It will decide whether to stay in their strategy or sign a contract with the selected operator and join the nationwide system.
– The fresh regulations, proposed in the form of a draft law, should clearly specify the rules for clearing and reporting collection levels and at the same time strengthen existing systems. They must not lead to a regulation on the circulation of reusable glass bottles which have been operating on the marketplace for years. According to the industry, the achievements of Polish producers in this area are a solid basis for achieving the objectives of the EU PPWR Regulation. This paper obliges associate States to offer at least 10% of beverages in reusable packaging from 2030, says Piotr Mazurek, an expert at the Leviathan Confederation.
The Confederate Leviathan has long pointed out that incorporating glass reusable bottles into the bailout system, mainly designed for collecting packaging waste, was a mistake. This may lead to a simplification in the number of return bottles on the market. There are presently about a billion packages in circulation, which are effectively collected by producers, at a level exceeding 90%, and repeatedly filled by respective twelve beer, water and beverages producers.
Leviathan stresses that manufacturers should have a choice: either to proceed their own proven bottle circulation systems or to join the strategy run by the chosen operator. The compulsory inclusion of all users of return bottles with a single operator strategy could have negative cost, logistical and environmental impacts.
– We support actions to defend the environment, including reducing waste through repeated usage of packaging and a advanced level of its selective collection," emphasises Piotr Mazurek. As he adds, manufacturers utilizing return bottles should be free to choose between a common strategy and their own proven solutions. Force them to abandon existing systems for a more costly and more complex bailout system, which is not yet full ready, may reduce collection levels and encourage the replacement of returnable bottles with disposable packaging – contrary to the principles of closed circulation.
For consumers, the chaos accompanying the implementation of the bailout strategy for reusable bottles may undermine assurance in the full mechanics and discourage the usage of multiple packaging. As a result, this threatens to seriously destabilise the marketplace for beverages in specified packages – reducing their availability, expanding prices and gradually abandoning them by both producers and consumers.
The parliamentary initiative supported by the Ministry of Climate and Environment is an excellent confirmation that regulations should be created in a constructive dialog between entrepreneurs and the regulator.
– We look forward to further details of the task and declare our full readiness to cooperate in the improvement of sensible legislative solutions in this area, which will contribute not only to deregulation of unnecessary obligations, but besides to the implementation of environmental solutions," adds Piotr Mazurek
Confederation of Leviathan
