#SingleUsePlastics – How can industry deliver?

The British Chamber of Commerce in Brussels hosted a debate evaluating the EU’s single use plastics proposal focusing on three key areas; Will it succeed in reducing the presence of littered plastic items in the environment?; Does the proposal take into account the impact on Europe’s manufacturers?, and, finally, does the proposal meet the criteria for effective European legislation according to the EU’s Better Regulation agenda?

The debate came just two days before a crucial vote in the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI), which is proposing far-reaching amendments that could introduce new restrictions on industry, and which have yet to be fully quantified. It was an excellent opportunity for EU policymakers and industry experts to come together and evaluate the challenges, opportunities and likely impacts of the measures proposed by the Commission and the subsequent amendments from the Parliament.

Speaking on the day of the event James Stevens, Chair of the Energy, Transport and Chemicals Task Force’ at the British Chamber of Commerce pointed out: “The event was a great example of what the Chamber does best: bringing together institutional actors with representatives of wide range of interests from across its broad membership base to discuss a current legislative proposal.

While for many in the institutions the adoption of the Commission’s proposal on single use plastics will be a political win just before the European elections, it was clear from the debate that much of the detail, and therefore the impact on industry, will not be clear for some time to come. It may well be another example of how the speed of the legislative process is often inversely proportionate to the quality of the final legislation.”

Representing the European Commission, Hugo-Maria Schally, head of unit at DG Environment, pointed out that the drafting the proposal was an opportunity for the European Institutions to show that EU can react quickly. The European Commission tabled the proposal on 28 May 2018 and it envisages a number of measures that target the plastics items most commonly found in the marine environment, whether it is through awareness raising about product and marketing mix through to Extended Producer Responsibility and prohibition of specific products.

The Commission highlighted that it engages in intense dialogue with stakeholders from all industries and in the end it wants to bring change to how materials are designed, how they are used and how they are put to market. In the view of the Commission, we cannot wait any further to act.

Another panellist, European Organization for Packaging & the Environment (EuroPEN) Managing Director Virginia Janssens, highlighted the overlap with the Waste Framework Directive that already obliges member states to tackle marine litter and provides a framework for establishing Extended Producer Responsibility schemes. Janssens also highlighted that the European Parliament is asking questions on the percentage the industry is willing to shoulder in terms of clean-up costs, without even knowing what the total costs are. The industry cannot give a direct answer as differences between member states makes it difficult to calculate.

Speaking on the panel Vicky Marissen, partner at EPPA, discussed a key recommendation of the Commission’s Task Force on Subsidiarity which emphasized that EU institutions should look at implementing existing legislation rather than initiating new legislation in areas where the existing body of legislation is mature or has recently been revised. This seems to have been disregarded with the Single-use plastics proposal which was published despite the Waste Framework Directive not yet drawing to a conclusion.

Widely attended by participants from across various industries, the event concluded by emphasizing that the key to success is not just political will, but legislation that offers legal certainty and regulatory coherence for business, in order to achieve the environmental ambitions of legislators, industry and other stakeholders.

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