EC Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC

UK legislation on packaging in relation to its composition and the levels to which it should be recycled has its origin in the EC Directive 94/62/EC 'The Packaging Directive'.

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1. Latest Information

Information on the recent Article 21 Committee meeting in Brussels is available in a new section below (click here).

The DTI have commissioned a survey looking at the impacts of the Essential Requirements Regulations on a sample of companies across the packaging sector. The report also examines the approaches companies have taken to showing compliance and includes several case studies. This report is now available online in PDF format (click here for document). The report is now available in hard copy from DTI's publications unit: www.dti.gov.uk/publications .  

The conciliation delegations of the European Parliament and Council have both voted to accept a compromise package of amendments to the common position agreement on an amending Directive to Directive 94/62/EC. This final text will now go to a formal Third Reading before the European Parliament and for Ministerial agreement at the next Council of Ministers.

Once the text is agreed, it will take effect after being published in the Official Journal. This is likely to be in February 2004. Member States will subsequently have 18 months in which to transpose these amendments to the appropriate domestic legislation.

The compromise package confirms the common position deadline of 2008 for most Member States to meet the revised targets for recycling and recovery of packaging waste (by weight), which are:

minimum material specific targets of:

Defra have already transposed these targets into UK legislation through an amendment to the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (as amended). This amendment set the annual targets for UK business to meet in recycling and recovery of packaging waste for 2004 - 2008. Some changes have also been made to the compliance and enforcement system (PRN system). The amended Regulations came into effect on 1 January 2004.

Further details on the changes can be obtained from Defra click here or from the Environment Agency (SEPA in Scotland and Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland).

The Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003 were laid before Parliament and came into force on 25th August 2003. The amendment of these Regulations brings into force derogations from the heavy metals limits in the Regulations for certain glass packaging and plastic crates and pallets. This amendment implements Commission Decisions 1999/177/EC and 2001/171/EC. The associated Regulatory Impact Assessments and Transposition Note can be found in the Supporting Documents section below. Copies of the Regulations can be obtained online from Her Majesty's Stationary Office or in hard copy from Bay 425, SD3, DTI, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SS.                                      

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2. Next Key Events

Once final agreement has been reached, a second phase of revision will commence, focusing on issues such as more specific measures on prevention of waste packaging and re-use of packaging, the introduction of a specific reference to producer responsibility in the Directive, as well as any changes to the essential requirements in Annex II of the Directive.  The second phase of the revision could take between 1 and 3 years. DEFRA will lead on these issues. 

The Commission's DG Environment has published the tender for a report forming the basis of the second phase of revision. A consultant has been chosen and the work is due to take place from January - October 2004, with a final report published by December 2004. DG Environment will be holding stakeholder meetings throughout the study on these issues.

DG Internal Market will be conducting a parallel study looking at the single market side of these issues. A tender is expected to be published in the Official Journal shortly. Click here for further details.

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3. Objectives

The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive is concerned with the minimisation of waste and the amount of packaging material that should be recycled. It promotes energy recovery, re-use and recycling of packaging. The Directive has both single market and environmental goals. The Packaging Directive also sets the 'Essential Requirements' of packaging (what should be considered in its design and manufacture) and heavy metal limits for packaging. DTI lead on the EU negotiating of the Directive, Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations and on domestic single market issues. DEFRA lead on the wider issues of domestic recycling targets and on Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations.            

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4. Background

The Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC was published in the Official Journal on 20 December 1994. The Directive set packaging waste targets, to be met by June 2001, of 50%-65% recovery, 25%-45% recycling, and 15% recycling of specific materials.

The original Directive requires revision of recycling and recovery targets after a 5-year period (this will be completed by January/February 2004). Recycling rates will rise with the revision of the Directive to 60% recovery and 55% minimum and 80% maximum recycling of packaging waste. Higher recycling rates will necessarily mean increased UK collection of household waste packaging. This will certainly raise the cost to business.

The Directive is currently being revised and we reached Common Position in October 2002. Its key features were: a 2008 target date, material specific targets, minimum recycling target of 55%, and a recovery target of 60%. European Parliament and its Environment Committee favoured a more stringent revision: a 2006 target date, recycling target of 60% (no maximum) and recovery 65%. The UK strongly supports the Common Position, seeing 2008 as the earliest date by which the necessary collection systems and infrastructure can be put in place without placing a disproportionate financial burden on producers.

The 2^nd Reading in the European Parliament was on 1 July 2003 with a vote on 2 July 2003. The Common Position deadline and targets have been adopted. Some wider amendments, including those concerning deadlines for countries with derogations and for accession countries, went to conciliation in September 2003. Final agreement was reached in December 2003 between the conciliation delegations. This compromise text will now go to a Third Reading and Ministerial agreement in January 2004. Once agreed, the text of the new Directive will be published in the Official Journal, likely to be in February 2004, and will take effect.

Now that revision of the targets and deadlines is complete, the Commission intends to publish a proposal for a second phase of the review. This will take into account the recommendations of the report by MEP Dorette Corbey on the Implementation of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (2001/2319(INI)).  This review will address wider issues such as more specific measures on prevention of waste packaging and re-use of packaging, the introduction of a specific reference to producer responsibility in the Directive, as well as any changes to the essential requirements in Annex II of the Directive.  

The Commission has published the terms of reference for a study on the implementation of and future proposals for the Directive. Tenders have been received and the consultancy will be announced and begin in January 2004. DG Environment intends to hold regular stakeholder meetings during the study and to discuss its results. A parallel study on internal market aspects of the Directive will be run by DG Enterprise and Internal Market.

The second phase of the Directive revision could take between 1 and 3 years and will be led by DEFRA.                                               

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5. Timetable

The following timetable should give an idea of the dates for the next stages in implementing the Directive:

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6. UK Government View

The UK strongly supports the structure and scope of the Common Position, reached in October 2002. Given the two-year delay in agreeing new targets and the step change in recycling suggested, the UK strongly holds to the Council’s proposal for 2008 deadline. This position is supported by British businesses, the major compliance schemes and the Government’s independent Advisory Committee on Packaging. Significantly higher recycling targets and a timeframe less than 2008 could cause the UK difficulties. 

The Government supports the setting of more challenging targets (60% recovery and 55% recycling) but these must be realistic and achievable. This is because, in order to meet higher targets, additional infrastructure to collect household packaging waste will have to be put in place. Given the lead times necessary to do this, there needs also to be time for the new infrastructure to come on stream and allow the collection of significantly more quantities of packaging from the Household waste stream – an essential step to meeting higher targets. The shorter the deadline, the higher the costs to industry to achieve the same result. We have had difficulty identifying any significant benefits that would accrue from earlier deadlines.                                                                                                                                                      (Index)                                                                                                                            

7. Implementation in the UK

The Packaging Directive has been transposed into UK law through the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (as amended) on which DEFRA lead and through the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003, on which DTI lead. The UK and France are the only two Member States to actively enforce the Essential Packaging Requirements in domestic law.

The Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations set out the requirements which all packaging must meet before being placed on the UK market. These requirements are those set out in the Packaging Directive and once met, guarantees that packaging access to the Single Market. These requirements are:

• Packaging volume and weight must be the minimum amount to maintain necessary levels of safety, hygiene and acceptance for the packed product and for the consumer.
• Packaging must be recoverable in accordance with specific requirements.
• Noxious or hazardous substances in packaging must be minimised in emissions, ash or leachate from incineration or landfill

European Standards with which conformity will prove compliance of a specific product with the essential requirements are in progress. Two have been published in the Official Journal on organic recovery and prevention by source reduction. The remainder are still in draft form, but are on schedule to be agreed by the end of 2004. The UK accepts conformity with these standards, even in draft form, as showing compliance with the Essential Requirements.

These Regulations are enforced by your local Trading Standards Office, who investigate complaints of excessive packaging and offer guidance on specific products and proving compliance.

Click here for Government Guidance Notes on the Essential Requirements Regulations.

Click here for a DTI survey of some companies' approaches to meeting the Regulations.

Click here for the official text of the Regulations.

The UK meets the Directive's obligations to meet specific recycling and recovery targets through the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste Regulations) The current UK system works by requiring companies above both thresholds of a £2 million turnover and of handling more than 50 tonnes of packaging a year to pay for a certain proportion of the UK obligations to recycle packaging. Different companies in the chain from manufacturer to reseller pick up a different sized proportion of the obligation. Importers of pre-packaged goods pay for 100% of the obligation. Companies can join a compliance scheme that will sort out their obligation for them or directly register with the Environment Agency (in England and Wales), SEPA (in Scotland).

Companies usually fullfil their obligation by buying Packaging Waste Recovery Notes (PRNs). PRNs are issued by reprocesses/recyclers accredited by the Environment Agency. PRNs have a market value which accords to the amount of demand for the notes that relate to the amount in supply, the UK targets for that year, and the amount companies or compliance schemes have already bought.  PRN prices are at an all time low due to excess supply. Nevertheless, they are expected to rise substantially over the next 5 years. PERNS are issued for the export of packaging waste to approved reprocessors overseas.

An amendment to the Packaging Waste Regulations came into force on 1 January 2004. For further details on the annual targets for business to meet and of how the PRN system works, contact Defra or the relevant enforcement authority (Environment Agency for England and Wales, SEPA for Scotland, or EHS for Northern Ireland).

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8. Consultation

DEFRA has carried out a public consultation on potential changes to the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (as amended), to the PRN system, and to the annual recycling and recovery targets for British industry. The consultation closed on 21 October 2003 and the government response is available on the Defra website click here, detailing the new UK business targets for 2004 - 2008 and changes to the compliance system. These amendments came into force on 1 January 2004.

9. Parliamentary Scrutiny

Explanatory Memoranda are submitted to Parliament to explain the context and implications of all new policy proposals. The Explanatory Memoranda submitted in relation to the Packaging Directive by the DTI are reproduced here to provide further background for interested stakeholders and as part of the Governments response to the Better Regulation Task Force report "Environmental Legislation- getting the message across" where the Government has committed to making more information available on the detail and context of Directives.

Explanatory Memoranda and Regulatory Impact Assessments produced by the DTI to set out the provisions of the Directive, as submitted to Parliament in 2002 and 2003:

EM of 14 January 2002 on the Commission Proposal for an amendment to the Packaging Directive 94/62/EC

Supplementary EM of 11 February 2002 on the Commission Proposal

Regulatory Impact Assessment accompanying EM of 11 February 2002

Regulatory Impact Assessment updated for Common Position agreement at 28 February 2003

EM of 9 October 2003 after Second Reading of the amendment to the Packaging Directive 94/62/EC

An Explanatory Memorandum and final RIA will be submitted by the DTI on the final agreement. These will be posted once they have cleared Parliamentary scrutiny, likely to be in January or February 2004.

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10. Article 21 Committee

The Article 21 Committee is a European Technical Adaptation Committee as set out in Article 21 of the Packaging Directive. It is composed of the Commission and national experts from all Member and Accession States and meets semi-annually to discuss issues on harmonisation and implementation of the Packaging Directive. This committee also has a remit to adjudicate on whether specific products fall under the definition of packaging as set out in the Directive.

The latest meeting took place on 30 October 2003 in Brussels. The next meeting is scheduled for April 2004.

Meeting Documents ( in PDF format):

If you would like to be added to the DTI's Article 21 Committee electronic mailing list, please contact the Recycling Policy Unit (contact details below). Relevant documents, minutes and agendas for forthcoming A21 meetings will be distributed directly to this email list as they become available.

11. Government guidance and official documents

Impacts of the Essential Requirements Regulations- A Brief Survey

Government Guidance Notes for the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations

Text of the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003 (in force from 25th August 2003)

Text of the EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste 94/62/EC

Common Position adopted by Council on amending Directive 94/62/EC on 17 October 2002

Government public Consultation Paper of March 2002 on the proposed amending Directive to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive

Responses to the March 2002 Consultation

Advisory Committee on Packaging June 2003 report on recommendations designed to improve the operation of the current Packaging Regulations

Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for a derogation for certain glass packaging from the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003. Posted 19th August 2003.

Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for a derogation for certain plastic crates and pallets from the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003. Posted 19th August 2003.

Transposition Note (TN) of Directive 94/62/EC for the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulation 2003. Posted 19th August 2003.  

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12. Relevant links and supporting documents

(The DTI is not responsible for the accuracy of the content of these links)

Defra web-site on Recycling & Waste Management in the UK

Frequently Asked Questions on Packaging & Packaging Waste

European Commission web-site on Waste & the Environment

European Commission web-site on Packaging Waste

European Commission study on EU Member State Waste Management Systems

European Commission Decision 97/129/EC (28 January 1997) establishing the identification system for packaging materials

Environment Agency web-site on Producer Responsibility in the UK

EUROPEN paper on Understanding the CEN Standards on Packaging and the Environment 

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13. Contact Details

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