‘We simply are nowhere’: EU slams lack of progress at G20 climate meeting
G20 climate ministers failed to make progress on key issues on Friday, drawing sharp criticism from the European Union. Talks in the southern Indian city of Chennai took place against the backdrop of...
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Making reusables rock’n’roll: Festivals struggle with switch to sustainable
Reusable cups and utensils don’t scream rock’n’roll — at least, not yet. If Brussels gets its way, they’re set to become a staple at every music festival across the bloc. Festivals are capable of...
View ArticleHigh-quality recycling loops are best for circular economy
On Europe’s journey to a circular economy, high quality recycling is essential. In fact, the recycling of fibre-based packaging constitutes one of the best examples. If you put your used paper...
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Knowledge gaps for perishable liquid food packs threaten Green Deal
Professor Fredrik Nilsson, Packaging Logistics, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University Policymakers are currently deliberating on packaging reuse targets in the proposed EU Packaging and Packaging...
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‘We know we aren’t going back’: Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians face up to a life...
GORIS, Armenia — In the hotel lobby, children grip plastic bags full of snacks, while the elderly gather around a man pulling medicines one by one out of a box, calling out names and passing over the...
View ArticleNo silver bullet: Packaging waste plans wrong to prioritize reuse over...
When I was last in Brussels in February to talk with people about PPWR (the EU’s proposals on packaging and packaging waste) on behalf of McDonald’s, I found I was having to explain what PPWR was and...
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PepsiCo Positive: Faster, better and stronger for the EU Green Deal
PAUL SKEHAN, VICE PRESIDENT EU AND INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, PEPSICO There has been much discussion over recent months concerning the EU Green Deal, its ongoing relevance, its direction. We...
View ArticleUnpacking EU packaging regulations
When we first launched Together for Sustainable Packaging — an alliance of businesses and associations from a wide cross-section of the food and hospitality European economy, known as HORECA (hotel,...
View ArticleCommission falls short on pledge to beat microplastic pollution
The European Commission has downscaled its ambition when it comes to tackling pollution caused by microplastics — tiny plastic particles that are increasingly harming ecosystems and human health....
View ArticleLet’s not waste chance for lasting change in packaging trade
It’s clear that if we want to protect our planet, we have no choice but to continue investing in infrastructure to help us curb packaging pollution. And that’s exactly the intention behind the...
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To ban or not to ban: Fixing the EU’s global plastic waste mess
The EU has vowed to clean up its act and cut back on dumping its waste elsewhere. For communities in low-income countries bearing the brunt of Europe’s trash, that can’t come fast enough. A joint...
View ArticleReuse or recycle? Inside Europe’s takeaway tug-of-war
One of the nerdiest — and most intense — green lobbying fights comes to a head this week. And it’s all about packaging. From takeaway coffee to fast food, Brussels is hoping to oust a lot of...
View ArticleTurkey’s parliament cans Coca-Cola over Israel ‘support’
Turkey’s parliament will no longer be serving Coca-Cola products as part of a boycott of companies that “support Israel,” according to a statement from the legislature. “It was decided that the...
View ArticlePolitical will and collaboration needed to redesign plastics system
Nobody is more aware of society’s complicated relationship with plastic than our industry. Europe’s plastics manufacturers share societal concerns about the plastics system’s contribution to climate...
View ArticleHands off our Camembert! France kicks up a stink over draft EU recycling law
Former French President Charles de Gaulle warned years ago: “How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?” Brussels should have listened. French cheesemakers are rallying against a...
View ArticlePaper or plastic — let’s choose wisely
Heading into an election year politically dominated by stubborn inflation, regional conflicts and a worsening climate crisis, Europe faces many important decisions. One such decision will be made by...
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Proposed mandatory reuse rules jeopardizing world’s best recycling system
Six years ago, millions of viewers saw a mother albatross feeding her newborn chick scraps of plastic in David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II. What followed was a wave of support for more sustainable...
View ArticleSingle-use fast-food packaging hangs in the balance
LILLE, France — Throwaway fast food packaging is under notice in the EU. Or, at least, it was. Brussels is working on new rules to slash the amount of packaging waste mounting up across the bloc....
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How Europe’s crypto queen was brought down by cash
The Qatargate Files:How Europe’s crypto queen was brought down by cash The Qatargate story overflows with bundles of banknotes stashed in odd places, with around €70,000 even ending up in the trash,...
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The Turkey-shaped hole in the EU’s new waste export regime
The EU has declared it’s time to stop shipping plastic trash to nations that can’t handle it — unless that country is Turkey. The bloc this month revised its waste export rules, banning plastic waste...
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2023 in review: 2 steps forward, 1 step back for sustainability
This was the year the EU’s green ambitions nearly fell apart. Throughout 2023, Europe finally started to polish off critical components of its much-vaunted Green Deal. But the efforts ran into a...
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Unlocked: Top 10 behind-the-paywall stories of 2023
It’s been a busy year in EU policy land as lawmakers, leaders and officials raced to tie up loose ends before the European Parliament election next June, with some efforts more successful than others....
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Europe needs more cash, Belgian PM says
The European Union needs more of its own money, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told POLITICO just as Brussels is hitting the limits of what it can ask national governments to contribute to...
View ArticleGerman government backtracks on tax hikes for farmers following protests
BERLIN — Germany’s three-party ruling coalition on Thursday partly backed down from a proposal to cut tax privileges for farmers after facing emotional protests. The government said in a statement...
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Plastic gets political as it washes ashore in Spain
In Northern Spain’s Galicia, the ruling conservative Popular Party is facing a toxic election challenge from another “PP”: plastic pollution. Since mid-December, millions of microplastics have washed...
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The Wild West in the plastic supply chain
There’s a plastic pollution crisis that’s more insidious than littered water bottles, candy wrappers and disposable vapes. And, for the moment, it’s no one’s responsibility. Plastic pellets — raw...
View ArticleUK’s Kemi Badenoch challenged over Canada trade claims
LONDON — Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch faced pressure in the U.K. parliament Wednesday after Canada challenged her claim that talks to avert a cliff edge for British car exports are still...
View ArticleCommission sparks greenwashing fears in row over ‘100 percent recycled’ claims
Should a plastic bottle with a “100 percent recycled plastic” label be made up entirely of recycled plastic? According to the European Commission, the answer is: no, not necessarily. As part of its...
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Don’t trash European recycling
European farmers are far from alone in feeling bitterly angry about the threat from low-cost, unfair competition and pricing which risks destroying their livelihoods. Europe’s packaging recycling...
View ArticleEU to ban single-use plastic in deal on new green packaging rules
Single-use plastic packaging for fresh fruit and vegetables, mini hotel toiletries and fast food in restaurants will soon be banned in the EU, after negotiators struck a deal Monday to make the...
View ArticleWhat the EU’s new packaging rules mean for you
Goodbye mini shampoo bottle, hello reusable coffee cup. The EU is close to endorsing new rules on sustainable packaging aimed at tackling the growing mountains of waste being produced across the bloc...
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