Drained heaths must be flooded again and forests must be reforested – that is stated in the so-called renaturation law, which the European Union launched on Wednesday. But the EU not only wants to save nature, but also wants to reduce waste. The accompanying plans make the heads of the domestic paper industry go up in smoke.
The EU’s fight against unnecessary packaging waste sometimes produces strange results. For plastic disposable packaging with a capacity of up to three litres, the closures must be firmly attached to the bottle, packaging, etc. from July 2024, which is why Berglandmilch is also implementing the prescribed changes for high-pressure milk and lattella.
Customers switch to products that are still adapted
The lack of understanding among customers is certainly true for Austria’s largest dairy – some consumers are even switching to products from competitors who have not yet converted their production facilities and the packaging and closure are therefore still separable.
The latest Brussels plans now appear to be a “garbage” on the domestic paper industry. The European Union wants to prescribe a mandatory reusable quota in the so-called Packaging Regulation.
Heinzel: A new plastic shaft would then be safe
The preference for reusable packaging is an attack on cardboard, corrugated cardboard and paper, which end up in the trash after use, are recycled and processed into new products. “Absurd,” says Sebastian Heinzel, who heads the paper mill in Laakirchen and from 2024 in Steyrermühl with his Heinzel Group, angrily, “the packaging directive would lead to a new wave of plastics”.
Heinzel does not understand the motives: “Everyone is talking about the circular economy – and we have been doing that for a long time. If someone throws away old paper at home, it will be in the factory in no time and it will be made into paper again. Other industries want to be as circular as possible.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
