In line with the recently agreed EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), this new report, produced by Eunomia Research & Consulting, entitled “Facilitating the Adoption of Takeaway Reuse Systems,” shows the course of action for public authorities to maximise the environmental and economic benefits of reuse systems. Switching to these systems may reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 54% in Aarhus and 34% in Berlin, according to the report.

The report explores the costs associated with six formats of single-use and reusable takeaway packaging systems based on two city case studies and investigates the policy instruments likely to drive higher levels of market adoption of reuse systems for packaging. While the difference in net cost varies by format, small vendors in cities like Aarhus and Berlin could see cost savings covering takeaway drinks cups and food service formats while large businesses may face higher costs due to the economies of scale favouring single-use packaging.

The report reveals that, while single-use packaging seems cheaper, there are hidden costs, such as those related to litter clean-up, litter disamenity and carbon impacts, that make it more expensive for vendors and consumers than a reuse system. To level the playing field, these external costs must be factored in, and public authorities should implement fiscal measures—such as levies or taxes—to create fair competition with its single-use counterparts.

In addition to fiscal intervention, the report outlines a series of complementary measures: while setting minimum requirements for reuse systems or making reuse the default packaging option in shops can encourage gradual shifts, more stringent measures like setting meaningful targets for reuse or establishing an outright ban on single-use packaging are considered more effective.

Read the report

The opening ceremony of the new Vaersa light packaging plant designed and built by Stadler in Alzira – a benchmark in the Spanish waste management sector – took place on the 3rd of July, in the presence of the leading local government representatives with environmental responsibilities Salomé Pradas, Councillor of Environment, Water, Infrastructure and Territory, Francisco Javier Sendra, Regional Secretary of Environment and Territory and Jorge Blanco, Director General of Quality and Environmental Education. Also in attendance were representatives of top management from Vaersa José Alberto Comos, General Manager and Raúl Esteban, Deputy Manager, as well as Ismael Avilés Ortega, Operations Manager Spain at Stadler, Vicent Estruch, President of the V4 Ribera-Valdigna Consortium and Alfons Dominguez, Mayor of Alzira.

Noelia Almiñana Lledó, Head of Vaersa’s Waste Department, opened the proceedings by recalling the beginnings of the Alzira site with a manual sorting plant back in 2000. She highlighted the progress achieved through Stadler’s automation of the process and emphasized that the plant will ensure the correct recovery of light packaging from now on. José David Castillo Cáceres, Alzira Light Packaging Sorting Plant Manager, took over with a presentation of the new plant. A video of the construction project and the sorting line in operation closed the event.

Vaersa is a public enterprise reporting to the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Ecological Transition, and Climate Emergency of the Generalitat Valenciana (government of the Valencian Autonomous Community). It provides services related to environmental management, including waste management, aimed at achieving a circular economy. It began managing the light packaging sorting infrastructure for the Valencian Community in 2000, coinciding with the implementation of separate waste collection. The facilities include the light packaging plant in Alzira, the oldest of the four it operates.

In 2023, Vaersa decided to invest in upgrading and expanding the capacity of the Alzira plant to address the increasing volumes of light packaging waste and to improve the quality of the output for recycling. As a public enterprise, it issued a call for tenders to award the project under the Public Sector Contracts Law. The tender criteria included designing the sorting line to prioritise maximising recovery, facilitate operation and ease of movement within the facility, and enhance operating efficiency through the placement of every piece of equipment and their implementation. Ergonomics and safety of plant personnel in all aspects of operation, from sorting tasks and quality control to cleaning, operation and maintenance were key for the project. The tender criteria also required to include an analysis of preventive and corrective maintenance, and measures to ensure the processing line’s modularity and flexibility.

Stadler presented a highly detailed preliminary project, which was the highest rated by the contracting committee, and was awarded the contract. Noelia Almiñana Lledó explains: “The Alzira Packaging Sorting Plant was the oldest of the Vaersa Plants and therefore the least automated. Our foremost and greatest challenge was to implement an automated processing line that would double the existing plant’s capacity in the same space. Stadler designed a compact process line that fits the available space, incorporating the most modern sorting technology without compromising its operation, performance, and efficiency.”

The new plant increases the facility’s capacity from 3 t/h to 8 t/h, making it one of the largest sorting plants in Spain by capacity. Installation in the same building as its predecessor introduced significant space constraints, which Stadler’s design successfully addressed: “One of the main challenges was that we were replacing an existing plant,” explains Ismael Avilés Ortega, Operations Manager Spain at Stadler. “This required a meticulously studied design to fit within the existing building, making the preparatory work of our engineers crucial.”

Stadler’s design for the new plant automates the sorting process with two sorting cabins, two Stadler STT2000 ballistic separators that separate the flexible and 3D materials, magnetic, and eddy current separators that sort metals into ferrous and non-ferrous, and optical sorters that recover recycling materials. The output is sorted into PET, HDPE, film, Tetra-Pak, plastic mix, and ferrous and non-ferrous metals. At the end of the process, the recovered materials are baled and sent for recycling. The new plant design also enhances the efficiency of the sorting process and improves the quality of the output fractions, supporting Vaersa’s commitment to advancing towards a circular economy.

Stadler’s design stands out for the flexibility and modularity of the processing line. This means that Vaersa can rely on uninterrupted operation: “Bypass systems have been designed to ensure continuous treatment in the event of critical equipment shutdowns,” comments Jose David Castillo Cáceres. “We also appreciate the standardization of mechanical and electrical equipment and components, which helps optimize the management of spare parts.”

Stadler’s solution future-proofs the Alzira sorting plant. Its flexibility allows for further expansion in the plant’s capacity to absorb the expected increase in incoming waste resulting from growing public awareness and commitment to separation at source. In addition, it addresses possible changes in the incoming waste due to “its ability to adapt to potential changes in the characteristics and composition of the input materials. To this end, Stadler has allocated space reserves that will allow for the future installation of new equipment for possible process adaptations,” explains Jose David Castillo Cáceres.

The report shows that paper and paperboard are the replacement materials of choice, followed by new polymers, bioplastics, and multi-materials.

However, despite the commitment to move away from plastic, the timeframe for transition is still considerable, with 27% of packaging experts expecting this to happen by 2027, 35% by 2028 and 28% by 2029. Just under one third (30%) described the move to new packaging materials in their business as too slow, 58% described it as ‘moderate’ and only 11% said it was fast. Crucially, the majority (87%) want the switch to alternative materials to replace conventional plastics to take place more quickly.

Currently, the main barriers to using more environmentally friendly options are the higher cost of alternative packaging, which was cited by 53% of respondents, the availability of alternative materials (50%) and ensuring the functionality and product protection remains the same (46%).

When asked about the key drivers that would help the FMCG sector speed up new material development and implementation, the research showed that 70% of respondents believed that more ambitious recycling targets were key. 62% wanted to see increased investment in new materials, and 54% said greater collaboration to accelerate R&D was needed. Half said that an industry-wide commitment to move away from conventional plastic was necessary, whilst a further 47% cited tighter environmental regulation through taxation of materials with poor environmental performance was important.

The undersigned organisations – business organisations, associations, and companies active in the waste management value chain — welcome and support this decision, as it marks a crucial step in the right direction. However, this decision still needs to be confirmed during the plenary session next week, where MEPs will vote on the objection.

During today’s vote in the ENVI Committee, MEP Ska Keller rightly underlined the importance of this vote by stating that it concerns ‘the future of recycling’. The Commission’s draft report, if implemented, would create an uneven playing field between recycling technologies and could lead to structural greenwashing, preventing consumers from making sustainable purchasing decisions.

Whilst it has been stated that this Implementing Act would not pre-empt any calculation methods for the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, the Commission has clearly indicated that it is a testing ground for the legislation. Therefore, the waste management sector reiterates that it is inappropriate to expedite and use a legislative instrument with such a narrow scope to shape the future of an entire recycling industry.

The signatories call on legislators to not oppose the investments made by the chemical recycling industry to the investments already made by the mechanical recycling industry to achieve the 2025 target of 25% recycled content for PET beverage bottles. While we support the complementarity of chemical and mechanical recycling technologies, priority should be given to mechanical recycling for waste streams, including PET, that can be recycled mechanically with a lower environmental footprint.

Finally, the proposed Decision could result in unfair competition for access to waste feedstocks between technologies that are claimed to be complementary. The mechanical recycling of plastic waste sustains 30,000 jobs across 850 companies, with 90% of these being small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that could face direct impacts from this unfair competition. The question it comes down to is whether Parliament wants to support SMEs and local businesses delivering a sustainable solution for plastic waste.

For these reasons, our Business Coalition urges MEPs to vote in favour of the objection during the plenary session to align with the objectives of the SUPD and promote the transition to a circular economy.

The motion, submitted by rapporteur Jutta Paulus (Greens/EFA), was approved with 26 to 24 votes, paving its way to next week’s plenary session.

Establishing a recycled content calculation method under the SUPD based on the fuel-use exempt model would set an alarming precedent for other regulations, such as packaging, automotive, ecodesign and textiles. An appropriate method should be adopted under the framework of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and chemical recycling should be a last resort, only when mechanical recycling falls short.

Given that over 80% of packaging within the decision’s scope is made of PET, chemical recycling cannot be considered an indispensable technology for other beverage bottles or future food-contact applications using non-PET feedstock.

Ahead of next week’s plenary vote, EuRIC urges lawmakers to widely support the drafting of a resolution opposing the proposed mass balance approach. This method leads to significant discrepancies between claimed and actual recycled content, thus misleading consumers with false green claims, while it also unfairly favours chemical over mechanical recycling technologies and fundamentally undermines the SUPD’s core objective of realising a circular economy.