The global packaging industry is closely watching the advancement of two key EU files: the upcoming Circular Economy Act (CEA) and its articulation with the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which will impact over 450 million consumers in the EU Single Market.

The future Act, expected after the summer, will seek to address key structural barriers in the EU circular economy, including low demand for recycled materials, weak packaging collection and sorting systems, and fragmented rules especially regarding producer responsibility. But for the paper-based packaging industry, the main ask remains the same: a simplified, harmonised, and predictable market.

As MEP Pierfrancesco Maran (S&D), also Chair of the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety in the European Parliament, noted during the Circular Economy Forum organised by The Parliament on 6 May, the CEA can be a strategic driver of European competitiveness and independence, provided EU countries align behind a common ambition. The legal clarity and predictability of the regulatory framework are key to allow industries to take informed decisions and advance our continent’s transition towards a circular economy without breaking a system that already works well.

Central among many industry demands is the harmonisation of regulatory requirements related to packaging to avoid multiple and sometimes overlapping or diverging requirements. Industry needs a lean and clear regulatory framework providing predictability.

The CEA should also provide for a harmonised and ambitious waste collection system. Recycling begins with separate collection, this is why our European aspiration for circularity requires a Commission mandate for an ambitious 90% separate collection rate for all Member States, without derogations.

A third key element of the CEA is the harmonisation of the current patchwork of rules on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems that exists across Member States. This would allow the EU to tackle many circularity challenges: improve the financing and organisation of waste collection in our streets, ensure high-quality recycling in our infrastructures, and promote better and more sustainable packaging design.

The paper-based packaging industry expects a clear and enforceable EPR system through centralised and industry-based Producer Responsibility Organisation, with the fees reinvested into waste management. An EPR system ensures all paid-for materials are properly handled, keeps household and business waste systems transparent, and limits fees to actual recycling costs, by avoiding cross-financing across materials. Another important element is that EPR fees should take into account the value of secondary raw materials. This is particularly important for paper and board, which have high value and strong demand on the EU market. EPR fees should therefore respect the net‑cost principle, as outlined in the WFD.

Europe is already a leading circularity power, with a paper and cardboard recycling system that is “unique in the world”. Every day across the EU, consumers separate paper and cardboard, which is then collected, sorted, and recycled into new packaging in paper mills. This is not a future ambition, but an existing system policymakers can build on, one that already delivers strong results, using renewable and recycled materials, and delivering robust processing systems supporting high recycling rates.

To ensure the creation of a competitive and stable circular economy, policymakers should build on and support systems that already deliver that every single day in practice. Supporting proven circular models will not only accelerate the transition toward sustainability but also foster economic growth, resource efficiency, and social stability for future generations.