According to reporting by the Daily Mail on November 20, 2023, environmental campaigners are urgently calling for policymakers to enact radical changes within the drinks industry to align with the ambitious 2050 net-zero targets. Their plea underscores the necessity of enhancing recycling practices for various containers, including cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles, coupled with a fundamental shift towards large-scale refillable options. Campaigners stress the need for a circular economy, combining better recycling with large-scale refillable options, to achieve sustainability in the drinks industry and meet climate targets.
This call-to-action stems from a Zero Waste Europe report, published in June 2023, which examines the environmental impact of glass, PET plastic, and aluminum drinks containers (FPF reported). The report issued a stark warning, projecting that all three materials are poised to surpass their allocated carbon budgets, with glass demonstrating the highest proportional exceedance. Without intervention, the beverage packaging sector in the EU may exceed its total carbon budget by up to 150%. The report emphasized the importance of a deposit return schemes (DRS) and criticized decisions that have delayed DRS implementation, particularly regarding glass.
A deposit return scheme is a step in the right direction, but campaigners assert that it alone is insufficient. They emphasize the imperative for radical policy changes to ensure the drinks industry can significantly reduce emissions by 2050. The sentiment is echoed by other civil society organizations, including Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS), Surfers Against Sewage, Marine Conservation Society, and Keep Wales Tidy.
Deliberations in the European Parliament on November 22, 2023, have seen the adoption of Parliament’s position on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) that falls short of the transformative measures urgently needed for the drinks industry, according to many stakeholders (FPF reported).
Reference
Daily Mail (November 20, 2023) “Drinks industry needs radical change to meet emissions targets, campaigners warn.”
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Zero Waste Europe (June 22, 2023) “Decarbonisation of single-use beverage packaging.”
