Issue No.03 MANAGING PACKAGING WASTE IN EUROPE - LESSONS FOR AUSTRALIA KEY POINTS: There is, as yet, no consensus in Europe on the policies required for the management of packaging waste. The differences are significant and include issues such as the reduction targets to be achieved; the types of packaging covered; the responsibilities of industry, government and the community; policies towards combustion with energy recovery; and whether governments should adopt a voluntary or compulsory approach. These differences are producing their own difficulties. Competition is being distorted and environmental problems created. The German Packaging Ordinance has created stockpiles of waste packaging which are now being exported, seriously undermining national recycling efforts in other countries and exacerbating their waste management problems. The European experience contains lessons for Australia. These lessons include the need for policy to be national in approach; market driven; non-discriminatory; realistic in the reduction targets established; wide-ranging and flexible in the waste management instruments used; and based on a genuine partnership between industry and government. The issue of packaging waste is now on the waste management agenda of most European governments and the Economic Community (EC). Initially the focus was on the packaging of liquids but it now encompasses all types of packaging. This is turn has created policy problems for governments. Packaging waste is a complex stream to manage. It contains many different forms of packaging and a wide variety of materials. The environmental effects of these different types and forms of packaging are not well understood. The absence of a reliable database about the waste stream has meant that regulatory efforts are based on incomplete and inadequate information. European governments are addressing the policy issues in different ways. The British government has given the packaging industry the task of recovering 50-75% of all packaging waste by 2000. In the Netherlands, the packaging industry is required by the year 2000 to reduce packaging waste by 10% on the 1986 level - a real reduction of about 40%. Belgium has introduced an eco-tax on beverage containers while industry has formed an organisation (Fost Plus) to meet its obligations. The German Packaging Ordinance In recent years the German Packaging Ordinance has been the focus of policy attention in Europe. The Ordinance (commonly known as the Topfer Decree) covers all types of packaging waste and obliges manufacturers and distributors to take back packaging for reuse or recycling outside the public waste disposal system. The German Ordinance states that all packaging should be returned to the retailer unless a separate collection system is set up. Under the German Packaging Ordinance: • 80% of waste packaging is to be collected by industry by 1995, with specific targets established for certain types of packaging (an interim collection target of 50% from January 1993 is in force). • 80-90% of the collected material must be sorted, with 100% of the sorted material being recycled or reused (interim targets of 30-70%, depending on type of packaging material, have been in force since January 1993). • All retailers are obliged to levy a charge on non-reusable packaging unless the collection and recycling of such packaging can be guaranteed. • Combustion with energy recovery is excluded as a valid recovery option. In response to the Ordinance, industry has established the "Dual" system (DSD)* to collect and recycle domestic-use packaging. This system permits manufacturers to use a "green dot" which signifies that the DSD fee has been paid, thereby ensuring that products are not excluded from retail stores. To the consumer, the "green dot" now indicates that the packaging material is recyclable and that the product price includes the cost of packaging collection and sorting for recycling. The German Ordinance is under sustained attack for a number of reasons: • Its failure to link the collection of packaging waste with markets is a fundamental flaw. Stockpiles of waste are being created. Some of this waste is being exported as subsidised prices, resulting in worldwide repercussions. The recycling programs of many of Germany's EC neighbours are being seriously undermined. German waste material has also been dumped in South East Asia. The recycling of Australian paper and cardboard has been adversely affected. • Its refusal to allow energy recovery, in the face of mounting stockpiles of waste and inadequate recycling capacity. • Its excessive costs. • Concern that the system amounts to a non-tariff barrier. In the light of these and other criticisms the German government has announced an "unconditional review" of the Packaging Ordinance. This review will take into account environmental factors and the experience of retailers, manufacturers, disposal contractors and local authorities. The Ordinance essentially covers all packaging manufactured or brought into circulation in Germany. Australian exporters will need to consider commissioning a service company to collect and reuse or recycle used packaging. France France has adopted a packaging law (the Lalonde decree) which draws on the German experience but, importantly, incorporates significant modifications. These modifications are largely due to the consultative approach adopted by all parties. The French system: • Does not formally enumerate specific reduction targets. The aim is to achieve 75% valorisation by the year 2000. • Recognises combustion with energy recovery as a legitimate option. • Allocates local authorities with responsibility for the collection of waste. In response to the French decree, industry has created "Eco Emballage", a company to which the producers and users of packaging belong and which subsidises the additional costs of collection and sorting of recyclables. The EC Draft Directive The European Community has drafted a Directive on packaging and packaging waste. Substantial differences remain to be overcome before the Directive is finalised. As it stands, the draft Directive aims: • To remove 90% of packaging waste (by weight) from the waste stream within ten years of the Directive entering into force. • To recycle 60% of this amount, whilst incineration with energy recovery is an acceptable method for handling 30%. Final disposal to landfill is limited to 10% of packaging waste output. The packaging industry in Europe is in favour of an EC Directive on packaging. The industry would prefer to have one law for all EC countries rather than different packaging rules and regulations for each nation, thereby inhibiting the economic benefits flowing from a single market. THE PACKAGING COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA'S POSITION The European experience is not directly transferable to Australia. Australian governments must construct policies which meet our own particular national requirements. Europe does, however, provide some lessons for Australia about devising workable policies to manage packaging waste. These lessons include the need for policy to be: • National - Effective management of packaging waste requires a co-ordinated national policy. State-by-State policy differences produce a patchwork of regulations and create competitive distortions and barriers. • Market Driven - There must be a balance between supply and demand. Real, lasting markets cannot be created (or artificially "rigged") by governments. The materials recovered must become tradable commodities at market prices. • Non Discriminatory - Between different types of materials and packaging. • Wide-ranging and Flexible - In the use of waste management instruments including combustion with energy recovery. • Realistic - Targets must be achievable, economically viable and environmentally sound, and put in place only after careful assessment. A national waste management database is essential for the development of efficient, integrated policies. • Based on - and the outcome of - a genuine, consultative, partnership between industry and government. The successful management of packaging waste requires a balanced, integrated and informed policy approach. Supposed "great leaps forward" in managing packaging waste can have adverse environmental consequences and will not work unless they are soundly and economically based. Read other Issues Papers: No.01 - "Combustion with Energy Recovery " No.02 - "Life Cycle Analysis" No.04 - "Waste Management" No.05 - "Litter" No.06 - "Mandatory Deposits" No.07 - "Excessive Packaging" No.08 - "Recycling" No.09 - "Australian Packaging - How Competitive?" No.10 - "The Packaging Council of Australia" No.11 - "Mandatory Minimum Recycled Content" No.12 - "Eco-Labelling" No.13 - "Packaging - Ten Trends for The Next Ten Years" No.14 - "Packaging - It's Essential Role" No.15 - "The Internet - What it Means for Australian Packaging" No.16 - "Single, Active, Post-Materialistic, and Grey?" No.17 - "Digitisation in Printing - Implications for Packaging" No.18 - "Australian Packaging: Issues and Trends"