups of “experts” were aligned into 8 sub-groups to produced 16 Standards, with much heated debate to say the least. The Standards were produced and forwarded. By EU law these finalised documents had to be translated, before any further action, which has taken most of the Summer.

The next stage, CEN Enquiry regarding Packaging – Design for recycling of plastic packaging was launched on 19 September 2024. The enquiry will run until 12 December 2024. Which means RECOUP are now involved again; so I will explain where and how.

The national standards bodies will now transmit a national consultation concerning each of the parts. In the UK, the national standards body is BSI. A link will be available take non-committee members to the standards development portal, where they can view and submit general, technical and editorial comments on the drafts.

So, we have 15 documents to review in the next few weeks. As usual, will highlight anything which may be of interest / concern to RECOUP members.

After this, comments received will be reviewed by the relevant committee; which in the UK is the BSI committee PKW/0/-/10 “Packaging – Plastics”.

These national comments will be compiled by the national standards committee BSI PKW/0/-/10 and sent to CEN two weeks before the end of the vote.

There will be two half-day meetings of BSI PKW/0/-/10 on assigned dates between 26 November and 11 December. This will result in a Formal Vote, on behalf of the UK, which in theory will be a yes / no vote to accept or reject the draft.

The original target dates were; Acceptance of Final Draft 24/02/2025, Submission to Formal Vote 05/05/2025, Closure of Formal Vote; 30/06/2025.

Please contact paul.east@recoup.org for any further details.