Editorial

08 / 2010

APEAL, the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging, is pleased to send you the second edition of its new publication “Steel for Packaging Update”.

Highlights of this second edition include an interview with Julian Carroll, the Managing Director of the European Organization for Packaging and the Environment (EUROPEN), who shares his perspectives on what’s on the agenda for packaging for the years to come; an overview of the ambitious ULCOS  project or Ultra–Low Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Steelmaking, the largest steel-industry effort to reduce CO2 emissions and tackle climate change;  the latest steel packaging recycling figures, showing that 71% of steel packaging is now recycled in Europe – more than any competing packaging material ; an introduction to the German recycling system.  Finally, we see how continuous innovation in the steel for packaging industry has had a wide ranging impact in various sectors, giving brands the competitive edge whilst being reassuringly environmentally sustainable.

We hope you find the  information in this edition relevant and that Steel for Packaging Update helps address the issues you are facing day-to-day. To make sure our newsletter meets your needs and makes for interesting reading, please let us know your views on the magazine and please suggest the kind of topics that you’d most like to hear about. By filling in our online questionnaire, which only takes about 5 minutes to complete, you’ll get the chance to shape the kind of information you would most like to read. Additionally you will receive a complimentary music CD of your choice.

More details can be found at:
www.apeal.org/feedback

Hugo Loudon,

President of APEAL

Bookmark and Share

National Newsbrief

08 / 2010

France: Environmental labelling scheme

France has been pioneering an environmental labelling scheme for mass-market products. The “Grenelle I” law, passed in August 2009, states the right of consumers to accurate, objective and complete environmental information covering all aspects of the product and its packaging. An implementation law “Grenelle II” was voted at the end of June 2010 and brought about fundamental changes such as a switch from the mandatory nature of labelling to a voluntary scheme and a postponement of the start of the programme until 1 July 2011. A trial phase of at least one year will be implemented. The outcome of this will allow for a decision whether environmental labelling should be applied more generally.

APEAL and the national steel industry are actively participating in several ADEME-AFNOR1 working groups addressing transversal methodological issues and communication formats. This work, still on-going, has led to the publication of the so-called BPX 30-323 Standard (Rules of Good Practise) which is periodically reviewed, in addition to a complementary General Methodological Annex which frames the common rules applicable to all product categories. In parallel, several sectoral working groups, for food & hygiene products for example, are recommending specific environmental indicators for their category of products and debating the specific rules that are applicable.

Discussions were initiated in September 2008 and are set to continue due to several issues still being debated. These include the definition of the share of responsibilities between producers and distributors, control methods and the final expression of indicators for consumers. In addition, debates are continuing on the search for a reasonable balance between the use of public generic data and data specific to the product, from an environmental and economic point of view, the degree of distinction between products of the same category and the necessary conformity of texts being prepared in relation to European rules.

For further information: http://affichage-environnemental.afnor.org/ (only in French)

2nd meeting of ISO TC122 SC4 – Global standards
on packaging & the environment

ISO TC122 SC4 working groups have been tasked with developing international standards for packaging and the environment based on the existing CEN standards (EN13427 to EN13432) and Asian Technical Specifications. They met a second time Beijing in June 2010. The meeting was attended by APEAL expert Jean-Pierre Taverne on behalf of  the World Steel Association. The list of work items was expanded and include the development of standards related to General requirements, Optimization/prevention, Reuse, Material recovery, Energy recovery, Industrial composting & Anaerobic digestion. For Chemical recovery, a Technical Report as opposed to a standard will be developed. The third meeting will be held in October 2010 in Tokyo, after which the documents will reach the CD (Committee Draft) stage and mirror groups will have the opportunity to comment. The DIS (Draft International Standard) will be prepared during the Atlanta meeting in May 2011, with a view to finalizing the standards within a 3 year time frame.

1ADEME (French Environment and Energy Management Agency / L’Agence de l’Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l’Energie); AFNOR (French national organisation for standardisation / Association française de normalisation)

Bookmark and Share

The Interview: Julian Carroll

08 / 2010

EUROPEN – The European Organization for Packaging and the Environment is an industry and trade organization open to any company with an economic interest in packaging and packaged products. It presents the opinion of the packaging value chain on topics related to packaging and the environment.

Membership of EUROPEN is open to producers of every material used for packaging, packaging designers, manufacturers of packaging, packaging users, irrespective of product, sales and distribution method, companies engaged in the distributive and retail trade and national cross-sectorial industry groups with similar objectives.

Managing director of the European Organization for Packaging and the Environment (EUROPEN) since 1993, Julian Carroll has become the voice of industry on packaging and environment issues in Europe.

We asked him what can be expected on the political agenda for packaging in the years to come.

What are the essential ingredients of successful packaging policies? And what can we expect from European and national policymakers in the coming years?

Good packaging reduces product waste and facilitates centralised processing and distribution of products. Proper packaging assures the availability of safe, hygienic and undamaged goods for people across society, helping them to maintain acceptable living standards.

Packaging is coming back into focus due to an increasing emphasis on sustainability. I currently don’t see a lot of legislation revisions for packaging at European level, but there could be some at national level, simply due to the sector’s visibility. We should do more to explain to policymakers the vital functions of packaging and its contributions to a sustainable society – that it is not part of the problem, but part of the solution.
Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark and Share

Steel for packaging:Europe’s recycling leader

08 / 2010

71% of steel packaging now recycled in Europe

Steel for packaging alone surpassed the EU’s targets for metal packaging recycling as far back as 20011. This accomplishment has been followed by continued progress in recycling rates of steel packaging, reflecting the industry’s commitment to reducing its environmental footprint and providing a sustainable packaging solution.

In 2008 the recycling rate of steel continued to grow, representing an increase of 2 percentage points over the previous year. With 71% of steel packaging now recycled in Europe2, this amounts to about 2.6 million tonnes of food and drinks cans and other steel containers being recycled in 2008, saving 4 million tonnes of CO2.  According to the latest available data, this places recycling rates for steel above those of other packaging materials such as plastic, beverage cartons and glass (29%3, 33%4 and 64%5 respectively).

Amongst the top six countries for recycling in 2008 were Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Hungary, Switzerland and Austria, all recycling over 80% of their steel containers.
Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark and Share

Steel for Packaging

08 / 2010

boosting brands

“Making the right choice of packaging material is essential to the performance and success of a brand in the eyes of the consumer.”

Brands today have a wealth of choices when it comes to packaging material selection. For consumers, product quality alone is no longer sufficient in an overcrowded FMCG marketplace – convenience, attractive packaging design and environmental credibility are vital. Making the right choice of packaging material is essential to the performance and success of a brand in the eyes of the consumer.

Steel for packaging remains ahead of these demands and provides a range of sustainable solutions for brands across a wide variety of product categories. These ensure that consumers get the brand experience they expect. Steel consistently hits the highest recycling targets of all packaging materials in Europe. According to the latest available data, 71% of steel packaging is now recycled in Europe, placing recycling rates for steel impressively above those of plastic (29%), beverage cartons (33%) and glass (64%).

Steel is unique amongst packaging materials in that it offers so much more than protection and preservation. When looking at convenience no other material provides the variety of dispensing options across so many product categories. It also fulfills essential environmental demands on packaging and products in the fast moving goods sector.
Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark and Share

ULCOS

08 / 2010

a paradigm shift in steelmaking

ULCOS  stands for Ultra–Low Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Steelmaking and is the largest steel-industry effort to tackle climate change in the world. Begun in 2004, the programme is now in its second phase and well on the way to achieving its ambitious target – a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions from steel manufacturing.

Climate change has been identified by the steel industry as a major environmental challenge for more than two decades. Long before the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007, major steel producers recognised that long-term solutions were needed to tackle the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions produced by steel manufacturing.

As a result, the industry has been highly proactive in improving energy consumption and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. CO2 emissions per tonne of crude steel produced are now 50% lower than they were 40 years ago; a dramatic reduction in climate impact for the sector. The best steel mills now operate close to the limits set by present steel production technologies.

Which means that steel producers are limited in how much further they can improve their energy efficiency. With most major energy savings already achieved, additional large reductions in CO2 emissions are not possible using present technologies. The kind of reductions being called for by governments and international bodies require the invention and implementation of radical new production technologies.
Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark and Share

Recycling in Germany

08 / 2010

Source: Vanksengroup

Continuing our series on the recycling of packaging across the EU member states, we now take a look at the situation in Germany. German households began sorting their packaging almost 20 years ago so that recyclable materials could be collected for recycling. For more than ten years now, the steel packaging recycling rate in Germany has consistently exceeded the legal recycling target of 70% set by the German Packaging Ordinance. Indeed, in 2008 the German recycling rate for steel packaging reached a record 93.6%, up two percentage points from the already high level of the previous year.

Today, Germany has a total of nine officially recognised ‘dual systems’ for collection and recycling of packaging waste.

20 years of household involvement in sorting and recycling

In 1990, companies from the German food and packaging industry joined forces to establish DSD (Duales System Deutschland), further to the entry into force of the German Packaging Regulation in 1991.

This regulation introduced a novel concept of “producer responsibility”: a mandatory duty on companies putting packaging onto the market to take such packaging back and participate in its recycling. This was the starting point for involving households in sorting recyclable materials from packaging. Today, Germany has a total of nine officially recognised ‘dual systems’ for collection and recycling of packaging waste.

As revealed by a representative opinion poll carried out in 2006 by the Forsa research institute on behalf of Markenverband (the German association of brand manufacturers), more than 91% of German consumers now sort their refuse in order to reduce the overall volume of waste and to conserve resources.

Recyclable materials are sorted by households as follows: metal packaging, plastic packaging and composites (e.g. beverage cartons) are put into “yellow” bins or sacks for kerbside collection. Glass jars and bottles are taken to bottle banks (containers set up in residential areas), while paper and board go into “waste paper banks”. Garden and kitchen waste is composted. The remainder is disposed of in the “grey” bin, again for kerbside collection.
Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark and Share

Editorial

01 / 2010

As we welcome in a new European Parliament and European Commission, we also welcome a new look for steel for packaging in Europe.

APEAL is the representative voice of the major steel for packaging producers in Europe. As the producer of the most recycled packaging material in Europe and an employer across the EU, it is important for us to reach out to our audiences old and new with relevant and streamlined information on our most important issues.

Many of you will have already seen our new website and advertising campaign, which have attracted a great deal of interest. Our new publication, “Steel for Packaging Update” brings together the most important legislative issues facing the industry today, together with industry insights as well as the latest developments impacting packaging from across the EU.

Our new edition has something to offer for the whole supply chain, from can-maker to consumer. Highlights include an interview with the former Chair of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, Caroline Jackson, who shares her perspectives on the upcoming challenges for the EU’s environmental policy; an overview of the integrated recycling system in Belgium which boasts the highest recycling rates in the EU and an insight into how the steel for packaging industry is refining the art of innovation through continuous improvement. Finally, as the steel food can celebrates the 200 years of its inception, we look at how steel’s unique properties have meant it is a high performing, safe, reliable and sustainable packaging solution for the future.

Anne Starkie-Alves

Bookmark and Share

National Newsbrief

01 / 2010

Deposit system back on the agenda in Belgium

Waste management in Belgium is the responsibility of the country’s three regions: Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. In 1996 they negotiated a cooperation agreement to ensure consistency in the transposition of the recovery and recycling requirements of the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. The agreement allows each region to define their own general waste management strategy, according to their own priorities. This structured but flexible approach has led to excellent recycling results with Belgium the top performer in Europe.

Despite these outstanding results, the idea of introducing a deposit system for beverage cans has been placed on the political agenda in Wallonia with the goal of reducing litter. Concerns have been raised locally, supported by independent studies1, that introducing such a scheme could not only be costly, but also endanger existing holistic collection and recovery systems and end up being environmentally counter-productive.

Studies on deposit systems http://www.apeal.org/en/library/reports-studies

Changes to French packaging rules

A recent change to packaging rules in France, known as the “Grenelle law” limits packaging volume and weight to the minimum taking into consideration “product safety, hygiene and logistics”. The new law omits an important reference to “consumer acceptance” which is enshrined in the corresponding EU Directive. Consumer acceptance allows, for example, products to be packaged in a way that makes it easier for the consumer to lift. The removal of this reference could not only have negative consequences for consumers, but also for companies selling their goods across the EU. “Having a harmonised EU packaging law is essential to avoid the possibility that goods manufactured in one EU Member State may be prevented from being sold in another” said Julian Carroll Managing Director of EUROPEN the European organisation of packaging and the environment.

EUROPEN has written to the European Commission, urging it to launch infringement proceedings against France, arguing that the changes made by the French legislature contravene the harmonisation objective of the “Packaging Directive”.

European Commission publishes 2007 recovery and recycling data for packaging and packaging waste.

Based on annual reports submitted by the Member States to the Commission, the statistics show that for the period 1998-2007 the overall EU-15 recycling rate increased from 47% to 60%. By 2007 the total tonnage of EU-15 packaging going to final disposal fell by 35% from 29.2 million tonnes in 1998 to 18.9 million tonnes in 2007 – indicating that one of the principal aims of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive is being achieved. APEAL’s 2008 figures have already shown that with a recycling rate of 70% in 2008, steel for packaging maintains its position as recycling leader in Europe.

This represents over 2.5 million tonnes of food and drinks cans and other steel containers being recycled in 2008, saving 3.9 million tonnes of CO2.

More information

European Commission data centre on waste: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/waste/data/

Bookmark and Share

The Interview: Caroline Jackson

01 / 2010

A Member of the European Parliament between 1994 and 2009, Caroline Jackson has played a pivotal role in shaping some key pieces of the EU’s environmental legislation. As the parliament begins a new legislature, the former chairwoman of its influential environment committee shares her insights on the upcoming challenges for European environmental policy.

What do you think will be the most pressing issues hitting the desks of the new MEPs on the environment committee?

I expect to see more proposals stemming from concern about climate change and the related cost implications: here, the European Parliament is likely to push the idea of an EU carbon tax up the agenda. Other issues include how we “design out” waste and reduce energy consumption through better product design – a concept of great interest to the Commission, Green groups and industry. There is also likely to be more focus on: how we can do more to “empower” consumers by providing better information about the environmental costs and consequences of products; how we can ensure that environmental issues are not relegated to second order concerns when we consider the next candidates for enlargement; and how we can do more to ensure that laws adopted in Brussels are evenly complied with and enforced in all Member States. MEPs will also have to deal with new and revised proposals including a possible new directive on bio waste and perhaps a revision of the Thematic Strategy on Waste and Recycling.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark and Share
« Older Entries