Rules on "design for recycling" are a new central element of the European Commission's proposal for a Packaging Regulation. They are intended to replace the "essential requirements" for packaging currently in place and to ensure that all packaging in the EU is recyclable by 2030. This objective was announced as part of the "European Green Deal" in December 2019.
According to the proposal, "all packaging shall be recyclable". This obligation would be binding from the Regulation's date of application, one year after its final adoption and publication in the EU Official Journal.
The proposal defines recyclability not just in terms of the properties of the packaging, but makes it conditional on the "effective and efficient" separate collection of the material and its sorting into defined waste streams "without affecting the recyclability of other streams". The secondary raw materials obtained from their recycling must be "of sufficient quality to replace primary raw materials"....
