The European Union (EU) has proposed new rules for food contact recycled plastics that, if adopted, will enter into force on July 20, 2022.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) circulated the EU’s draft regulation on December 7, 2021, attached to WTO document 21-9180. Adoption of the proposal would repeal Regulation (EC) 282/2008 ‘Food Contact Recycled Plastics’.
Stakeholders should be aware of several important requirements in the regulations. These include:
- Clarification of the scope of recycled plastic materials and articles and their origin
- Setting new rules for placing food contact recycled plastics on the market, the development and operation of recycling processes to manufacture food contact recycled plastics, as well as the use of food contact recycled plastics and food contact plastics which are intended to be recycled
- Setting out the requirements for suitable recycling technologies
- Requiring recycled plastic materials and articles to conform to a set of criteria when they are placed on the market. This includes compositional requirements and requirements under Chapters II and V to Regulation (EU) 10/2011 ‘Food Contact Plastics’ (consolidated version to September 2020) – those rules do not apply to potential residual incidental contamination present in recycled plastic materials and articles
- Detailing the requirements for documentation, instruction and labeling
- Describing the requisites for waste management operators, including requirements for:
- Waste collection
- Decontamination
- Post-processing and use of recycled plastics
- Operation of recycling schemes
- Specifying the criteria for developing and listing of novel recycling technologies
- Defining the procedures for the authorization of individual recycling processes
- Requiring recyclers to provide a declaration of compliance (DoC, Part A of Annex III to draft regulation)
Stakeholders should be aware the proposed timeline is:
- June 15, 2022 – adoption
- June 30, 2022 – publishing in the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU)
- July 20, 2022 – enter into force
SGS Food Contact Material Services
SGS’s technical experts have extensive experience of testing materials and articles in contact with food. They can ensure that your products meet the appropriate regulations for food contact materials and pave the way for compliance. SGS offers the full range of testing, including migration tests, along with expert advice on emerging regulations, compliance issues and documentation review. In the end, it’s only trusted because it’s tested. Learn more about SGS’s Food Contact Material Services.
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