Overview
Experts discussed the potential of EPR, if implemented correctly, but also acknowledged that there is no silver bullet to improve waste management and that EPR systems have to be adapted to the local situation. The conference emphasized the importance of applying EXPRA's golden rules and taking a holistic view when it comes to promoting circularity and carbon neutrality. Participants agreed that cooperation among actors of the packaging value chain has to increase even more to achieve all the ambitious goals being set by the legislators on waste prevention, reuse and recycling.
You can read the full PR here
The Packaging Forum, representing the obliged industry in New Zealand, manages two government accredited voluntary stewardship schemes for glass and flexible plastic and is co-leading the design of a mandatory Plastic Packaging Product Stewardship Scheme for Aotearoa New Zealand. Thus, EXPRA will extend its reach to 32 PROs from 30 countries in Europe, Canada, Middle East, Latin America and now to the Southern Hemisphere.
You can read the Press Release here
The General Assembly re-elected the current EXPRA’s nine Board members and approved the extension with 2 more members to reflect the growth of the Alliance’s members from 11 at the beginning to 32 in 2023. They will be in charge for the next two-year term and represent Valorlux (Luxemburg), Avfalfonds (The Netherlands), EKO KOM (Czech Republic), CONAI (Italy), GreenPak (Malta) Green Dot Norway (Norway), Fost Plus (Belgium), Ecoembes (Spain) and the two new members - EEQ (Canada) and ECOPACK (Bulgaria). The Board of ten is completed by EXPRA’s Managing Director Joachim Quoden.
You can read the Press release here
Rekopol Organizacja Odzysku Opakowań S.A. is the only organization of its kind in Poland, established by entrepreneurs introducing products in packaging into the Polish market and operating since 2002.
“We look forward to strengthening our long-term, now formal, cooperation with EXPRA and its members to implement genuine EPR in Poland, based on EPR best practices and success stories of our colleagues” said Jakub Tyczkowski, Chairman of the Board of Rekopol “we hope that with joined efforts we will ensure a legal environment in EU where all PROs can strive for efficient and sustainable packaging waste management.”
You can read the PR here
FTI's competence and experience since almost 25 years will be transferred to the newly formed company Näringslivets Producentansvar (NPA), which is also the company that will apply to become a future producer responsibility organisation (PRO).
It is the industry organisations Dagligvaruleverantörers Förbund (DLF), Svensk Dagligvaruhandel, Sveriges Bryggerier and Sprit & Vinleverantörsföreningen (SVL) that are now taking the step to form a joint company - Näringslivets Producentansvar. Svensk Handel intends to join the ownership constellation of the new company shortly. With these organisations as owners, a strong foundation and great opportunities for influence are created for affiliated producers. At the same time, services are offered for you as producers to meet all the requirements that follow from the extended producer responsibility.
EU Countries have built different models of packaging waste management, each with its own specificities, and each effectively carrying out its mandate. The Italian one, represented by CONAI, and the Belgian one, represented by Fost Plus, have both achieved high collection and recycling rates despite having very diverse systems in place. Both systems have been appropriately tailored according to regional specificities, consumer needs and number of inhabitants, which means that, when applied to different contexts than the one they were created for, they would not deliver the same results.
You can see the agenda here and an article for the Congres here and the slide deck here
“Dansk Emballage Producentansvar” (Danish Packaging Producer Responsibility) (DEP) was founded in November 2021 by the Danish Agriculture & Food Council, The Danish Chamber of Commerce, the Confederation of Danish Industry, the Branded Goods Association and The Federation of Retail Grocers in Denmark. The organization was set up with the objective to develop a sustainable and efficient, not-for-profit EPR scheme owned and driven by the obliged industry and offering a service of public or collective interest, fully aligned with EXPRA ten golden rules.
5 April 2022 – During its General Assembly meeting, EXPRA, the umbrella alliance for packaging and packaging waste recovery and recycling organisations which are owned by the obligated industry and work on a non-profit basis, welcomed two new members, coming from different parts of the world - Swiss Recycling, Switzerland and Visión 30/30 - ANDI, Colombia.
Both organisations join EXPRA at an important moment for EPR implementation and packaging waste management, given not only the revision of the waste legislation, currently taking place in the European Union, but also the active introduction of EPR principles in the legislation of numerous countries worldwide and especially in South America.
Yuo can read teh full PR here
The growth of 2 percentage points compared to 2018 performance shows that the glass packaging value chain is delivering on its circular economy ambition. The multi-stakeholder stewardship partnership Close the Glass Loop where EXPRA and members are actively involved aims to achieve a postconsumer glass container collection target of 90% by 2030, and to ensure that this is recycled into the container glass production loop.
You can read the full PR here
We believe that the DSA is the right instrument and should complement other EU laws as it can address situations where environment, sustainability, energy efficiency, counterfeiting or consumer rights laws are ignored and define conditions for liability and limits what can be regulated under other EU laws.
Download here a copy of the joint statement.
HolyGrail 2.0 initiative is starting the next stage of development for intelligent waste sorting under the Digital Watermarks Initiative HolyGrail 2.0.AIM - European Brands Association in partnership with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste will work with the City of Copenhagen to conduct the semi-industrial test phase of the pilot. With this milestone, developers move one step closer to precision identification and sorting of plastic packaging waste through digital watermarks, with the potential to revolutionise the sorting and recycling process of plastic packaging.
You can read teh full PR here
Under the new law, Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection (ME DEP) will select and contract with a stewardship organization to operate a packaging stewardship program that will reimburse and assist municipalities in providing recycling services throughout the state. Brand owners selling packaged goods must pay fees on all packaging materials to the stewardship organization to fund the system based on the costs of recycling for each material, including infrastructure investments or resident education needed to capture materials statewide. The fee structure, to be determined by DEP rule with multi-stakeholder input, will also include financial incentives for recyclable packaging.
You can read the full PR here
Sixty three European and national organisations fully endorse the need for relevant and consistent information to consumers on how to properly dispose of both the products and their packaging to support the transition towards a circular economy.
In response to diverging national packaging labelling and information requirements, these 63 organizations sent a letter to the European Commission calling for an EU approach for packaging waste-sorting labelling to preserve the free movement of goods within the EU and underpin sustainability measures.
We need a circular economy for packaging, in which as less as possible becomes waste or never pollutes the environment. Packaging that cannot be avoided or reused must be kept in circulation - in the economy, out of the environment.
For this to happen, we need dedicated, ongoing and sufficient funding for collection, sorting and recycling. EPR is the only proven and likely way to achieve this and prevent tens of millions of tonnes of packaging from ending up in the environment every year. We are ready to step up and be part of the solution. With our experience of nearly 30 years to run EPR systems in 25 countries from Europe and abroad we are ready to support industry in setting up well functioning EPR systems in further countries.
Well-functioning EPR systems establish collection and recycling infrastructure to keep packaging in the economic cycle, avoid leakage of packaging to the environment especially avoiding marine litter, create jobs both for low skill and high skill people and reduce and save climate gas emissions.
More inormation can be found here
Brussels, 29 April 2021 – During its Spring General Assembly meeting, EXPRA, the alliance of 27 Producer Responsibility Organizations for packaging that work on a non-for-profit basis, has re-elected its Board of Directors for the 2021-2023 mandate.
M Óscar Martín Riva, CEO of Ecoembes, was appointed EXPRA’s new President. Mr. Martín has been CEO of Ecoembes, EXPRA’s Spanish member, since March 2014. He joined this organisation since its establishment in 1998, where he had previously held both the positions of General Director and Technical Director. In becoming EXPRA’s new President, he succeeds Mr. Cees de Mol van Otterloo, former CEO of EXPRA’s Dutch member Afvalfonds Verpakkingen.
The General Assembly re-elected EXPRA’s seven Board members. They will remain in charge for the next two-year term and represent Avfalfonds (The Netherlands), EKO KOM (Czech Republic), CONAI (Italy), Greenpak (Malta) Green Dot Norway (Norway), Fost Plus (Belgium) and Valorlux (Luxemburg). The Board of nine is completed by EXPRA’s Managing Director Joachim Quoden.
You can see the full PR here
This move is in compliance with the adopted EPR legislation in Chile and the process of becoming a partner of EXPRA has already been initiated. Thus, EXPRA will extend its reach to 27 PROs from 25 countries in Europe, Canada, Middle East and now to Latin America.
You can read the full PR here
The Parliament’s report, adopted on October 20, includes wording on “fighting false ‘environmental claims’ while calling on online marketplaces to promote sustainability of e-commerce by providing consumers with clear and easily understandable information on the environmental impact of the products. We strongly believe that information on meeting the Extended Producer Responsibility obligations regarding packaging, WEEE and other product-related waste streamsand delivery methods or services they buy online should be added to complete the ambition on information to consumers.
You can read the full Press Release here
Digital watermarks are imperceptible codes, the size of a postage stamp, covering the surface of a consumer goods packaging and carrying a wide range of attributes. The aim is that once the packaging has entered into a waste sorting facility, the digital watermark can be detected and decoded by a standard high resolution camera on the sorting line, which then – based on the transferred attributes (e.g. food vs. non-food) – is able to sort the packaging in corresponding streams. This would result in better and more accurate sorting streams, thus consequently in higher-quality recyclates benefiting the complete packaging value chain.
CONAI is a non-profit EPR organization created and designed by companies to manage the recycling and recovery of packaging across Italy and to pursue recycling and recovery objectives set by European legislation.
In 2019, the Consortium allowed 70% of packaging waste to be recycled: a total of 9 million and 560 thousand tons were recycled, out of the 13 million and 655 thousand that entered into consumption. By adding the figures of energy recovery, the tons of packaging waste recovered exceeded 11 million, almost 81% of the consumption input.
Press release available here
The multi-stakeholder Partnership demonstrates the commitment of the glass packaging value chain to work together, co-develop solutions within industrial ecosystems and support the European Commission’s ambition to foster Europe's transition towards a circular economy, innovation, and sustainable economic growth.
EXPRA’s Managing Director, Joachim Quoden, commented: EXPRA as a founding partner fully supports the ambitious targets of the “Close the Glass Loop”. We believe thatthey could be achieved onlyvia a closecooperation and open discussion and interaction between all actors of the life cycle chain. This platform provides an excellent opportunity to face the challenges but also exploit opportunities stemming from the new EU Waste Legislation. EXPRA and members will be very happy to contribute withpracticalknowledge and best practices in innovative collection models, high quality sorting & recycling and especially in communication and information campaigns for consumers, who at the end of the day are the engine at the core of the whole process.
You can read the official press release from the event here
You can see the video address of Joachim Quoden here
Plastretur will deliver between 7,000 and 10,000 tonnes of plastic packaging from Norwegian households to Quantafuel, for chemical recycling into raw materials to produce new plastic products. In short, the chemical process is to convert the used plastic into gas and then upgrade the gas to petrochemical raw material at Quantafuel's plant in Denmark. Subsequently, the product will be recycled to new plastic by the chemical giant BASF. This gives the plastic a quality that can be used in eg food packaging, avoiding the limitations in ordinary mechanical material recycling.
You can read the full Press release
As EXPRA, we are concerned that a levy on non-recycled plastic packaging would exert further pressure on EPR systems dealing with these materials at times when these face new waste legislation, calling for enhanced responsibilities over the end-of-life management of their producers’ packaging, including that made of plastics. Under the new regulatory framework, additional legal commitments will be assumed by both producers and their EPR schemes at significantly higher costs. In this light, EPR’s sustainability, as well as the competitiveness of small and medium-sized companies across the EU, could be threatened by the additional economic burden that said tax would entail.
Furthermore, a levy on non-recycled plastic packaging can have a negative impact on the life cycle of products. It could lead packaging producers to consider alternative solutions such as combining plastics with other materials. However, these multi-material packaging items are often more difficult to recycle. Some of the substitute materials could also prove to be less effective against food waste and increase CO2 emissions.
In the European Green Deal, the Commission clearly states: “extended producer responsibility will also be strengthened”. More detailed measures supporting this goal are expected with the announcement of the new Circular Economy Action Plan on 10 March 2020. We fear that the adoption of a plastics levy would therefore divert from this target and is not in line with facilitating the smooth operation of EPR schemes and their considerable contribution to the transition towards a Circular Economy.
This decision is key if we are to implement a circular economy for recyclable materials in Québec. The five success factors for a transformed and efficient curbside recycling system as well as the next steps for the different stakeholders and more information can be found at: https://www.eeq.ca/en/transformation/
Press release: https://www.eeq.ca/en/going-forward-companies-will-be-at-the-heart-of-the-system-to-recycle-100-of-materials-recovered-in-quebec/
A practical example of how to achieve genuine circularity of glass packaging is “Close the Glass Loop” – the major industry stewardship programme for glass packaging initiated by FEVE and aiming to reach a post-consumer glass container collection target of 90% by 2030. In parallel, the initiative should ensure that the recycled material is reused again into a new production loop of glass containers.
EPR Organizations, as the link between the different stakeholders, have a key role in promoting and facilitating better collection, high quality sorting and recycling of used packaging including glass, thus ensuring the achievement of the initiative’s objectives.
EXPRA’s Managing Director, Joachim Quoden, commented: “EXPRA supports the “Close the Glass Loop” as our organization and its members strive to constantly improve their performance by supporting and investing in innovative collection models, high quality sorting & recycling and especially in communication and information campaigns for consumers, who at the end of the day are the engine at the core of the whole process. We look forward to closer cooperation with the other stakeholders in the value chain in finding
the most efficient ways and means to face challenges but also exploit opportunities stemming from the new EU Waste Legislation.
The use of these attractive containers increased sharply, registering a sharp rise in the collection of post-consumer products including plastic, paper, glass, and metal waste for recycling during 2019. Fitted with smart technology, the iBiNs provide citizens with a simpler and more convenient way to recycle 24/7.
Looking ahead at future trends in the Maltese society and steering the need to recycle more as a country, GreenPak invest in smart bins to address current needs and be ready for the future Smart Cities. The iBiNs project utilizes the emerging latest technology of IoT (Internet of Things). It has the capability to monitor waste levels and feed information back to a central system using real-time data which enables GreenPak’ recycling service to prioritise and customise collection routes in the localities it serves across Malta and Gozo.
You can read teh full article here: https://www.greenpak.com.mt/first-prize-for-greenpak
By signing this declaration, EXPRA and its members reiterate their commitment to support the industry’s transformative ambition, enabling and accelerating change by optimising collection, sorting and recycling solutions for all packaging, including plastics.
You can read the full Press release here
Declaration of the Circular Plastics Alliance
The declaration describes the alliance's vision for more recycled plastics in Europe, as well as the alliance’s commitments to reach the EU target. Namely, that 10 million tonnes of recycled plastics find their way into products in the EU by 2025.
Over 100 companies, business organisations and public authorities already signed the declaration, as well as standardisation bodies and research and technology organisations. See the list of signatories.
Prepared in follow up to the EU’s 2015 Circular Economy Action Plan, the P4R project is centred around three main objectives:
- Raising awareness of recyclability and relevant guidelines
- Disseminating information on cutting-edge and innovative packaging trends
- Strengthening the link between packaging producers and recyclers
The tool is accessible through a dedicated website – https://www.packaging4recycling.eu/
You can read the PR here
Mr Todor Bourgoudjiev, CEO of ECOPACK Bulgaria, was elected as a new member of the Board. Mr Bourgoudjiev has held the position of Executive Director of ECOPACK Bulgaria, the first and leading PRO in Bulgaria, since 2010. Prior to that he worked in the beer and soft drink industries. He will follow Mr Bogdan Ureche, CEO of ECO ROM Ambalaje, the Romanian member of EXPRA. After having served 3 consequent terms in EXPRA BOD, Mr Ureche has decided to focus even more on the national context that currently requires significant attention.
“Being elected as a member of the EXPRA Board of Directors is an honor for me and recognizes that EPR schemes from “new” member states can also set examples in packaging waste management. I hope that with my experience and knowledge I will contribute to the further strengthening of the Organization in this important period,” said Mr Bourgoudjiev.
Further 6 members of the Board who were re-elected for the next two-year term represent PROs from the Czech Republic, Italy, Malta, Norway, Belgium and Spain. The Board of 9 is completed by the Managing Director of EXPRA Joachim Quoden as its born member.
“In this important and challenging period, when the new waste legislation will be transposed in the MS’s national legislation and its implementation in all EU MS, I am very glad to have such a strong Board with over 20 years of experience and such dedication,” said Joachim Quoden, EXPRA’s Managing Director.
Mr Cees de Mol van Otterloo, the CEO of Afvalfonds Verpakkingen, EXPRA Dutch member was elected as the new President of EXPRA . Mr de Mol van Otterloo has long-term professional experience in soft drink industry and has served as the CEO of his organisation since its establishment in 2013. In becoming EXPRA’s new President, he succeeds William Vermeir, the former CEO of EXRPA’s Belgian member Fost Plus.
“This period is crucial for the future development and optimized functioning of our members and EPR in general, with the transposition and following implementation of the new waste legislation as well as the plastic strategy impact. I would like to thank my predecessor, William Vermeir, the founding EXPRA President, for his great job and to assure you that I will continue to position EXPRA as key stakeholder in implementing these new conditions for our work as PROs in the coming years,” he said.
All material streams should have an equal level of ambition when reporting recycling rates, regardless of the complexity of different recycling value chains. In the case of glass, FEVE, FERVER, EXPRA and EuRIC have a common understanding that the measurement point is at the input to the cullet treatment plant, as this is the “recycling operation” where waste is “actually reprocessed into products”. They also take the ambition further and propose that non-glass losses and non-targeted materials should be deducted.
The Global Commitment clearly envisages a future where plastic packaging, including flexible packaging, is designed, used and the materials then made available again in the circular economy. That way they do not leak into the natural environment and they play an important and essential role in helping society live and consume more sustainably. Flexible packaging generally is very resource efficient and, in nearly all cases, helps to reduce overall plastic packaging waste while providing customised product protection, at the minimum cost, using the least resource and with the lowest environmental impact.
The Global Commitment reinforces the work being undertaken by CEFLEX, where the consortium stakeholders are collaborating to identify, prove and implement how best to close the loop on all flexible packaging materials by 2025.
You can read the full press release here
The joint statement calls on EU negotiators to safeguard the Internal Market for packaging and packaged goods, in view of the trilogues on the Single Use Plastics (SUP) Directive. Its aim is to ensure that the Directive on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment (so-called Single-Use Plastics Directive) will deliver the intended environmental objectives in a harmonised and competitive EU Internal Market. The co-signatories believe that it is crucial to avoid divergent packaging restrictions across the EU would undermine the free movement of packaging and packaged goods which would have a negative effect on investment, innovation - including eco-innovation – for circularity, growth and jobs in Europe.
Among the recommended actions for the EU co-legislators are: to ensure that the PPWD (Directive 94/62/EC) remains the lex specialis for all packagingitems as defined by Article 3(1) of Directive 94/62/EC, that the measures adopted under Article 4 (SUP Directive) are without prejudice to Article 18 of Directive 94/62/EC and that Member States shall pre-notify the Commission of their measures in accordance with Directive 2015/1535 as well as to remove the reference in Recital 11 to market restrictions in relation to the measures on consumption reduction related to SUP Article 4.
You can read the statement here
Amanda Fuso Nerini, CONAI, in her capacity as chair of the EXPRA WG Packaging & Sustainability and Joachim Quoden, EXPRA’s MD, engaged as speakers in the round tables whereas several other members, for example from Spain, Belgium, Greece, Slovakia, Norway, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Netherlands and even Quebec, Canada joint the discussion. Not only the Commission but also Peter Börkey from the OECD followed immediately our invitation and participated actively in the workshop.
You can read the summary report from the Workshop
You can read the Press Release here
The issue of free riding is one of growing concern in light of distance sales already representing up to 20 and 30 per cent of the market across various waste streams in certain Member States. In a bid to solve this problem, the three organizations propose online sellers and fulfilment houses to be required to take on the duties of a ‘producer’ under the Directive dealing with the product they sell or stock.
“We look forward to working with EXPRA and its members”, said Ólafur Kjartansson, Managing Director of IRF.
To develop more sustainable packaging is a challenge and an opportunity for all stakeholders along the value chain, as the overall objective is to do so by optimising the use of materials, water and energy, minimising waste (of product and used packaging) and maximising the recycling and recovery of used packaging. This is of course part of the Circular Economy concept and the respective measures and initiatives of the EU, aiming to modernise and transform the European economy, shifting it towards a more sustainable direction.
In line with these efforts, EXPRA is starting a new initiative – publication of news and best practices from EXPRA members, aiming to inform and support all stakeholders along the packaging value chain in the process of developing more sustainable packaging, incorporating design for recycling/ eco-design. The publication will be issued on quarterly basis, providing summarized information with respective links to detailed documents and or sources, implemented with the support of the EXPRA Sustainability and Packaging Working Group.
You can read the sustainability drops here
Importantly, GreenPak was acknowledged for its positive results in waste recovery, amongst others through education in recycling. Two of GreenPak’s educational campaigns particularly stood out: ‘Nirrickla ghall-Istrina’ and ‘Irrickla u Irbah’.
For the past six years, GreenPak’s ‘Nirrickla ghall-Istrina’ has each year encouraged schools and businesses to collect plastic caps. In 2016, over 14 million plastics caps, weighing almost 43 tonnes, were recycled. The proceedings go towards a charity – the Community Chest Fund Foundation; €20,000 were raised only in 2016. Meanwhile, the ‘Irrickla u Irbah’ campaign, which is a recycle and reward campaign, runs now its seventh edition. The campaign promotes recycling by randomly selecting and rewarding Maltese citizens that use one of GreenPak’s community recycling services.
GreenPak’s innovative, citizen-focused approach will continue to successfully drive the collection and recycling of packaging waste in Malta while demonstrating the societal value of industry-driven extended producer responsibility.
For more information on GreenPak’s campaigns, please see here
This is a pioneering project in Europe that,through joint collaborative research within the circular economy framework, seeks to study, conceive, test and apply best practices in the field of packaging and recycling.
Based in Logroño, Spanish region of Rioja, TheCircularLab aims to become an international reference in circular economy matters. Its goal is to turn the region into a large real-scale experimentation centre, in close cooperation with companies, the public administration and citizens. It also expects to develop circular economy patterns that are transferable to other areas in Spain, Europe and worldwide.
EXPRA’s Board members represent Packaging Recovery Organizations from the Czech Republic (EKO-KOM), Italy (CONAI), Malta (GreenPak), Netherlands (Nedvang), Romania (Eco-Rom Ambalaje), Norway (Green Dot Norway) and Spain (EcoEmbes). They unanimously re-elected Mr Vermeir, Managing Director of Fost Plus, Belgium, as President for the next 2 years.
You can read the Press Release here
The award was formalised at an event organised by the Italian non-profit association Legambiente in the European Parliament, in the presence ofEuropean Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen, and European Parliament’s Rapporteur for the waste proposals, Simona Bonafè.
CONAI is being rewarded for its role in implementing the circular economy model in Italy – as the national packaging consortium, it is responsible for recovering and recycling packaging waste involving steel, aluminum, paper, wood, plastic and glass. In 2015, recycling accounted for 66.9 per cent of the total packaging consumption, amounting to 8.2 million tonnes. Considering energy recovery rates, 78.6 per cent of the packaging waste (9.6 million tonnes) was, in fact, diverted from landfill.
You can read the Press Release here
The reviewed EU waste legislation acknowledges that EPR forms an essential part of an efficient waste-management process. Now this approach needs to be translated into strong common requirements for EPR schemes.
EXPRA moreover welcomes the options set out for recycling measurement. However, the “final recycling process” definition should be adjusted in a bid to ensure data accuracy and reliability as well as reporting transparency and compliance.
18 years have passed since the foundation of the current recycling system of packaging was set, and during these years it has become a modern and efficient model, which highlights the success of cooperation between companies, public administrations and citizens.
At our age of majority, looking forward to the enthralling challenges which appear in front of us, in Ecoembes we think it is the perfect moment to change our trademark as well. This new look, this new identity, which reflects the current Ecoembes belongs to you, to all the companies that are part of Ecoembes and give sense to our existence.
Ing. Mario Schembri, CEO of GreenPak himself has also been instrumental in setting up the international organisation Extended Producer Alliance (EXPRA), which promotes the not-for-profit concept that producers are best placed to recover end-of-life products.
Given that EPR is implemented in a variety of ways across the bloc, the proposed common requirements for EPR are likely to ensure a level-playing field for producers, Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) and other actors in the waste management chain.
On 26 November 2015, during its General Assembly meeting, EXPRA, the umbrella organisation for packaging and packaging waste recovery and recycling systems which are owned by the obligated industry and work on a non-profit basis, welcomed two new members - SLOPAK from Slovenia and EKOPAK from Bosnia and Herzegovina, thereby extending its presence in the Balkans.
A new study, published today by the Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance (EXPRA), concludes that EU Member States’ latest packaging recycling data shows inconsistencies and variances.
The joint statement relates to the legislative proposal that would be a part of Circular Economy Package. Its aim is to leverage a joint, strong and cross industry message to the European Commission ahead of the published CEP on 2 December, and to other stakeholders.
Among the recommended actions to further enable the transition towards a resource-efficient and competitive Circular Economy, are the need to ensure full implementation and enforcement of the Waste Framework Directive and PPWD and strengthening of the legal framework for EPR, that should further include introducing a clear definition of EPR in the PPWD and stipulating binding EU minimum performance requirements for EPR schemes. The need for establishing a comparable and harmonized calculation method and setting realistic and achievable packaging recycling targets is also highlighted in the document.
With the growing of EXPRA and joining of new members we decided that it is time to update our leaflet. We hope that the new design of the leaflet will also help for the better transmission of our messages to external and internal audiences.
The European Parliamenthas explicitly acknowledged today the primary role that Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has to play in the transition towards a circular economy. Voting on MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen’s own initiative report on ‘Resource efficiency: moving towards a circular economy’, legislators called on the European Commission to set ‘clear minimum standards for extended producer responsibility requirements’ in a bid to ‘ensure transparency and cost effectiveness’ of EPR schemes.
The Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance (EXPRA) and 6 Packaging Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs)[1] have developed a joint paper that spells out some shared views concerning the future direction of the circular economy, EU waste review and EPR. These views were shaped as a result of an open dialogue and consultative process among the PROs, and include input from a number of international producers.
[1] ARA, Austria; Eco Emballages, France; Der Grüne Punkt – Duales System Deutschland GmbH, Germany; Rekopol, Poland; SPV, Portugal; and Valpak, United Kingdom.
The article was published in the last issue of the ISWA by-monthly Magazine, Waste Management World (March-April 2015) by Piet Coopman. It states that the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) can be a strong policy principle in waste management. Over the years it has been introduced worldwide for different waste streams and based on its European experience ISWA has defined some key considerations for successful implementation of EPR throughout the world.
The Position paper focuses on mandatory lables used to give waste recycling recommendations.
EXPRA, the umbrella organization for packaging and packaging waste recovery and recycling systems which are owned by obliged industry and work on a not-for-profit basis, has elected its Board of Directors for the mandate 2015-2017. Ms. Jaana Røine, CEO of Green Dot Norway, was appointed as new member of the EXPRA Board and EXPRA’s President, William Vermeir, was re-elected.
During its spring General Assembly meeting, EXPRA, the umbrella organization for packaging and packaging waste recovery and recycling systems which are owned by obliged industry and work on a not-for-profit basis, has welcomed two new members: ETO from Estonia and VAL I PAC from Belgium. With these incorporations, EXPRA extends its reach to 23 members from 21 countries in Europe, Canada and Middle East.
The ISWA Working Group on Legal Issues (WGLI) with the lead author Tina Van Poelvoorde, Legal Affairs Manager at FostPlus EXPRA’s Belgian member, has developed a Discussion paper on Public-Private partnership. The paper focuses on the legal dimension of PPPs, in particular with regard to waste management. It provides information about the types of PPPs, their major characteristics and the Legal framework on PPPs in the European Union
INVITATION to the EPR Club / EXPRA / ACR+ lunch debate on Transparency in EPR schemes, 25 March 2015
At this lunch debate, EPR Club and EXPRA members will come together to learn about the discussion on the topic of transparency until now and to discuss amongst each other.
The aim of the event is to build on the findings from discussion on the topic and to go further; trying to come to a common message, at least on some specific waste streams, from the EPR Club on
- which level of transparency are we asking from the various actors within the EPR system
- what should be done on a European level to ensure a certain amount of transparency and
- what degree of confidentiality should be kept.
“Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has lead without any doubt to better recycling results for packaging waste, WEEE, and many other waste streams” states a recent publication of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) on EPR.
The Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance (EXPRA) extends its reach in Northern Europe
Two new members, Packaging and Newspaper Collection Service (FTI) Sweden and the Environmental Register of Packaging (PYR) Finland, join the EPR Network
Brussels, 3 December 2014 – During its General Assembly meeting, EXPRA, the umbrella organisation for packaging and packaging waste recovery and recycling systems which are owned by obliged industry and work on a not-for-profit basis, has welcomed two new members - FTI from Sweden and PYR from Finland, extending its presence in Northern Europe.
Monthly Newsletter, October 2014
Informal sector valuable waste collection is a phenomenon that is developing rapidly, due to many factors, such as economic crises, inefficient functioning of the established WM systems, lack of adequate legal provisions and economic instruments.
Over 80 representatives of all stakeholders from 13 countries: academics, researches, EPR schemes, local authorities and business met in Bucharest to exchange their experience and approaches to tackle the challenges.
October 9, 2014 – NOVOTEL BUCAREST CITY CENTRE, Bucharest, Romania
Welcome by the organizers (EXPRA / ISWA / RDN)
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EXPRA – Mr Joachim Quoden, MD
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Eco-Rom Ambalaje – Mr. Sorin Popescu, CEO
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ISWA – Mr. Gerfried Habenicht Communications Manager
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RDN – Mr Alexei Atudorei , Member of ISWA Board
Welcome note
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Romanian National Environmental Guard – Florin Diaconu, General Commissar
Paving the floor to the topic – Inspiring the audience
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ISWA -Dr. Helmut Stadler
Overview: “Integration of the invisible and Deniable: Challenges of integrating Informal Recycling within the EU” – Dr. Anne Scheinberg, Director, Noë Waste Measurement Consultants, Wageningen, the Netherlands, and Senior Researcher, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands
“From marginal to inclusive. About to change the paradigm approach” - Gelu Duminica, "Impreuna" Agency for Community Development
Experiences from different countries
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Turkey – CEVKO (Mr Mete Imer, CEO)
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Greece – Herrco (Mr, Yiannis Razis, CEO)
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Malta – Greenpak (Mr. Daniel Tabone, Senior Operations Manager)
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Bulgaria – Eco Pack (Mr Todor Bourgoudjiev, CEO)
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Romania – Eco Rom (Ms Liliana Nichita, Director)
The Federation of Development Intermunicipal Associations – Mr. Gabriel Moiceanu, President
Key performance indicators of the informal waste sector – Mr. Roland Ramusch, Institute of Waste Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
Excurse No 1: Initiatives in South American countries - Mr Philippe Diexcsens, DANONE
Excurse No 2: Challenges in the collection of bulky waste and overview about solutions in different countries to integrate the informal sector – Ms Gudrun Obersteiner, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
Experiences from different countries
- FYR Macedonia – Pakomak (Mr Filip Ivanovski, CEO)
- Project “Informal sector integration in solid waste management in Tunisia” , Mr. Cosmin Briciu, Green Partnets, Romania
- Serbia – Mr. Mihail Mateski, General Manager, GREENTECH d.o.o.
Panel Discussion – Learnings from the presentations and future steps – Moderator Joachim Quoden, EXPRA
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Romanian Ministry of Environment
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ISWA Representative – Dr. Helmut Stadler
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Municipalities-– Mr. Gabriel Moiceanu, President FADI
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NGO’s Mr. Cosmin Briciu, Green Partnets, Romania
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Mr. Maarten G. Labberton, Director EAA Packaging Group
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Waste Management Company- ARS, Mr. Domitru Mihalache
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Academics - Ms Gudrun Obersteiner, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
A feasibility study on The effects of the proposed EU packaging waste policy on waste management practice, developed by the Data and Reporting Working Group of the Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance (EXPRA), concludes that the increased recycling targets proposed by the European Commission would lead to collect more packaging waste from households than the amount of packaging that is put on the market. Besides, the costs for collection, sorting and sale of packaging waste will more than double under the proposed legislation.
This event will discuss key elements of the Circular Economy Package, looking in particular at how EPR can contribute to optimal waste management and the instruments that are needed at EU level to enable its further development.
Please find program and additional information in attached leaflet.
In the light of the proposed by the European Commission increased recycling targets, as part of the Circular Economy Package, the problem that certain valuable packaging is disappearing or even not reaching the established collection infrastructure of municipalities and compliance schemes, gains major importance. The higher the prices for secondary raw material are the more material is disappearing which makes it more and more difficult to finance the infrastructure and to reach recycling targets.
The workshop will focus on the problem of the relation between the regular collection of valuable parts of the waste stream and the informal sector and will offer a platform to exchange experiences on the effects of this problem and possible solutions. More information about the workshop and registration please find attached.
Monthly Newsletter, July 2014
EXPRA Position Paper on the EU Waste Target Review and the revision of related waste directives
EXPRA’s key messages on the EU Waste Target Review and the revision of related waste directives
Monthly Newsletter, May 2014
This glossary is a collection of terms that are commonly used in the field of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and in the waste management sector.
This brochure explains EXPRA’s golden rules for EPR, the activities of EXPRA, and provides key facts and figures on its members’ activities.
Monthly Newsletter, April 2014
EXPRA takes part in Public Consultation on Certification of Waste Treatment Facilities
Monthly Newsletter, March 2014
This paper outlines the response of the Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance (EXPRA) to the Commission proposal on Lightweight Plastic Bags amending Directive 94/62/EC on Packaging and Packaging Waste.
Position Paper clarifying the role of different stakeholders in EPR
EXPRA Response Paper on the revision of the Waste Framework Directive
Monthly Newsletter, January 2014
This time with some national stories of EXPRA members
Expra consultation to the topic.
The undersigned associations strongly believe that the Triman measure fragments the internal market, is a barrier to trade, is more strict than necessary and is not proportionate to meet the objective being pursued. Document to download
This document follows the work carried out for the European Commission by BIO Intelligence Service, assisted by Arcadis (Belgium), UBA (Austria), Ecologic (Germany) and IEEP (United Kingdom), consisting in the analysis and comparison of 36 Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes in the EU (on Packaging, EEE, B&A, Oils, Graphic Paper and Vehicles).
View the paper, which contains best practices for successful Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging. These rules aim to support the goals of obliged companies in their sustainability policy and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and should be incorporated in the forthcoming revision of the EU Waste Legislation on Packaging and Packaging Waste.
Monthly Newsletter, November 2013
This newsletter will give you a glimpse of EXPRA’s activities in Brussels and beyond over the past month.
Download Expra Monthly Newsletter October 2013
Download our brochure about EXPRA activities.
In early June, a public consultation by Eunomia on the review of EU Waste Targets was launched. The project aims to contribute to the best solutions for the targets of the EU Waste Framework Directive, Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive and Landfill Directive. It responds both to the review clauses of these directives, but also aims to put the directives more in line with EU resource efficiency ambitions.
The consultation includes sections on:
- WFD (key issues, suggestions for revision)
- Landfill directive (key issues, suggestions for revision)
- PPWD (key issues, suggestions for revision)
- Consultation Regarding the Aspirations of the Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe
- Targets as a Tool in EU waste Legislation
The consultation includes separate sections on the three directives, asking questions about these, but also includes questions related to the aspirational targets from the Resource Efficiency Roadmap. The consultation will be open until 10 September 2013. EXPRA will take part in the consultation.
Additional information and the online questionnaire are available here.
The consultation period following the publication of the Commission’s Green Paper on Plastic Waste closed on 7 June. EXPRA submitted its contribution to the public consultation welcoming the Commission’s Green Paper and the opportunity provided to stakeholder and citizens to take part in the EU discussion on ways to improve the management of plastic waste in Europe.
The response provides EXPRA’s views on the 26 questions in the Green Paper, touching upon issues such as recycling and recovery targets, marine litter and how to achieve greater recycling rates. Emphasis is also placed on the importance of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the context of plastic waste and that, moving forward, it will also be important to focus on efforts in the field of non-packaging plastic, through measures in fields including EPR and reinforced recycling targets.
The contributions to the public consultation are now being analysed and will feed into the ongoing work under the Waste Policy Review and further policy action in 2014.