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New Reuse Alliance
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The world produces 141 million tonnes of plastic packaging a year and around a third leaks from collection systems, polluting the environment. Plastic’s impact on our planet isn’t going unnoticed. Over two-thirds of consumers agree brands should do more to offer reuse and refill and reduce packaging, with 71 percent saying they would view brands and retailers much more favourably if they took these vital steps. Many reuse systems have taken place around the world with positive customer acceptance. From the food and drink on-the-go sector with borrow and return initiatives like Muuse in Hong Kong or Refill Return Cup in the UK, to refillable and reusable packaging in supermarkets by retailers like Carrefour in France or Kaufland in Germany, to brand-led initiatives like Ecover refill stations, industry is trying.
The open letter proposes introducing a “plastic tax” in France’s 2025 budget to reduce single-use plastics and encourage sustainable alternatives. Despite some progress, France still consumes 70 kg of plastic per person annually, with low recycling rates and significant environmental impacts. The tax aims to hold producers accountable, ease public financial burdens, and align with national goals to end single-use plastic packaging by 2040. Inspired by successful European models, the coalition of organisations and businesses, including New ERA, urges government support to include this measure in upcoming budget discussions.
Scientific research on plastics has seen considerable growth, technological innovations in plastic management have made significant strides, and legislative frameworks have become more robust over the last years. Yet, despite the increased awareness and efforts, global plastic production — and the resulting pollution — continue to rise, with an expected 66% increase in annual virgin plastic production by 2040 compared to 2019. Managing this growing wave of plastics is proving increasingly difficult worldwide.
Within the scope of an international treaty, New ERA believes that clarity and adaptability are essential to accommodate various sectors, formats, and differences in consumption patterns, geography, and infrastructure across different countries.
The undersigned associations and companies, representing the reusable transport packaging value chain, urge the European Parliament to maintain the reuse targets for transport packaging used for transporting products i) between sites of the same economic operator or linked/partner enterprise, and ii) within the same Member State, as previewed in article 26.2 and 3 of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).
Political urgency and climate imperatives converge with imminent EU elections. Simultaneously, a longer-term perspective involves strategic efforts for lasting positive environmental impact. The industrial landscape, operating within its own rhythm, becomes evident when confronted with transformative shifts. Within this context, the PPWR stands out as a potential transformative European milestone, aligning seamlessly with various timelines. This presents a unique opportunity window that requires immediate action before it closes for the next five years. packaging, textiles and electronic products). Relying solely on EPR will not be adequate in mini- mizing the environmental impact of products throughout their entire life cycle. However, when complemented by an appropriate legislative framework, EPR can unlock its full potential.
The throwaway culture must end. Single-use belongs in the trash heap of industrial history. Reusables are an essential part of the solution to the global waste problem if we do not want to leave the next generation a depleted and littered planet. Let us lead the way as a continent because it is worthwhile: Europe is a global leader in reuse and has a strong reuse industry, which will benefit significantly from an ambitious PPWR, will create numerous jobs and become the next generation of European global champions.
Transform or collapse: this is the dilemma facing society and businesses because of climate change, biodiversity loss and rising inequalities. For several years, the European Union (EU) has sought to address this existential dilemma. It has implemented initiatives to require companies operating in the internal market to be more innovative and responsible, notably in the framework of the Green Deal. The aim behind this is to tackle the fundamental social and environmental problems being worsened by the prevailing extractive economic paradigm. However, it is clear that these measures have been and continue to be insufficient and do not adequately meet the challenge of transforming our economy. We, as business and business networks’ leaders from all over Europe, believe that it is time for a paradigm shift to move from an economy of responsibility to an economy of positive contribution.
We are calling for an EU Directive that will set binding EU material footprint reduction targets to 5 tonnes per capita by 2050 in line with the best available research on sustainable consumption levels, with incremental targets to monitor and ensure progress. The Directive will steer the EU and its Member States to develop implementation strategies, emphasising reductions in high-consumption sectors like transport, construction, and digital industries, and to develop sector-specific roadmaps with binding sub targets. This approach can support a just transition, in line with ILO guidelines, while respecting workers’ rights. The Directive will also ensure the EU’s strategic autonomy and reduce supply chain vulnerabilities.
The European Parliament and the Council have adopted positions aiming to prohibit the sale of products classified as corrosive or eye-irritating (H318, H319, H317) via refill devices. Those classifications are very common on detergents, particularly on laundry detergents, fabric softeners, vinegars, dishwashing liquids, floor cleaners, and black soap. This position alerted many of our members, partners, and stakeholders. In particular, the sectoral organisations at EU and French level, A.I.S.E (International Association for Soaps, Detergents, and Maintenance Products) and FHER (Fédération Hygiène & Entretien Responsable), agree that expanding the ban on refill sales to include products classified as eye hazards would significantly curtail the option for detergents and have adverse effects on environmental objectives.
The transition will either work with businesses or it won’t. In the face of social crisis and environmental challenges, businesses have a key role to play, which is also responding to a growing demand driven by consumers, employees and even investors, all now paying attention to the sustainability of business models and the positive impact of businesses on society. However, today we can only see how far we still have to go to align the entire European economy with our sustainability goals. Time has come for a new economy in which positive impact is no longer seen as a burden but as an asset for European businesses. This is the only way to restore both the sovereignty and the resilience of the European Union, while ensuring businesses meet the critical challenges of our time.
New ERA and Réseau Vrac & Réemploi aim to shed light on the importance of coherence among various regulations recently adopted by European policymakers, including the Packaging an Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of chemical substances and mixtures Regulation (CLP). We advocate for seizing the opportunity presented by the Detergents & Surfactants regulation to further the innovations and advancements made by the sector in recent years.
Packaging plays an instrumental role in our modern world. It ensures goods remain unscathed during transit, prolongs the lifespan of products, contributes to consumer experience and product performance, and serves as a conduit of essential information within the supply chain and to consumers. Yet, despite these invaluable functions, it has become increasingly clear that our current approach to packaging in the European Union (EU) is unsustainable. As we navigate the pathway towards a more circular packaging future, this paper provides some key principles for maximising the opportunity to benefit from reuse in the PPWR.
Reusable packaging is in general a more sustainable choice compared to single-use packaging. Research shows that when scaled effectively, reuse systems have (1) a lower carbon impact per use, (2) higher resource efficiency per gram, and (3) lower likelihood of contributing to mismanaged waste such as littering. It is therefore correctly identified by leading organisations such as WWF and Ellen Macarthur Foundation as critical to addressing the current environmental crisis. This is also confirmed by leading coalitions of private sector economic operators, for example the Global Commitment 2022 endorsed by more than 500 organisations (>350 companies) and the Plastic Pacts signed up in many European countries.
We are writing on behalf of the European reusable and refillable packaging industry,
represented by the 8 signatory organisations of this letter, totalising more than 1,700
companies to strongly urge you to support the draft General Approach of the Packaging
and Packaging Waste Regulation proposed by Spain the 1st of December, in particular
for the restrictions on the single-use packaging market (article 22) and the reuse and
refill targets (article 26). The transition to reuse systems offers economic opportunities for European businesses by reducing our dependence on global supply chains while supporting local economies and contributing to sustainable economic growth. Among some of the positive benefits of reuse systems are: lower inventory costs, energy savings, reduced price sensitivity to rising resource costs, and diminished waste management costs.
In this paper, we propose concrete legislative measures that advance the working of EPR, making it an effective environmental tool that helps to achieve reduction, prevention, separate collection and closed-loop recycling targets for a broad range of product categories (at the least packaging, textiles and electronic products). Relying solely on EPR will not be adequate in minimizing the environmental impact of products throughout their entire life cycle. However, when complemented by an appropriate legislative framework, EPR can unlock its full potential.
