Zero Waste Europe said that the action came about due to consumer brands and supermarkets, “with Member states leniency”, holding back the deployment of EU green legislation to reduce single-use plastic packaging by reporting inaccurate data on their performance of reuse, separate collection and recycling systems in Europe.
A recent report by Eunomia, ZWE and Spanish Zero Waste Alliance, has revealed that the packaging industry, represented by the PRO Ecoembes, has been falsely reporting the real performance of recycling systems “for decades” in order to block the implementation of waste legislation, such as a ban on certain packaging, the obligation to use reusable packaging or the implementation of deposit and return systems.
Transparency
Larissa Copello, packaging and reuse policy officer at Zero Waste Europe, said: “The new commission must force Member states not to accept false data from industry, otherwise all the efforts to implement strong progressive legislation – which is absolutely necessary – will be in vain.
“Data reporting plays a key role in ensuring a sturdy implementation of laws. For instance, reporting of recycling, waste prevention and separate collection targets could lead to an exemption from the obligation to meet reuse targets or from the obligation to implement deposit return schemes by Member States according to the final agreed text of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. Therefore, the Commission needs to make sure the reporting of the data is transparent and done properly, otherwise such measures would be pointless and not enforceable.”
Chloé Schwizgebel, project coordinator at Fair Resource Foundation, added: “For years now, the recycling figures reported by Belgium are incredibly high. So high that recycling of glass officially reached 120% in 2023, which is not technically possible. Looking at all the packaging littering the streets in Brussels, how can that be possible? Yet, Belgium – and other Member states – are not held accountable for such fanciful results. Adding new targets without ensuring more enforcement won’t improve the situation.”
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