IK / Elipso: The plastic packaging industry’s path to a circular economy

The plastic packaging industry in Europe is contributing to this change through innovation and investment in sustainable packaging designs and manufacturing processes aimed at closing material cycles, and through collaboration in value chain initiatives such as the Circular Plastics Alliance. To achieve this, industry needs clear objectives, legal certainty and reliable framework conditions from politicians.

The circular economy must also remain a market economy

However, some of the measures announced in the Action Plan, such as the EU plastic levy, product bans and detailed legal regulations for packaging design, are disproportionate and sometimes discriminatory market interventions, which lead to great uncertainty and hold back investment in the plastic packaging market. In this context, it should be unmistakable: The circular economy must remain a market economy, not only in order to ensure prosperity and quality of life in Europe, but also to be able to achieve the defined goals safely and efficiently. The change to a circular economy must be achieved through market-oriented measures such as transparent financial incentives that leave the greatest possible scope for fair competition for the best solution.

The joint statement is primarily aimed at political decision-makers within the EU, Germany and France, but also at economic stakeholders.

www.kunststoffverpackungen.de    www.elipso.org