Environment and sustainability – February 2026
Rules and regulations in the EU
EU: The EC Technical Advisory Committee has voted positively on the draft implementing decision on recycled plastic content in SUP beverage bottles under the SUPD. The legislation allows mass-balance calculation of chemically recycled content. The EC has presented draft legislation on EU-wide end-of-waste criteria for plastics and opened a consultation on rules for the calculation and verification of average loss rates for sorted waste. The EC has held an exchange of views and JRC has published a second interim report (5.24 MB) on the PPWR waste sorting labels. The EP has published a briefing (197 kB) on the Circular Economy Act. Together with partners, Fair Resource Foundation (in Dutch) has launched INTERPOOL, an EU project to enable a joint reuse system for glass packaging. Austria: The government (in German) has announced a tax on non-recyclable plastic. Belgium: Fost Plus has published Q&A (141 kB) on the SUP litter tax introduced in 2026. France: Draft legislation has been sent to the EC on an EPR financial system including bonuses and penalties for various packaging aspects such as reusability. Germany: Draft legislation (VerpackDG, successor of VerpackG) has been sent to the EC after adoption by the Federal Cabinet (in German). A presentation (1.5 MB) by ZSVR and UBA shows that roughly 5.5 million tonnes of packaging waste was collected in 2024. However, the targets for beverage carton, glass and composite packaging were not met. NL all info is in Dutch unless stated otherwise: The State Secretary has answered questions about raising the deposit amount for plastic bottles and beverage cans and sent a letter about the state of affairs regarding the Plastic Table and the plastic levy to the EU. The 2017-2025 study (3.9 MB) by Zwerfinator shows more beverage containers without than with a deposit found in litter for the first time. VNG, NVRD and Verpact have launched a website on the new Packaging Cooperation Agreement.
Rules and regulations outside the EU
Dubai: The government reports the final phase of the ban on SUPs came into effect on 1 January 2026. Mexico: Legislation (in Spanish) on the circular economy including EPR has been published. Singapore: BCRS has given an update on the DRS that comes into effect on 1 April 2026. UK: Exchange for Change (used to be UK DMO), the DRS operator for England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, has published regulatory requirements for the DRS logo. A Briefing (7.38 MB) from the Everyday Flexible Plastic Packaging Recycling Assembly reveals why flexible plastics remain one of UK’s hardest recycling challenges. Wales: The government has opened a consultation on EPR for ‘on the go’ packaging waste. US: FFRA has published an Impact Report (3.15 MB) outlining their progress on scaling flexible film collection. A NAPCOR report shows that the PET bottle recycling rate was 30.2% in 2024. The USPP 2024–25 Impact Report shows that 54% of plastic packaging placed on the market by U.S. Plastics Pact members is now reusable, recyclable, or compostable. You can download the report after filling in your details. California: CalRecycle has opened a new comment period for EPR legislation SB 54 and published an updated Covered Material Categories List. Colorado: The EPR PRO plan submitted by CAA has been approved by the government. New Jersey: The “Skip the Stuff” bill banning certain SUPs takes effect on 1 August 2026.
Research
A PEW report estimates that plastic pollution may double in the next 15 years. Research led by the University of Bonn shows that much more litter is floating in the Rhine than previously believed. PRE has released a mapping (4.06 MB) of EU plastic recycling technologies. For her thesis (1.52 MB) at Jamk, Heli Viik studied end-of-life alternatives for compostable foodservice packaging.
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