EU PPWR regulations promote the development of biodegradable coffee capsules
Coffee pods made of "standard" plastic and aluminum may soon disappear from store shelves, with the only possible exception being compostable coffee pods made from bioplastics. The latest draft of the European Commission's Packaging and Packaging Waste Management Regulation (PPWR) makes this clear in Article 8(1).
The draft stipulates that only biodegradable coffee capsules can be marketed. "This means that common capsules made of aluminum or plastic will no longer be allowed to be placed on the market," said Gregor Spengler, head of packaging, recycling and sustainability at Aluminum Deutschland, in response to a query from Plasteurope.com express.
Therefore, Deutsche Aluminium, together with the German association for non-ferrous metals (WV Metalle), has drafted a position paper on the latest draft of the PPWR. In this draft, the evaluation of coffee capsules is no longer regulated by Article 8. "As far as we know, this amendment proposal has been well received by the European Parliament and the European Council," Spengler added.
European Bioplastics welcomed the latest draft. "The industry needs legal certainty to drive further investment, secure and expand production in the EU," the company said in a statement. Compostable capsules certified according to the EN 13432 standard should decompose by at least 90% within a certain period of time.
