#14.10.2013 “Packaging can have a direct positive effect on resource efficiency” says EU Commissioner
The direct positive effect of packaging on resource efficiency was outlined by EU Commissioner Janez Potocnik during the remarks that opened the 20th anniversary of EUROPEN (The European Organization for Packaging and the Environment) in Brussels last week.
The event brought together over 150 representatives from EU institutions, the packaging supply chain, the waste management sector, NGOs, media and other actors with a stake in packaging and sustainability.
Potočnik stated the 2020 key objectives that will guide his work as the Commission reviews waste targets next year, including the Packaging and Packaging Waste directive:
- Reduce waste,
- Maximise recycling and reuse,
- Limit incineration,
- Dramatically reduce landfill.
APEAL shares these objectives, within the 2020 vision of Metal Packaging Europe for 80% recycling of metal packaging and zero metal packaging to landfill by 2020.
Steel for Packaging is already the most recycled packaging material in Europe with 74% recycled in 2011. Steel’s magnetic properties allow the easy and economical sorting of steel from waste streams, so that no steel packaging need go to landfill.
More information on Europen’s 20th anniversary event here