Due to the complicated international supply chains that the globalized economy relies on, converting the current linear material system into a circular economy requires national and international regulation (FPF reported). Recently, the European Union (EU) and individual nations both within and outside of it have passed regulations to facilitate the transition toward a more circular economy.
In March 2020, the European Commission (EC) adopted a circular economy action plan (FPF reported). As part of this broader European plan, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is in the middle of a 2-year project assessing food and feed safety vulnerabilities in a circular economy. On March 18, 2022, the agency published results from a literature review it conducted “to gather and evaluate the evidence for vulnerabilities in the circular economy approach for food and feed safety, plant, animal and human health and the environment.” The review had three objectives: (i) identify current practices within the European food supply chain that support a circular economy, (ii) identify risks from any new hazards or new exposure pathways that may lead to increased exposure, and (iii) collect available information to concretely define risk exposure situations and how EFSA can respond to them.
The researchers identified four “broad macro areas” where circular economy principles are planned or already underway in the food system, one of which was “reducing food and feed packaging waste.” According to EFSA, “we need to be able to safely recycle and reuse existing packaging as well as develop new biodegradable packaging from renewable resources (e.g., bio-based packaging).” Recent studies have shown that chemical migration into food or the environment might be increased for recycled plastic packaging (FPF reported, also here and here). When it comes to packaging and other food contact materials, EFSA suggested that future research should focus on emerging risks from food contact materials meant to extend the shelf life of food, the recycling and reuse of existing food packaging (e.g., plastic and cardboard), as well as new bio-based packaging (FPF reported, also here).
On March 30, 2022, the European Commission announced a suite of new proposals under the European Green Deal to “make sustainable products the norm in the EU.” One of those proposals is the ecodesign for sustainable products regulation (ESPR), which is applicable to food contact articles and packaging. In fact, the EC stated that since “packaging varies greatly depending on the product category, it should be one of the key aspects to cover when developing product-specific ESPR rules.”
In addition to defining how products should be made, the ESPR sets transparency requirements for products, which “can include information on energy use, recycled content, presence of substances of concern, durability, reparability, including a reparability score, spare part availability and recyclability.” This would make it easier to repair home appliances, and it would ban the display of sustainability labels that are not based on an independent third-party verification. EC reports that only 35% of sustainability labels in the EU currently require specific compliance data and that there are currently “901 labelling schemes in the food area” alone.
That same day, Ireland’s cabinet passed a circular economy bill that they describe will “introduce world-leading moves to reduce waste and influence behavior.” The bill formally defines the circular economy in Irish law for the first time, and it includes a mix of incentives to encourage individuals and businesses to switch to reusable and recyclable products.
By the end of 2022, the country plans to install a 20-cent levy (i.e., fee) on disposable coffee cups with other levies or bans for single-use products and packaging to be discussed later this year. The government will also introduce mandatory waste segregation with a variable ‘charging regime’ to incentivize commercial waste reduction and increase recycling rates. The Irish Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan said in the government’s press release: “We have to re-think the way we interact with the goods and materials we use every day, if we are to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, because 45% of those emissions come from producing those goods and materials.”
References
EFSA (March 18, 2022). “Food and feed safety vulnerabilities in the circular economy.”
European Commission (March 30, 2022). “Green Deal: New proposals to make sustainable products the norm and boost Europe’s resource independence.”
Department of the Environment, Climate, and Communications (March 30, 2022). “Cabinet approves landmark Bill that will introduce world-leading moves to reduce waste and influence behaviour.” Government of Ireland
Ireland (March 30, 2022). “Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022.”
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European Commission (March 30, 2022). “Empowering Consumers for the green transition.”
European Commission (March 30, 2022). “Circular Economy: Commission proposes new consumer rights and a ban on greenwashing.”
Jack Horgan-Jones (March 30, 2022). “Single-use coffee cups to be hit with 20c levy ‘later this year’.” The Irish Times
Mayuri Ghosh, et al. (January 18, 2022). “How national policies can accelerate the transition to a reuse economy.” World Economic Forum
