The European Commission approves new regulations to enhance the safety of recycled plastics used in contact with food.

On September 15, the European Commission established new regulations regarding the use of recycled plastic for food packaging. The law will lay out precise rules to guarantee that recycled plastic can be used in food packaging in the EU without risk. It will aid the recycling sector in developing appropriate processes for recycling plastics that at the moment cannot be turned into food packaging. The regulations will make over 200 mechanical PET (polyethylene terephthalate) recycling methods eligible for authorization, assisting the industry in achieving the 2025 goal of 25% recycled plastic in PET beverage bottles.

The viability of recycling methods and the safety of recycled plastic in food packaging will also be assessed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on a more solid foundation. In an effort to promote transparency, the EU will create a public registry of recycling procedures, recyclers, and recycling facilities that fall under its purview.

According to the EU Commission, the action will help achieve the goals of the Circular Economy Action Plan and improve the overall sustainability of the food chain. The strategy, which is a component of the EU Green Deal, is based on the idea that we can sustain our communities, houses, and economies by using fewer resources overall. Executive vice-president for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, commented on the new rules as follows:

“Plastics are useful to preserve food, but their use has to be sustainable. Today’s new rules enable food manufacturers to use more recycled plastics in food packaging.”

Stella Kyriakides, the EU commissioner in charge of health and food safety, added: To generate recycled plastics that consumers and the food industry can rely on, the EU needs new regulations.

“With around 50% of all plastic packaging in the EU used for food products, we need to ensure that this sector can transition towards a more sustainable food production safely and efficiently – using more recycled plastic is key to achieve this.

Our new regulations will achieve these goals because safeguarding the environment and the well-being of our residents are two sides of the same coin.

Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/15XX on recycled plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foods will enter into force in October 2022.

At the time of entry into force, the Regulation will have the following effect:

• Regulation (EC) No 282/2008 is repealed; it will no longer be in force.
• Recycled plastic Food Contact Materials are no longer permitted due to national regulations.
• Specific regulations, such as those governing the gathering and sorting of plastic input, its decontamination, and conversion, as well as quality assurance, documentation, and labeling, become directly applicable to the marketing of plastic including recycled material.
• There is now a Union registration of recyclers and recycling facilities, which is being made public on this website.
• The Regulation covers all types of recycled plastic and recycling methods, including mechanical recycling, recycling of goods from a closed, regulated supply chain, using recycled plastic behind a functional barrier, and various chemical recycling techniques.
• The examination of recycling operations is subject to new regulations that are applicable to cutting-edge recycling technology.

Other rules will apply following the entry into force:

• Regarding mechanical polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling methods
• Processes that were the subject of an application received by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) before July 2023 may continue to be used after that date to market recycled plastic until they are informed of a decision on their authorization.
• the first of these authorization decisions, concerning applications received prior to the Regulation’s entry into force are anticipated within three months from the date of the application.
• Recycling procedures are subject to limits based on authorization decisions and the applicable EFSA opinion;
• Processes for which EFSA had not received an application prior to that date may not be utilized to market recycled plastic after July 2023; these processes must first be authorized.

Only plastics made with an appropriate recycling technique, as specified in Chapter IV of the Regulation, may be marketed starting in July 2023 unless they were made using novel technology and in compliance with Chapter IV of the Regulation. The Regulation identifies two such technologies:

• After October 2024, quality guarantee systems used to collect and pre-process plastic input must be validated by a third party.
• Post-consumer mechanical PET recycling requires approval of specific processes recycling from product loops that are in a closed and controlled chain.