-  Positions

Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive amending 94/62/EC on Packaging and Packaging Waste (COM (2001)729)

Statement from AIM, ASSURRE, CIAA and EUROPEN

11.12.2001

The industry organizations AIM, ASSURRE, CIAA and EUROPEN take note of the above Commission proposal and offer the following initial comments:

1. We welcome the proposal of the Commission to limit the scope of the amendment to the targets for packaging waste recovery and recycling. This is in keeping with the approach advocated by our organizations during the past two years.

2. We support the suggestion of the Commission that other issues connected with the Directive be the subject of a longer-term revision process involving consultation with all stakeholders.

3. We support the Commission proposal to clarify the definition of packaging contained in the Directive through the introduction of an annex containing interpretative (non-binding) guidelines.

4. We welcome the retention of a target for recovery of packaging waste in the revision proposal which had been eliminated from the first draft revision proposal released in mid-2001.

5. Each of our organizations will now engage in internal consultation with our respective members concerning the proposed scope and quantity of percentage targets for overall recovery, overall recycling and individual material recycling as well as the timing for their achievement. This process is expected to take several weeks (which will be additionally lengthened by the end-of-year holiday recess). We therefore are not presently able to issue any public position or opinion on these elements of the proposal.

6. In addition to this internal consultation we will also be consulting other stakeholders, particularly the packaging material sector organizations and the national recovery and recycling scheme operators.

7. It is anticipated the consultation process will be sufficiently advanced for us to share further informed comment early in the new year.