The Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy (WAPCE) includes several measures to tackle packaging waste, a number of which have already been delivered, including the ending of self-compliance for packaging producers, the introduction of deposit and return scheme, and the introduction of eco-modulation and net necessary cost in Extended Producer Responsibility scheme producer fees.
Since the launch of the WAPCE in 2020, the European Commission has published a major legislative proposal on packaging, the draft Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). Trilogue negotiations on the final form of the PPWR are nearing conclusion, and if adopted the new Regulation will set a range of ambitious targets in relation to material use, format, design, reuse, and recycled content, in respect of packaging placed on the Single Market. Ireland has played an active role in negotiations on the proposal to date, seeking the greatest alignment possible with our own objectives. There is considerable coherence between many of the proposed targets in the PPWR and the measures in the WAPCE - the PPWR mandates, for example, the introduction of deposit return schemes for all Member States who do not achieve sufficient collection and recycling rates for in-scope containers.
Once negotiations on the PPWR have concluded, and if the Regulation is approved by the European Council and the European Parliament, my officials will examine how best to implement the remaining packaging measures in the WAPCE in a manner that is consistent with the new legislative framework.
