The topic of packaging and its European regulation is still at the forefront of the debate. After Sophie Guillin's contribution, it was the turn of another expert in the field, Rocco De Lucia, owner of Siropack, a company that develops technologies for packaging of all types and materials.
"The work on the PPWR 2022 of the European Commission is still going on," says De Lucia, "but the closer we get to its conclusion, the more inconsistencies and imbalances in this 'packaging regulation' become apparent. Siropack, having seen the initial draft of the document currently studied by the competent Commission, strongly reiterates the danger of its populist and totally unscientific approach."
Rocco De Lucia
"The lack of awareness of the issue demonstrated by the Commission threatens to throw away years of work and guidelines (see the Action Plan on the Circular Economy) aimed at reducing packaging waste by making it more recyclable, encouraging reuse and ensuring food safety and hygiene."
Indeed, the revised document's framework outlines a myopic and exclusive extremism that demonizes plastics a priori and discriminates between producers and importers.
"With this move, Europe is flagrantly departing from the UN's sustainability guidelines; let's just say that out of the 169 sub-objectives of the 2030 Agenda, the regulation meets only one (12.5, waste reduction)," he continues. But what about all the other aspects that this insidious document will adversely affect?" Food wasted, increased costs passed on to consumers, climate impact. They want us to take one step forward and a hundred steps back while the supply chain, especially in Italy, is full of companies that are making decisive investments in the real sustainability of their production processes."
In January 2023, Italian consumers wasted an average of 524.1 grams of food weekly. The most wasted foods were fresh fruits (24.0 g), salads (17.6 g), onions, garlic, and tubers (17.1 g), fresh bread (16.3 g), and vegetables (16.0 g). The main reason for this waste is perceived by consumers as the poor shelf-life of these foods in the home since these products used to be stored in refrigerators (source: Waste Watcher International Observatory). However, we now know that the real cause is the lack of proper packaging, which makes them more perishable.
"Anyone familiar with the sector can examine the draft document published and easily see the serious mismatch between the objectives set by the Commission and the inadequate means it intends to use to achieve them," says De Lucia, "an approach so illogical that given the unpleasant situations that have already arisen in the European Community, we believe it may be appropriate for the judiciary to review the Commission's actions."
He concludes: "This situation also urges the political sphere to do its part to protect the supply chains involved and all Italian citizens who will suffer the effects of the new regulation if it is not revised. For this reason, we call on the Italian Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, and all the relevant structures to express in the strongest possible terms Italy's indignation at such a discriminatory document."
For more information:
Siropack Italia S.r.l.
Via Balitrona 22/C
47042 Cesenatico (FC)
Tel.: +39 0547 671116
[email protected]
www.siropack.it