Recycled plastic packaging in contact with food

 

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 on recycled plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foods

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It lays down the rules for:

• the sale of plastic materials and articles manufactured with a suitable recycling technology from waste* plastic that are intended to be or can be reasonably expected to come into contact with food;
• the development and operation of recycling technologies, processes and installations to produce that recycled plastic;
• the use of plastic materials and articles in contact with food which have been, or are intended to be, recycled.

KEY POINTS

Suitable recycling technologies:

• must ensure recycled plastic materials:
  • are microbiologically safe,
  • do not release their constituents into food in amounts that could endanger human health or change, to unacceptable levels, the composition of the food or its colour, aroma, taste and texture (organoleptic characteristics),
  • have labelling, advertising and presentation that does not mislead the public;
• are:
  • categorised according to factors such as type, collection and origin of the input material and the intended use of the recycled plastic,
  • listed in Annex I to the regulation and may also be individually authorised by the European Commission.

To be placed on the market, recycled plastic materials and articles must:

• be manufactured by one of the following:
  • a suitable technology listed in Annex I,
  • a novel technology (one awaiting authorisation as suitable) in accordance with the procedure set out in Chapter IV;
• contain the necessary documentation, instructions and labelling.

Waste management operators must ensure the collected plastic waste:

• originates only from municipal waste or from specific food retail or other food businesses, collected with a certified collection system, subject to possible exceptions;
• contains only plastic materials and articles meeting the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 on plastics that come into contact with food (see summary);
• is collected separately; or
• is collected with a recycling scheme managed by a single entity in which the participants subject to the rules of that scheme ensure that the plastic is not contaminated.

Rules for recycled plastic require food business operators:

• to comply, when using them, with the instructions accompanying the products;
• to provide relevant information to consumers coming into contact with food packed in such materials.

Rules on the development and use of recycling technologies state that:

• several operators may develop novel technologies independently or together, but must inform their national authority and the Commission and provide detailed information of their work, including scientific evidence and studies on which it is based;
• recycling installations using novel technology must:
  • comply with certain administrative requirements and provide and update information summarising the complete process and main manufacturing stages, with supporting documentation,
  • monitor average contamination levels by sampling plastic input and output batches, publishing a detailed 6-monthly report on their website;
• the Commission (when it considers sufficient data are available):
  • must request that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assess a novel technology,
  • must decide, on the basis of that assessment, whether to approve it,
  • may decide, either on its own initiative or when asked by a European Union (EU) Member State, to apply further conditions on the use of a technology or deem it to be unsuitable.

Procedure for the authorisation of an individual recycling process

• Authorisation is only needed if the suitable technology which it uses so requires.
• The developer of the decontamination process is required to submit an application, with suitable documentation, to the relevant national authority, which then informs EFSA.
• EFSA is to assess the process and determine whether the process can apply the suitable recycling technology so that the plastic materials are safe, and issues a scientific opinion concerning the recycling process.
• The Commission, taking account of that opinion, is to decide whether to grant or refuse the necessary authorisation.
• EFSA is to provide scientific guidance describing the evaluation criteria it will use for each suitable recycling technology requiring authorisation of individual recycling processes.
• Business operators to which an authorisation on their process is granted become authorisation holders. They are to comply with general obligations, including to provide recyclers with the necessary information, notify changes to the process and its ownership to the Commission and honour their civil and criminal liabilities.
• The Commission can modify, suspend or revoke authorisations if certain criteria are met.

The legislation establishes an EU register for novel technologies, recyclers, recycling processes, recycling schemes and decontamination installations. It contains details of:

• the decontamination installation and recycling facility where the recycled plastic was manufactured;
• the authorised recycling process used;
• the name of the recycling scheme and identity of the operator;
• the name of any novel technology used.

Recyclers must:

• comply with administrative requirements, such as informing the Commission and their national authority 30 days before starting production of recycled plastic;
• draw up a compliance monitoring summary sheet for each decontamination installation under their control, using the template contained in Annex II to the regulation, and have it agreed by the competent authority in their territory;
• provide a declaration of compliance according to the description and template set out in Part A of Annex III.

Official controls of recycling installations include:

• audits of operators, assessment of good manufacturing practices and examination of controls and compliance monitoring the procedures in place;
• the power of national authorities to declare a batch of recycled plastic non-compliant for the following reasons:
  • it was placed on the market without appropriate documentation or labelling,
  • the recycler cannot prove it was produced in accordance with the regulation,
  • it was manufactured at a recycling installation that does not meet the regulation’s requirements;
• the power of national authorities to require that an operator remedy the deficiencies, and even to forbid the sale of the product.

The regulation does not apply to the use of waste to manufacture substances (monomers and other starting substances, additives excluding colourants, polymer production aids excluding solvents and macromolecules from microbial fermentation) covered by Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011.

The regulation contains some transitional arrangements and repeals Regulation (EC) No 282/2008.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 10 October 2022.

BACKGROUND

For further information, see:

• Plastic recycling (European Commission).

KEY TERMS

MAIN DOCUMENT

Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 of 15 September 2022 on recycled plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foods, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 282/2008 (OJ L 243, 20.9.2022, pp. 3–46).

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – A new circular economy action plan for a cleaner and more competitive Europe (COM(2020) 98 final, 11.3.2020).

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – A European strategy for plastics in a circular economy (COM(2018) 28 final, 16.1.2018).

Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products, amending Regulations (EC) No 999/2001, (EC) No 396/2005, (EC) No 1069/2009, (EC) No 1107/2009, (EU) No 1151/2012, (EU) No 652/2014, (EU) 2016/429 and (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulations (EC) No 1/2005 and (EC) No 1099/2009 and Council Directives 98/58/EC, 1999/74/EC, 2007/43/EC, 2008/119/EC and 2008/120/EC, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 89/608/EEC, 89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC, 91/496/EEC, 96/23/EC, 96/93/EC and 97/78/EC and Council Decision 92/438/EEC (Official Controls Regulation) (OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, pp. 1–142).

See consolidated version.

Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 of 14 January 2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food (OJ L 12, 15.1.2011, pp. 1–89).

See consolidated version.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006 of 22 December 2006 on good manufacturing practice for materials and articles intended to come into contact with food (OJ L 384, 29.12.2006, pp. 75–78).

See consolidated version.

Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety (OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, pp. 1–24).

See consolidated version.

last update 13.01.2023