15 September Packaging Day. How has the packaging industry changed in the last year?

Packaging Day was established in 2007 by the Polish Chamber of Packaging. Its aim was to spread awareness of the different types of packaging and to emphasise their role not only in everyday life, but also in the economy. Let us therefore take a moment to summarise the most important changes that have taken place in the past year in the packaging industry and beyond.

Adopted in 2019. Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of the environmental impact of certain plastic products (so-called SUP Directive) will not be implemented in Poland until 2023. From May 2023 onwards. further obligations entered into force, the effects of which were felt not only by packaging producers, but also by consumers:

• 24 May 2023. 9 categories of plastic products and packaging were banned from the market and mandatory labelling of single-use products containing plastic was introduced,
• 1 January 2024. charges have been introduced of £0.25 per unit for disposable cups and takeaway food packaging and
• On 1 July 2024, businesses were obliged to provide reusable alternatives to disposable packaging of plastics. Even before these changes came into force, Interzero had started offering customers a service Made4Loop, a deposit system for reusable packaging,
• From 1 July 2024, the following were also introduced obligation to affix nuts permanently attached to bottles or cartons.

In August 2023, it came into force an act setting out the legal framework for the operation of the bail system in Poland. Since then, multi-faceted work on the implementation of the system in our country has begun, which has included, among other things, the creation of further representative entities, the setting of deposit amounts for the various types of beverage packaging, the implementation of collection, logistics and deposit accounting systems, and the popularisation and installation of .

Every now and then, there were discussions in the packaging and bottling industry about the need for changes to the system even before it took off. These resulted in, among other things. delaying the inclusion of reusable glass bottles in the deposit system and excluding milk bottles from the system and other dairy products.

At Interzero, we have also been counting down the days until the start of the bail system. So that we can continue to provide our customers with comprehensive waste management solutions, we have entered into cooperation with the manufacturer of bottle dispensers, the Sielaff brandbecoming its exclusive representative in Poland. We have also expanded our portfolio of services to include comprehensive service of bail systemsh addressed to retailers, introducers and representative entities.

The annual Environmental Conference organised by Interzero is a a great opportunity to take stock of the past yearbut also to prepare for the future that the legislator has in store for the entire packaging industry.

Already on 18-20 September 2024 at the Sopot Sheraton Among other things, we will talk about the latest preparations for the implementation of the deposit system, innovative circular business solutions and the PPWR packaging regulationwhich could soon turn the functioning of the packaging industry upside down. On the second day of the Conference, we will hear a discussion on the costs of implementing PPWR and about the biggest challenges in the design, production and recycling of packaging. Interzero's representative will be Vice President Paweł Lesiak, who will share, among other things, the experience gained in designing ecological packaging for Interzero's customers as part of the Made4Circle services.

For the full agenda of the Interzero 2024 Environmental Conference and a link to registration, see event page.