Environmental compliance… the latest developments

What are the latest developments concerning environmental legislation globally? We’ve picked out some highlights for you for November 2021.

European Parliament Committees debate Batteries Regulation

The European Parliament’s Committees on the Environment (ENVI) and on Consumer Protection (IMCO) recently held two extensive debates on the new Battery Regulation.

In the ENVI debate, the responsible rapporteur, Simona Bonafé, emphasised the need for a holistic approach that covers the entire life cycle of batteries – from design to disposal. She mentioned that efforts must be made to strengthen the recycling of lithium batteries.

Shadow rapporteur, Sven Giegold called for better design and more effective collection of batteries. Extended producer responsibility was only briefly mentioned during the debate.

For IMCO rapporteur, Antonius Manders the actual goal of the new regulation is to create a world leading European battery industry. He spoke in favour of an export ban on waste batteries to increase recycling rates.

IMCO members also discussed the introduction of deposit refund schemes for batteries – an idea that was not part of the European Commission’s proposal.

In the meantime, the members of the two Committees have tabled their proposals for amendments which will be voted on in the coming months. The final vote in the Parliament’s plenary is scheduled for February.

Landbell Group company, European Recycling Platform will continue to actively monitor and contribute to the legislative process.

New calculation method for recycled content in plastic products

The European Commission is considering imposing requirements on the recycled content of plastic products. This measure would be in addition to the existing requirements for single-use beverage packaging.

Therefore, it has commissioned consulting firm Eunomia to develop options for the calculation, verification and reporting of recycled content. The first interim results from Eunomia’s study were presented and discussed at two stakeholder workshops in September and October. Landbell Group participated in the workshops.

Eunomia proposes to set the recycled content in relation to the product’s total weight by using a simple formula that factors in any losses during the production and recycling processes.

The calculation should be made either when the recyclate and primary material are mixed or when the actual product is created. The material must have previously been waste to be considered recyclate.

The report is to be finalised in the first quarter of 2022. Then, the Commission will have to decide which proposals it wants to adopt and translate into concrete legislation.