Let's start at the beginning, which is what Olympic medals are cast from. Although this may seem shocking, gold medals are not made of gold at all! They are produced from top-grade silver (>995), which is then gold plated, this time with real gold at a symbolic 6g. Interestingly, gold medals have not been gold for over 100 years - the last time pure Olympic gold was awarded to athletes was at the 1912 Stockholm Games.

The situation is different for Olympic silver medals, which are silver not just in name. Like the most valuable pucks, they are also Olympic silver is produced from silver of a purity >995. Bronze medals, on the other hand, are cast from an alloy of copper, tin and zinc.

The medals presented at the modern Olympic Games were usually created from primary materials. The breakthrough came during the 2016 Rio Games, when the silver and bronze medals were made in 30% from recycled metals. These medals were hung on ribbons, which in turn were produced from recycled bottles.

A step further was taken by the organisers of the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. - They decided to make medals made from 100% recycled electro-waste material. The entire Japanese public was involved in the collection of this electro-waste, donating old phones, computers and small electronics for months. From the electro-waste collected 4.1 tonnes of silver, 2.7 tonnes of bronze and more than 30 kg of gold were recovered, from which around 5,000 medals could be cast.

Olympic medals are just one of the non-obvious uses of recycled materials. Check out what else is made from recycling!

The idea of casting Olympic medals from recycled metals continued at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. In addition to recycled silver, gold, copper, tin and zinc, They also included ... iron fragments from the Eiffel Tower. They were obtained during the renovation and then sunk inside each of the medals. In this way, the top Olympians each received exactly 18 grams of iron from the most important symbol of Paris.

The most important change approved at the Council of Ministers meeting held on 29 October is postponement of the launch of bail schemes - from the originally planned 1 January 2025 to 1 October 2025.

The shortening of the reference period is intended to enable introducers and deposit system operators to better preparation for separate collection. This mainly concerns adjustment of the area of commercial units (installation Bottle machines, the organisation of a bag system), so that the deposit system will cover the whole country and all consumers concerned will have the opportunity to return their deposit. The changes are due to come into effect from 1 January 2025.

It will be recalled that the discussion about the possibility of postponing the start of the bail-in system began with statements by Climate and Environment Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska, who said on 16 October that the bail system is not ready to enter into force. On 21 October, an auto-amendment to the Packaging Act, introduced by the Minister, appeared on the website of the Government Legislation Centre, which would have given the operators of the deposit system the opportunity to request a postponement of the start date from 1 January 2025 to 1 July 2025. In the end, it was decided at the cabinet meeting to postpone the start of the deposit system even further.

The draft amendment adopted by the Council of Ministers provides for the possibility of amending existing licences for the bail system limited to a change of date the launch of the system on 1 October 2025. According to Article 7 of the amendment bill, this will take place upon application by operators who have already been authorised to operate a bail system before the amendment enters into force.

By 17 October 2024, the Minister of Climate and Environment had issued 4 final administrative decisions granting permits to operate the bail-in system, which indicated 1 January 2025 as the start date. - informed Paulina Hennig-Kloska.

The deadline for submitting an application is 7 days after the law comes into force. Operators' applications will be processed within the same timeframe. Importantly, the bill does not provide for the possibility of refusing to modify an issued authorisation to the extent that it is limited to a change in the start-up date of the system.

A consequence of the postponement of the start of the deposit system is a change in the way the levels of separate collection of packaging waste covered by the system are calculated. According to Article 9 of the draft law, these will be calculated on the basis of the weight of packaging placed on the market between 1 October and 31 December 2025.and not from 1 January to 31 December 2025, as originally envisaged.

The amendment to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Management Act obliges provincial environmental inspectorates to carry out inspections both before and after the launch of the deposit system. The tasks of the Voivodeship Inspectorates of Environmental Protection will include, among others, control of representing entities which is to contribute to ensuring that the systems have been set up correctly and are functioning as authorised.

Explore comprehensive Interzero services for all participants in the bail system.

In addition to the above amendments, the bill introduces a number of additional changes, largely advocated by businesses, including:

• exclusion of milk and milk-based drinks from the obligation to collect packaging and packaging waste,
• the introduction of a so-called closed bail system, i.e. the obligation to charge deposits at each stage of the sales chain,
• allowing retailers to use, for example, distribution centres to collect packaging waste collected from retail units without having to obtain a waste collection permit,
• Adding a requirement for each municipality to have at least one stationary collection point for packaging and packaging waste as part of a deposit system,
• making it compulsory for retailers with less than 200 m of floor space to accept reusable glass bottles²if the unit sells drinks in such bottles,
• introduction from 2026 changes in height product levy borne by introducers who have not joined any deposit scheme. The product charge will be calculated as three times the product charge rate specified for the type of beverage packaging.

Adopted by the Council of Ministers, the draft was submitted to the Sejm on 30 October 2024 and was referred to the first reading a day later. The course of the legislative process can be followed on the Sejm website.

From a report by EFL and Credit Agricole Bank Polska Diagnosis of the level of ESG knowledge and practices in micro and small companies it follows that already more than 2/3 of entrepreneurs have decided to develop an ESG strategy for their company. It is worth noting that usually these activities result from:

• growing customer expectations - 56%,
• requirements of financial institutions - 51%,
• conditions imposed by suppliers and contractors - 46%.

Even more, 81% micro and small entrepreneurs believe that sustainability measures are important for their businesses. Among representatives of such companies environmental and climate change issues are seen not as a burden and a cost, but as an investment in development enterprises.

Small entrepreneurs see numerous benefits from implementing ESG practices. In their view, such measures increase employee motivation and productivity, build customer trust and loyalty, and enhance brand value.

Interestingly, in the smallest companies on the market the ESG strategy is usually contained in another document. This is the practice chosen by as many as 33% respondents. Only 10% entrepreneurs prepare a separate document for this purpose, and as many as ¼ do not create one at all, but apply unwritten rules. This is a kind of contrast from the largest market players, who have already been required to report individual ESG indicators in writing this year.

Prepared by EFL and Credit Agricole Bank Polska, the report also indicates activities in ESG areas, which representatives of micro and small companies declare to undertake. Among them we find:

• recycling and waste management - 74%,
• Water consumption monitoring - 64%,
• Energy consumption monitoring - 68%,
• thermal modernisation of buildings - 52%,
• RES installation - 42%,
• low-emission vehicle fleet - 39%.

Definitely less frequent companies decide to measure their carbon footprint themselves and their suppliers. Such actions are declared by 22% and 18% respondents respectively. Perhaps this is due to the adoption of a strategy of small steps - micro and small enterprises need to measure themselves by their strengths and implement further green practices gradually.

In the coming months and years, we can expect to see more activity in moving towards low- or zero-carbon and the implementation of tools for calculating and monitoring the carbon footprint companies. Such a tool is Enviromental Sustainability Dashboard, which combines the ability to calculate and control ESG indicators with a consultancy service to identify your company's key data and learn about ways to improve your environmental performance.

Findings from the analysis of data from the Enviromental Sustainability Dashboard tool are also the basis for any company's sustainability strategyThe Commission's aim is to help the Member States to make the best possible use of their resources, to set the course for environmental change and to monitor the effectiveness of the measures that have already been taken. Why is this so important? Take part in an online training course "Non-financial reporting and corporate sustainability".during which you will learn when and what to report and get a closer look at the ESD tool from Interzero.

Sources:

1. Report: 68% micro and small companies have an ESG strategy report, https://media.efl.pl/informacje/raport-68-mikro-i-malych-firm-posiada-strategie-esg

As interpreted by the Ministry of Climate and Environmentwaste generated in cemeteries is classified as municipal waste. Their collection and disposal should be carried out on the basis of a contract with an entity entered in the register of regulated activities for the collection of municipal waste from property owners[I].

The obligation to manage cemetery waste, and therefore to sign an appropriate contract, rests with the managers of the cemeteries. In the case of municipal cemeteries, this is therefore the responsibility of mayors and town mayors, while parish cemeteries are the responsibility of parish priests.

Cemetery waste management activities intensify around All Saints' Day, when the containers placed at necropolises quickly become overflowing. No wonder - every year Poles buy around 300,000 new candles, and as many as 45% of these are sold during the Feast of the Dead[II]. Therefore, before 1 November managers of cemeteries place additional bins in them for waste (sorted and mixed) and increase the frequency of waste collection and disposal.

Request cemetery waste collection - either as a one-off or as an ongoing collaboration.

Cemetery waste is a relatively wide and diverse group. This includes, among others, candles (clean and soiled with wax), metal and plastic candle lids, artificial, cut and potted flowers (including pots), but also cleaning products and soiled cleaning cloths. Cemetery waste is catalogued in waste catalogue group 20 as municipal waste with the code 20 02 03 - other non-biodegradable waste.

Due to the classification of cemetery waste as municipal waste, they are subject to mandatory separate collection for paper, plastics and metal, glass, biowaste and an additional fraction - mixed waste.

The compulsory separate collection of cemetery waste not only reduces the costs of maintaining the necropolis, but also allows at least some of the valuable raw materials to be recovered. As statistics show, the scale of waste generated is enormous. Only between 27 October and 5 November 2023, the Warsaw MPO collected over 44 tonnes of waste from 2 necropolises: the Powązki and the Wolski Cemeteries. It is estimated that 3 to as much as 9 kg of waste per grave during All Saints' Day[III], which amounts to a total of around 100 000 tonnes of waste nationally. Unfortunately, many of them end up in the wrong bin, (usually a container for mixed waste), which rules out the possibility of returning it. Let's find out where to dispose of the most common cemetery waste.

Glass candles are not made of container glassand are therefore not recyclable. It should therefore be disposed of in the container for mixed waste. Other traditional candles: plastic, ceramic and clay must also go into the mixed waste.

If the candle is still in good condition and is reusable after the new arrangement has been placed in it, it is worthwhile leave it on a special rack, the so-called "candle holder.

Traditional candle refills are always soiled with wax and are not suitable for processing in a recycling facility. They should therefore be discarded to the mixed waste container.

Broken electronic LED candles are electro-waste (and therefore hazardous waste) that must be disposed of into a special container for electro-waste (usually red), return it to the PSZOK or to retailers collecting electro-waste. The used battery of such a candle should be removed and disposed of in a special battery container.

Cut flowers can be discarded for bio-waste, separating cellophane, ribbons and other additives from them. Cellophane and plastic ribbon should go into the yellow bin for plastics and metal, and fabric ribbon into mixed waste.

Artificial flowers should be discarded into a black container on mixed waste. 

The most environmentally friendly option recommends separating the pot (it can be reused or disposed of in the yellow bin), breaking off the twigs (they go into bio waste) and disposing of the soil with the roots of the plant in mixed waste.

In a slightly less optimal option, the entire chrysanthemum, together with the pot and soil, can be discarded to the mixed waste container.

If you don't know where to dispose of your remaining cemetery waste, use the waste search engine.

Optimisation of cemetery waste management is undoubtedly a major challenge for the waste industry, and not only in Poland. Struggling with the huge amount of waste from candles the Slovenian authorities have made the separate collection of used candles compulsorywhich are a separate fraction of municipal waste. The collection is carried out in special containers placed in or near cemeteries. Its principles are analogous to the Polish principles of collecting waste into a green bag - selectively collected candles may not be crushed, compacted, contaminated or mixed with other waste.

[I] https://www.prawo.pl/samorzad/segregacja-i-wywoz-odpadow-na-cmentarzu-frakcje-oplaty,520365.html

[II] https://businessinsider.com.pl/finanse/rozmawialismy-z-potentatem-zniczy-stad-ida-na-cala-europe-zdjecia/947640q

[III] https://tvn24.pl/biznes/z-kraju/1-listopada-swieto-wszystkich-swietych-polski-recykling-rocznie-przez-polskie-cmentarze-przewija-sie-100-120-tys-ton-odpadow-st7417954

On the occasion of the International Food Waste Awareness Day, which is celebrated on 29 September each year, Eurostat presented data for 2022 on the scale of food waste in EU countries. On the occasion of World Food Day, celebrated on 16 October, the data is presented below.

Food waste is one of the biggest global problems, affecting not only the economic but also the environmental and ethical spheres. Recently published Eurostat figures show that as much as 59.2 million tonnes of food waste will be generated in EU Member States in 2022. As much as 54% of this waste, or 32 million tonnes, was wasted in households. It can therefore be hazarded to say that each person in the EU threw away as much as 72 kg of food. If we translate these figures into an average five-person household, it turns out that in the whole of 2022, its inhabitants wasted as much as 360 kg of food, or almost 1 kg per day. Let's remember that we are only talking about food from household fridges and cupboards!

The data presented in the Eurostat Communication are taken from EU Member State reports prepared in accordance with the methodology defined in EC Decision 2019/1597 of 3 May 2019. Under the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC), each country is obliged to submit an annual report on measuring food waste. 2022 was the third year in which reports were prepared in accordance with the methodology.

Let us recall that in 2020, i.e. in the first reporting year, a total of almost 57 million tonnes of food waste was generated, or 127 kg per capita. In 2021, this was 58.4 million tonnes and approximately 131 kg per average person in the Member States, respectively. Significantly, all of the quoted data were collected during the Covid-19 pandemic periodwhich has had a significant impact on the activities of the manufacturing and food processing sectors,

As reported by Eurostat:

The impact that the end of the lockdowns associated with the Covid-19 pandemic may have had on both industries is still being investigated.

Among those responsible for the generation of food waste, definitely dominated by the households already mentioned. The following places were followed by:

• food and beverage manufacturers - 19%, or more than 11 million tonnes,
• catering industry - 11%, or less than 7 million tonnes,
• primary production sector (agriculture) - 8%, or almost 5 million tonnes,
• retailers and other distributors - 8%, or just under 5 million tonnes.

It should be noted that entrepreneurs generating food waste are increasingly using professional composting machinerywhich enable this waste to be processed into pre-compost.

In addition to data for the EU as a whole, we also have data for 2022 for individual countries, including Poland. Total more than 4.5 million tonnes of food waste were generated in our country, of which:

• over 2.5 million tonnes in households,
• 720,000 tonnes in the primary production sector,
• 550,000 tonnes at processing companies,
• 470,000 tonnes at retail outlets,
• 260k in catering.

The aforementioned 4.5 million tonnes of food waste places us in an infamous 4th place among Community countries. Per capita, this is approximately 119 kg of wasted food. By contrast, we rank 16th in the EU as a whole with this result.

Interzero's range of eco-equipment also includes. small electric composter Oklin designed for households to help reduce food waste by creating compost from kitchen waste.

Check also, how to separate bio-waste.

Pursuant to Polish law, every entrepreneur who places packaged products on the market is obliged to conduct public education campaigns. The purpose of these campaigns is to inform and educate consumers. Furthermore, entrepreneurs are obliged to allocate at least 2% of the total value of packaging placed on the market in the previous year to educational activities. Interzero, as a leader in waste management and recycling, not only fulfils these obligations, but also meets the needs of the market by offering a wide range of educational services. Action Fraction is just one of the many projects that Interzero carries out to build environmental awareness in society.

Sources:

1. Eurostat, Food waste and food waste prevention - estimates, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Food_waste_and_food_waste_prevention_-_estimates#In_the_supply_and_consumption_sectors.2C_food_waste_generation_may_represent_10.25_of_food_supplied_in_the_EU
2. Eurostat, Food waste per capita in the EU remained stable in 2021, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20230929-2
3. Eurostat, Food waste: 127 kg per inhabitant in the EU in 2020, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20220925-2
4. European Foods Bank Federation, First EU-wide monitoring of food waste: 127 kg per inhabitant in the EU in 2020, https://www.eurofoodbank.org/first-eu-wide-monitoring-of-food-waste/

The work to construct the treaty follows the adoption of UNEA Resolution 5/14 of March 2022, in which the 175 countries have declared their willingness to conclude an agreement to end plastic waste pollution. However, this date has been put in doubt due to, among other things, the opposition of China, Saudi Arabia and the US to the inclusion of provisions on the control of plastic production in the treaty.

As Reuters reports, despite declarations in early 2024, US likely to decide to support plastic treaty, joining the ranks of countries calling for a gradual reduction in the amount of plastics produced. Support for the treaty has already been expressed by EU member states, South Korea, Peru and Rwanda, among others. The last round of treaty negotiations is scheduled for the second half of November 2024. It is noteworthy, this date comes just two weeks after the US presidential election, which may be crucial to the position that US representatives at the UN will ultimately take.

Developed within the UN framework, the treaty aims to oblige countries to end plastic pollution and to take action to protect the environment and human health from the effects of the production, use and generation of plastic waste. The treaty text is to include both binding and voluntary remedies. The far-reaching idea, on the other hand, is to move towards a global closed-loop economy for all plastics.

For EU member states, the planned The global measures are, as it were, in addition to the provisions arising from the so-called 'globalisation'. SUP plastic directivewhich also aimed to reduce plastic pollution. EU regulations not only imposed obligations on manufacturers to record, charge and label products containing plastics, but also forced to provide consumers with more environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic packaging disposable.

As a leader in sustainability, Interzero is following European trends and is ahead of global trends by introducing a service Made4Loop - a deposit system for reusable packaging that is an alternative to plastic-containing disposables. With Made4Loop, we help entrepreneurs to comply with the requirements introduced by the SUP Directive, as well as to prepare in advance for the new regulations in the emerging plastic treaty.

Implementation of the Made4Loop service is a guarantee for the smooth implementation of legal obligations (SUP, ROP), reducing waste management costs and improving ESG indicators. What's more, with customised packaging, cups and boxes for takeaway meals, we enable our customers to build an image as a socially responsible company with sustainable practices.

Explore All the benefits of implementing Made4Loop in your business!

In just a few months, a deposit system will start operating in Poland. In view of the impending revolution in the packaging market, Delloite contacted all stakeholders and estimated the costs of implementing and operating the system in our country.

In the 2024 published in September. Report Bail system in Poland - costs, prospects, opportunities Delloite experts have calculated the cost of implementation of the bail-in system for more than PLN 37 billion over the first 10 years functioning.

• By 2034. the investment cost alone will amount to PLN 14.2 billion. More than 60% of this amount will be spent on building work to make the shops suitable for collection. Another item in the cost structure is the purchase of bottle machines, which will consume more than 20% of the amount indicated.

The authors of the report assumed that the collection of all types of packaging covered by the Polish deposit system would be carried out in a mixed way, both manually (using bag systems) and automatically, using verification and destruction machines for the deposit system (e.g. Sielaff bottle machines). Estimated the cost of implementing automatic collection will amount to PLN 12.5 billion and manual collection to PLN 0.9 billion.

• The 10-year cost of the Polish bail system will turn out to be even higher, which may amount to PLN 24.3 billion in the optimistic scenario and PLN 21.7 billion in the pessimistic one. For the time being, experts assume that the intermediate, realistic scenario will come true, and the The operating cost of the bail-in system between 2025 and 2034 will close at PLN 23.1 billion.

From 2025 onwards, the annual cost of operating the bail system will gradually increase. In the most likely scenario in the first year of the system's operation it will be 0.9 billion, and after 10 years it will be 2.9 billion. According to Delloite specialists' estimates, by 2034 total operating costs will reach £23.1bn, of which:

• 38,91% will be earmarked for automatic collection in shops,
• 26.5% will cover the cost of manual collection at logistics and counting centres,
• 20,24% will go to a manual collection run in shops,
• 14,17% will be allocated for automatic collection at counting and logistics centres.

Estimated in the report the operating costs of the deposit scheme may in fact change and quite significantly. The final amount will depend, among other things, on the level of collection, the amount of unclaimed deposit for packaging and the rate at which the employees operating the bottle and bag systems and those working in the logistics centres are introduced to their new responsibilities. Importantly, the macroeconomic assumptions of the presented forecast may also change. For the purposes of the report, it has been assumed that the consumer price index (CPI) will decline from 11.4% in 2023 to 2.9% in 2027, with fluctuations of no more than 0.2 pp in subsequent years. Nominal wage growth will also decelerate, as assumed, from 11.9% in 2023 to 5.4% in 2027-2034.

The referenced Delloite report also presents the investment costs of implementing a deposit system, broken down by the types of packaging covered. As it turns out, more than half of the expenditure (7.5 billion over 10 years) will be related to the collection of plastic bottles. Much less, 3.6 billion, will be invested in the collection of metal cans. Reusable glass bottles will not be included in the deposit system until 2026, one year later than other types of packaging. Investment outlays for their collection are the lowest - according to Delloite estimates, they will total PLN 3.1 billion by 2034.

To read more about the costs, opportunities and prospects of the bail system, read in the latest Delloite report.

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.

Under EU rules, all phones, tablets and cameras sold in the EU will have to have a USB Type-C port by the end of 2024, and from spring 2026 the requirement will also be extended to laptops.

From this article you will learn:

• what type of chargers dominate the market and why EU demands for devices with a charging port have arisen;
• which mobile devices will be affected and when the new rules will come into force;
• what direction the European Parliament is going in with regard to waste and ecology in general.

Among the regulated devices were mobile phones, tablets, games consoles, electronic readers and others portable equipment. All those devices that charge by wire and that operate at up to 100 watts will have to be equipped with a USB Type C port - regardless of the manufacturer. This is a landmark decision that aims both to simplify the lives of consumers and to reduce the negative impact of electrical and electronic waste on the environment. The European Commission and the European Parliament have unanimously recognised that this solution will have a positive impact on the ecosphere and allow for a minimal reduction in consumerism.

Customers are to choose for themselves whether to purchase a new device with or without a charger. This should reduce the accumulation of electro-waste in homes and thus the dumping of electro-waste in inappropriate bins. The EU estimates that broken and unused chargers account for around 11,000 tonnes of waste. This is an intimidating amount - but the next question begs to be asked - what about chargers with other terminals when the EU's USB-C recommendations come into force?

Research by the European Commission shows that half of all chargers sold in 2018 in the community countries used a USB micro-B connector. Only 29% had a USB-C type connector and 21% had a Lightning connector, used by Apple since 2012. Unifying chargers to one standard will result in many patented charging ports (such as Lightning from Apple) going out of use in Europe. Manufacturers are therefore making the argument that once chargers are standardised to USB-C, all other chargers that are already in consumers' homes will go in the bin. Researchers in an issue of the Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business examined the issue. In fact, as of 2019, only 29% phones sold in the European Union used USB-C chargers. Therefore, forcing a switch to USB-C would render nearly 71% chargers useless to consumers. Customers who buy newer devices with a USB-C port would no longer be able to reuse their older chargers with a different input.

However, if we look at the issue in a broader, long-term perspective, European citizens could save up to €250 million a year by standardising the charging standard, according to European Commission analyses. In addition to the economic benefits, the new regulations aim to reduce the quantities of waste electronics, which is an important step towards sustainability. Guidelines on charging requirements for products are to appear on device labels. Perhaps in a few years' time we will only need one charger for all the equipment in the home or office?

Click yet here! You can see how paper recycling is growing in Europe!♻️

Sources: [1] [2] [3]

In the Polish deposit system, the amount of the deposit will depend on the type of packaging. According to the latest regulation, from 2025. deposit rates for bottles and cans will be as follows:

• disposable plastic bottles up to 3 l - PLN 0.50,
• metal cans up to 1 l - PLN 0.50,
• reusable glass bottles up to 1.5 litres - PLN 1.00.

The regulation was issued on the basis of the delegation contained in Article 40m(2) of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Management Act (OJ. 2013 item 888). According to its provisions, the amount of the deposit should provide an incentive to return packaging and packaging waste by consumers, while being set at a socially acceptable level. The maximum amount of the deposit specified in the law can be PLN 2. Therefore, the Ministry should monitor the situation in the first months and years of the bail system and react on an ongoing basis by updating the amount of the deposit.

The referenced regulation comes into force 14 days after promulgation and will become effective in the last days of July 2024.

Let us recall that the first draft of the regulation assumed the adoption of a uniform rate of PLN 0.50 for all packages covered by the deposit scheme. However, it was met with numerous objections from bottlers and representatives of the waste industry, who pointed out that the proposed deposit rate for reusable glass bottles is lower than the deposit currently used in private return schemes (£1).

The final determination of deposit amounts for the different types of packaging covered by the deposit system is not the only news in the polish bail systemwhich have been presented to the public in recent weeks.

• The following entered the game another third bail system operator. On 17 July 2024, the Minister of Climate and Environment authorised the Entity representing OK Operator Bailout S.A. to set up a bailout system covering single-use plastic bottles and metal beverage cans.
• About a year the date for the mandatory inclusion of glass bottles in the deposit system has been postponed reusable packaging. Thus, the private collection systems currently in place for such packaging can legally operate until 2026.
• Milk containers have been excluded from the deposit system and other dairy products, which coincides with the demands of the dairy industry. Initially, the deadline for inclusion in the deposit scheme was to be postponed by one year (until 2026), but eventually the Ministry of Climate and Environment dropped the idea altogether.
• Logo of the bail system unveiledwhich will be affixed to all packaging covered by the Polish deposit system.

Interzero is the only official distributor in Poland that cooperates with the renowned German manufacturer of bottle dispensers, Sielaff. Thanks to this cooperation, we offer our customers equipment of the highest quality, designed for durability, efficiency and advanced technology.

We offer full support - from advice and installation of the equipment to servicing and integration with IT systems. Our team of experts ensures that the implementation of bottle machines runs smoothly and that your company gains a modern tool tailored to your customers' needs. Check out the range of equipment at the link.