The concept of Extended Producer Responsibility referred to in Directive (EU) 2018/851 of the European Parliament and of the Council indicates that the amount of fees paid by entrepreneurs introducing products in packaging to the EU markets should be differentiated in terms of the properties of the packaging used, especially its durability, reuse and recycling and the presence of hazardous substances. The less environmentally friendly the packaging is, the more the entrepreneur introducing it will pay for subsequent collection and management.

Based on Interzero’s experience, we have identified 3 main difficulties in packaging recycling:

• Inappropriate packaging – Poor packaging design can confuse smart sorting equipment, leading to lower recycling rates. For example, the use of oversized labels and black plastics means that sorting machines do not correctly recognize the packaging material.
• The use of combinations of different materials in one package – may make it difficult for consumers to properly separate or assign the package to the correct fraction. Even in the case of a jar with a paper label and a metal lid, separation by the consumer can be problematic, because he is not sure which parts to separate (lid) and which to keep (label), because they do not constitute a barrier to glass recycling. However, the biggest challenge is multi-material packaging (e.g. aluminum-coated snack bags), where it is completely impossible to separate the individual raw materials.
• Low level of education – packaging is simply thrown into the wrong container, so it cannot go to the right recycler.