FEFCO: PPWD

DIRECTIVES 94/62/EC, 2004/12/EC AND 2005/20/EC ON PACKAGING AND PACKAGING WASTE

OVERVIEW AND FUTURE

On 20 December 1994, the first packaging & packaging waste directive was adopted (Directive 94/62/EEC on Packaging and Packaging Waste ).
The directive entered into force on 31 December 1994 and had to be implemented into national law before 30 June 1996.
The directive was amended by directive 2004/12/EC (to be implemented into national law before 18 August 2005) and by directive 2005/20/EC (to be implemented into national law before 9 September 2006). This summary will give an overview of the directive as amended, the so-called 'consolidated version'. A copy of the consolidated version can be found here.

The Directive covers all packaging placed on the market in the Community and all packaging waste, whether it is used or released at industrial, commercial, office, shop, service, household or any other level, regardless of the material used.

The objectives of the Directive can be stated as follows:
The Directive aims to harmonize national measures concerning the management of packaging and packaging waste in order:

to prevent or to reduce the impact of packaging and packaging waste, thus providing a high level of environmental protection
to ensure the functioning of the internal market and to avoid obstacles to trade within the Community

The Directive lays down measures aimed, as a first priority, at preventing the production of packaging waste and, as additional fundamental principles, at reusing packaging, at recycling and other forms of recovering packaging waste and, hence, at reducing the final disposal of such waste.

The Member States must introduce systems for the return and/or collection of used packaging to attain the following targets:

no later than 31 December 2008, 60 % as a minimum by weight of packaging waste will be recovered or incinerated at waste incineration plants with energy recovery
no later than 31 December 2008 between 55 and 80 % by weight of packaging waste will be recycled
no later than 31 December 2008 the following recycling targets for materials contained in packaging waste must be attained: 60 % by weight for glass, 60 % by weight for paper and board, 50 % by weight for metals, 22.5 % by weight for plastics and 15 % by weight for wood.
no later than 31 December 2007, the European Parliament and the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, will fix targets for 2009--2014.

Greece, Ireland and Portugal, because of the large number of small islands, the presence of rural and mountain areas and the low level of packaging consumption respectively, will not be bound by the targets until 31 December 2011.

Directive 2005/20/EC sets a later deadline for the 10 new Member States to meet the targets of the revised Packaging Directive:

31 December 2012 for the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia
31 December 2013 for Malta
31 December 2014 for Poland
31 December 2015 for Latvia.

Member States are allowed to set programmes that go beyond the target ranges, in the interest of a high level of environmental protection, under the condition that disturbances on the internal market are avoided and that the measures do not prevent other Member States from complying with the directive.

The directive lays down essential requirements as to the composition and the reuse, recovery and recycling of packaging and requires the Commission to promote the preparation of European standards relating to the essential requirements.
Publication of the titles and references of this set of harmonised standards in the Official Journal took place on 19th February 2005 (2005/C 44/13).

To provide the necessary Community data on waste management, the Member States must ensure that databases on packaging and packaging waste are established on a harmonised basis so that the implementation of the objectives of the Directive can be monitored. They must also promote information campaigns aimed at the general public and economic operators.

No later than 30 June 2005, the Commission must present a report on the implementation of the packaging Directive and on the options for increasing the prevention and reuse of waste.

The report shall cover the following:

(a) an evaluation of the effectiveness, implementation and enforcement of the essential requirements
(b) additional prevention measures to reduce the environmental impact of packaging as far as possible without compromising its essential functions
(c) the possible development of a packaging environment indicator to render packaging waste prevention simpler and more effective
(d) packaging waste prevention plans
(e) encouragement of reuse and, in particular, comparison of the costs and benefits of reuse and those of recycling
(f) producer responsibility including its financial aspects
(g) efforts to reduce further and, if appropriate, ultimately phase out heavy metals and other hazardous substances in packaging by 2010

This report shall, as appropriate, be accompanied by proposals for revision of the related provisions of this Directive, unless such proposals have, by that time, been presented.
The report further will have to address the mentioned issues as well as other relevant issues in the framework of the different elements of the Sixth Environmental Action Programme (the thematic strategy on recycling and the thematic strategy on the sustainable use of Resources).

REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PACKAGING AND PACKAGING WASTE DIRECTIVE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE INTERNAL MARKET

At the beginning of 2004, the European Commission has launched two parallel studies on the implementation effects of the packaging directive and its impact on the ENVIRONMENT and the INTERNAL MARKET in order to fulfil its obligations under the mentioned directive.

* Study on the implementation of the Packaging Directive and options to strengthen prevention and re-use
o Opens internal link in current window Final report
o Annexes
* Evaluation of Costs and Benefits for the Achievement of Reuse and the Recycling Targets for the Different Packaging Materials in the Frame of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC
o Final report
o Annexes 1-7
o Annexes 8-13

The Commission report itself has been published on 6 December 2006. The report on the implementation of the directive and its impact on the environment and the internal market can be found Opens internal link in current window here.