Plastics

The Commission found that a surge in dumped imports led to price undercutting and suppression, resulting in declining market share, reduced profitability, and lower returns on investment for domestic producers.

The authority is also working to encourage investment in sustainable alternatives, strengthen environmental compliance, and support innovation in environmentally friendly packaging materials.

Young acknowledged ongoing uncertainty related to geopolitical developments, including potential disruptions in the Red Sea affecting ocean freight and carrier availability for both feedstocks and finished products.

South African company expands sustainable kitchen range with disposable paper liners that eliminate the need for aluminium foil and reduce cleaning time.

The policy is also expected to encourage improvements in material traceability through mandatory QR code or barcode labelling for plastic packaging.

The JRC has also proposed harmonised waste sorting labels under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, recommending unified pictograms, colour-coded symbols and receptacles to improve consumer sorting behaviour and increase recycling rates across the bloc.

The material, produced with 30% post-consumer recycled PP, is sourced from plastic cups collected in coastal parts of Southeast Asia through the Prevented Ocean Plastic programme, preventing waste from entering marine environments.

The rules aim to improve transparency in calculating chemically recycled PET, level the playing field, and secure the plastic recycling industry, which faces mounting pressures from cheap virgin plastic imports and high energy costs.

The technology pairs a protein-based polymer from Lactips with PureNil 0 paper from SmartSolve to produce a flexible film that disappears in water.

The PPWR sets three-tier PFAS limits for food contact packaging from 12 August 2026: 25 ppb for any individual PFAS, 250 ppb for the sum of PFAS, and 50 ppm for all PFAS including polymeric PFAS.