In the News

Applications for Food Contact Plastic Recycling Processes in EU Due This Month

Dec 22, 2009

The deadline to apply for authorization of recycling processes of plastic materials intended to come into contact with foods, that were in place prior to April 17, 2008, under the European Commission Regulation (EC) 282/2008 is December 31, 2009. (For more information on (EC) 282/2008, see the PackagingLaw.com article, EC Adopts Regulation on Recycled Plastics.) Applications for recycling processes established after April 17, 2008 do not need to be submitted by the December 2009 deadline.

The European Commission (EC) published a memo Dec. 12, 2009 on its Website to clarify some of the requirements in the plastics recycling regulation. Applications for recycling process that existed prior to April 17, 2008 (or "existing" processes) should be submitted on the national level (a link to the national contacts for submitting the applications is included in the memo). National authorities will forward the recycling process applications to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Once EFSA accepts an application, it is added to a register of applications of recycling processes that are being considered for approval by the EFSA during the initial authorization phase. An update of the register was published on Dec. 15, 2009.

EFSA will issue an opinion on the applications received by January 1, 2010 and then, within six months of receiving all of the opinions, the EC will adopt a decision either granting or rejecting authorization of the recycling processes. Recycling processes listed on the register may be used according to national legislation until the decision is announced.

The EC also explained in the Dec. 12 memo that if an application for an "existing" process is not submitted or a process is not authorized, the process can only operate for six months after a decision is announced concerning the applications received by the December 2009 deadline. However, materials and articles containing recycled plastics from "existing" processes can be used until existing stocks are depleted.