EU’s new packaging regime locks small publishers out of single market

The EU’s simplification frenzy has taken aim at the packaging industry and waste-value chain, but Europe’s independent publishers may not recover. A new set of common EU rules that cover the entire packaging life cycle, as well as mandatory requirements for packaging materials to facilitate recycling – Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) – came into force on Wednesday (12 August). It is designed to reduce waste and help with cross-border deliveries. It also restricts polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or ‘forever chemicals’, in food-contact packaging, with strict limits for what can be placed on the EU market. “Without action, packaging waste in the EU was projected to grow by 19 percent by 2030, while plastic packaging waste could rise by as much as 46 percent,” said the European Commission’s environmental department rectorate. And under the PPWR, anyone shipping packaged goods to other EU countries must have an ‘authorised representative’ in each destination state to handle registration and financing of local waste disposal. But this could de facto end cross-border deliveries for small retailers due to disproportionate costs and the administrative burden on smaller companies. “[It] would entail a level of administrative work that simply isn’t feasible for a shop our size. For this reason, we have to suspend shipments to private customers within the EU temporarily – a decision we deeply regret,” independent Berlin bookstore Do you read me?! wrote on social media. To read this story, log in or subscribeEnjoy access to all articles and 25 years of archives, comment and gift articles. Become a subscriber for as low as €1,75 per week.Read without limitsAlready a subscriber? Login