New EU Guidelines for Recycled Plastic Bottles

Key Targets and Requirements

The legislation sets clear targets for recycled plastic content in beverage bottles:

• By 2025, PET bottles must contain at least 25% recycled plastic.
• By 2030, all beverage bottles must have at least 30% recycled plastic​​.

To ensure comprehensive coverage, the legislation includes labels and sleeves as part of the beverage bottles for calculating the recycled content. This inclusion is significant since labels and sleeves, which are often made of plastic, play a role in branding and advertising, and are usually produced alongside other parts of the bottle​​.

Definition and Verification of Recycled Plastic

The legislation strictly defines 'recycled plastic' as material that was post-consumer plastic waste before recycling. This distinction is crucial to ensure that only genuinely recycled materials are counted towards the targets. Moreover, this definition aligns with the EU's goal to reduce the environmental impact of plastic products​​.

Member States are required to report data on recycled plastic content in PET bottles and all beverage bottles. This data will demonstrate compliance with the targets. The reporting must cover both the amount of recycled plastic and the total weight of the plastic parts of the bottles, ensuring accurate calculation of the recycled content percentage​​.

Manufacturing and Compliance Chain

Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 establishes a reporting chain throughout the manufacturing process. This includes a declaration of compliance from recyclers and converters, detailing the percentage of recycled plastic in each batch of material intended for food contact. These declarations are crucial for economic operators, especially those placing the beverage bottles on the market, to calculate and report the weight of recycled plastic in the bottles​​.

Ongoing Developments and Future Amendments

The legislation acknowledges the evolution of recycling technologies and plans to propose amendments by 31 March 2024. These amendments will include methodologies for calculating and reporting recycled plastic content from additional types of recycling, broadening the scope and efficacy of the legislation​​.

Member States have the responsibility to collect data from economic operators, including the weight of plastic parts and recycled plastic in beverage bottles. They must ensure the reliability of this data, which is crucial for verifying compliance with the targets​​.

Each year, Member States are required to calculate and report the weight of the plastic parts of beverage bottles, the weight of recycled plastic, and the proportion of recycled plastic content. This data, along with quality check reports, must be submitted in formats as laid down in the legislation​​.