Circular economy: new EU rules for the use of recycled plastic in food packaging

The European Commission has adopted new rules on the safety of recycled plastic materials and objects intended to come into contact with food products. The regulation will set clear rules to ensure that recycled plastic can be used safely in food packaging in the EU. The legislation will help increase the overall sustainability of the food system and achieve the objectives of the Circular Economy Action Plan .

Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans , said: "To reduce our dependence on primary raw materials and build a fully circular economy, we need to stimulate the market for recycled plastics and significantly reduce plastic waste in the food sector and beyond. Plastic is useful for preserving food, but its use must be sustainable. New rules adopted today allow food manufacturers to use more recycled plastic in food packaging. This is an important step towards safe and sustainable use of recycled plastics in the food sector."

Stella Kyriakides , Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “The EU needs new rules to produce safe recycled plastics that food businesses and consumers can trust. With around 50% of all plastic packaging in the EU being used for food, we need to ensure that this sector can safely and efficiently transition to more sustainable production, and to do so it is essential to use more recycled plastic. Protecting our environment and the health of our citizens are two sides of the same medal, and the new rules will achieve these goals!"

The regulation allows recycling processes to be authorized for the manufacture of recycled plastic materials that are safe for use in food packaging, and will help the recycling industry establish appropriate ways to recycle plastics that currently cannot be reused as food packaging. The European Food Safety Authority will also have a clearer basis for assessing the suitability of recycling technologies and the safety of recycled plastics in food packaging manufactured in processes using such technologies.

The regulation will allow individual permits for more than 200 mechanical PET (polyethylene terephthalate) recycling processes, which will help the industry reach its binding target of 25% recycled plastic in PET beverage bottles by 2025 .

The new regulation will also establish a public register of recycling processes, recyclers and recycling facilities that fall within its scope, thus ensuring a higher level of transparency. (Source: https://italy.representation.ec.europa.eu/ )