Legislation

To come up with the right solution it was necessary to analyse the current legislative status quo regarding the sustainability of plastic packaging in Europe. It is found that the European Union is the biggest factor to consider in terms of legislation, as it sets the targets that are to be met by its member states. From the research that was done it was found that the current directive of the European Union regarding plastic packaging was last updated in 2018.

Diving into the directive, an aim has been set that by the 31st of December 2025, at least 65% by weight of all packaging must be recycled.(1) In addition, packaging shall be designed in such a way as to permit its reuse or recovery. Finally, it is also mentioned that “biodegradable packaging waste shall be of such a nature that it is capable of undergoing physical, chemical, thermal or biological decomposition such that most of the finished compost ultimately decomposes into carbon dioxide, biomass and water. Oxo-degradable plastic packaging shall not be considered as biodegradable.(2) Thus the team concluded that oxo-degradable materials would not be taken into account during the material selection process that followed. From the directives set by the European union it became clear that the countries were asked to use as little packaging as possible. It is also important to note that these directives should be seen more so as guidelines rather than strict rules that need to be followed by each individual country.

Since the team is working in the Netherlands, the Dutch legislation needed to be looked into as well. In the Netherlands, degradable coffee pods can be disposed of in organic bins. It is, however, found that there is a clear distinction made between coffee pods. Due to this specific distinction, coffee pods cannot be disposed of by being thrown into the green
bin.(3) On the basis of this legislative analysis a sustainability analysis was performed.