PETpla.net Insider 05 / 2021

MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 05/21 www.petpla.net 32 The EU Single Use Plastics Directive EU 2019/904 and its implementation 4. PETinar: The EU Directive’s impact for the PET value chain by Gabriele Kosmehl PETplanet’s fourth PETinar on April 22, 2021 welcomed Dr Rana Pant, Directorate-General for Environment, from the European Commission. In addition to explanations on the general content of the directive, the principal question to arise was: What effects will it have on com- panies in the PET value chain? A lively Q&A session revealed how much uncertainty there was in the industry - not least because exact guidelines from the EU are still some way off. Dr Rana Pant began by explain- ing the background to the measures in the Directive. “The basic principle on which these measures were based was the question: Are there more sustainable non-plastic or multi-use alternatives available right now on the market?” If so, market restrictions or market bans would be implemented. If there were no clear and more sus- tainable alternatives, then prevention measures would come into force such as requirements on product design, reducing consumption, improved cus- tomer engagement as well as better waste management (separate collec- tion, extended producer responsibil- ity + litter clean-up and in the case of beverage bottles, recycled content). Article 4 – Consumption reduction Dr Rana Plant went on to explain Article 4 which deals with a reduction in consumption covering food con- tainers, cups for beverages including covers and lids. “It will be Member States’ responsibility to propose ade- quate measures to foster a sustained and quantitative reduction in those products. It is important to note while there is a requirement to have a meas- urable quantitative reduction, there will be no set quantitative target for such reduction. The baseline year is 2022, and the time frame for achieving the quantitative reduction is 2026.” National marketing restrictions are possible for the purposes of prevent- ing those products from becoming litter in order to ensure that they are substituted with alternatives that are re-usable or do not contain plastic. Numerically, drinks bottles, caps and lids make up the largest proportion of the ten most common items of marine litter (source: Dr Rana Pant, EU Commission) Dr Rana Pant, Directorate- General for Environment, European Commission The EU aims to become a forerun- ner in the global fight against marine litter and plastic pollution. Through the EU’s Directive on single-use plastics, different measures are being applied to the most common products found on European beaches as well as fish- ing gear. 1 Drinks bottles, caps and lids 2 Cigarette butts 3 Cotton buds sticks 4 Crisp packets / sweet wrappers 5 Sanitary applications 6 Plastic bags 7 Cutlery, straws and stirrers 8 Drinks cups and cup lids 9 Balloons and balloon sticks 10 Food containers including fast food packaging The most found marine litter items on European beaches by count