Environment and sustainability – May 2025
Rules and regulations in the EU
EU: The directive postponing the dates of application of certain corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) and due diligence (CSDDD) requirements has been published in the OJ. JRC has published an Interim Report (24.92 MB) on the development of harmonised waste sorting labels for packaging and receptacles as part of the PPWR. FEICA has published a position paper (145 kB) to clarify that adhesives are not plastic in the context of the PPWR. FEICA has also published a report (664 kB) on adhesives in packaging recycling. EUROPEN has published an overview and an interactive map of the EPR schemes in the EU. France: In March 2025, a Draft Order (in French, 288 kB) was published for the modulation of EPR fees for plastic. The order introduces a bonus depending on the amount of recycled plastic used. Germany: UBA has announced that the reporting deadline for the SUP tax will be extended to 15 July 2025. A UBA study (in German with English summary, 7.96 MB) reviews the recycling requirements for packaging waste in VerpackG and gives proposals for their adaptation. Italy: Draft legislation giving technical requirements for the reusability of plastic products (as opposed to disposable) has been sent to the EC. NL all info is in Dutch unless stated otherwise: The government has announced that the NCPN (minimum share of plastic recyclate) and plastic tax will not be implemented in their current form. According to an explanatory document, a Plastic Table of stakeholders will be asked to develop alternative proposals. The government has announced that the consumer surcharge for on-the go-SUPs will be abolished. The government has also published Q&A on this and on the other adopted motion on paper cups with a plastic coating. A CE Delft report (16.61 MB) evaluating the DRS system has been sent to the House. According to the state secretary, we are on the right track, but more measures are needed to achieve the mandatory 90% collection target, such as more collection points and possibly including juice bottles in the DRS. The state secretary has answered questions about the draft Circular Materials Plan (CMP). Slovakia: The EC has opened an infringement procedure for failing to correctly transpose the SUP directive.
Rules and regulations outside the EU
Australia: A CSIRO study has found 39% less plastic pollution in and around Australian coastal cities over ten years. UK: PackUK has announced that an updated version of the Recycling Assessment Methodology (RAM) for EPR has been published. Defra has published a policy document outlining the DRS plans for SUP and metal drinks containers and announcing UK DMO as the DRS operator. Defra reports that new waste sorting rules for workplaces came into force on 31 March 2025. The measures are part of the Simpler Recycling plans. Household recycling requirements will change on 31 March 2026. WRAP has updated the Elimination List (1.82 MB) for problem plastics, aligning it with the Simpler Recycling policy. US: The White House has announced that President Trump is ending the forced use of paper straws (1.08 MB). Maryland: AMERIPEN reports that SB 901 on EPR has been signed into law.
Research and reports
According to the Circularity Gap Report 2024 by Circle Economy that you can download after filling in your details, the world is only 6.9% circular, a 2.2% drop since 2015. An LCA (1.73 MB) of glass wine bottles by TU Berlin is published in Cleaner Engineering and Technology. MSU has published an LCA of PE packaging. A report (1.64 MB) by OECD shows that global trade in plastic waste and scrap declined by half from 2014 to 2023. The main cause is China's import ban since 2018. Leiden University researchers have discovered a coot’s nest with layers of plastic, including a Mars wrapper dating back to the 1994 World Cup.
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