PACKAGING | ANALYSIS
Has the EU put single serve capsules at a crossroads?
Martyna Fong, author of AMI’s report Single Serve Capsules - Global Market Overview 2022, looks at the potential impact of the EU’s proposed Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation on the single-use capsules industry.
Over 80 billion single serve capsules were filled in 2022 globally: 27bn in aluminium and 53bn in plastic formats (see Single Serve Capsules - Global Market Overview 2022 published by AMI). The three main systems – Nespresso, K-cup and Dolce Gusto – accounted for a vast majority of the market globally in 2022, with a clear trend towards rationalisation of systems supported on the market.
Plastic capsules have
grown rapidly but the tables had recently turned in favour of aluminium for the Nespresso compatible designs. Leading brands and retailers have strategi- cally switched from plastic into aluminium in the past couple of years. Nespresso has put all its
efforts in establishing the collection and recycling infrastructure for its used capsules. Following Nes- presso’s open invitation in March 2019 to join forces in its recycling scheme, several alliances were formed to collect and recycle capsules. Meanwhile, plastic capsules designs must be adjusted to present a recycling-ready PP solution, which includes polyolefin based lidding film. Provided that other materials in the multilayer structure do not
www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com
exceed 5%, the capsules can be recyclable in the PP stream. The industry has turned to more sustainable start-of-life and a number of big customers now specify the use of PP with renew- able content. Composting is a relevant end-of-life option for single serve capsules, given the weight of the organic matter packaged versus the weight of packaging. But fillers and brand owners have strug- gled to commit to com- postables due to a disjoint- ed and unclear legislative framework for bio-resins. In context, only 4% of the global capsules market is using compostable solu- tions. There are high growth prospects for this segment to develop, particularly with the legislative context
around the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) in Europe.
Draft regulation Proposed changes to the existing Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD), as per the released draft of 30 November 2022, have a potentially profound impact on the future of the single serve capsules market. Legislative frame- work for bio-plastics is also subject of revision, both in terms of accommodating organic recycling in the definition of recycling and also in terms of harmonising definitions and labelling approaches. The draft PPWR says capsules will be considered packaging, and hence will
be governed by the packaging laws. The draft regulation says the manda- tory method for all capsules’ disposal will be in industrial composting conditions. This has brought about a high degree of turmoil in the European single serve capsules industry. Given the importance of Europe in the global market, the impact of changes would be global. Unsurprisingly, the first quarter of 2023 has seen a hive of lobbying activity. This lobbying has
resulted in draft amend- ments to the revisions proposed in the draft PPWR, which were submitted by the rapporteur of the ENVI committee, Frédérique Ries on 11 April 2023. The amendments remove the phrase ‘as well as coffee or
May/June 2023 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 13
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58
