Mandatory tethered caps on plastic bottles from July
From 3 July, all bottle caps on containers under 3 litres must be attached, according to a new EU directive. However, this could prove an issue for some charities.
The EU directive on single-use plastic products seeks to reduce plastic waste by 10%, thus becoming a global pioneer. Through attaching bottle caps to plastic bottles, this will ensure they are recycled together instead of being discarded in nature.
Packaging waste is at a record high in Europe, reaching a whopping 188.7kg per citizen in 2021 - around 10kg more compared to 2020. According to Eurostat, each person in the EU generated 35.9kg of plastic waste in 2021, just 14.2kg of which was recycled.
Starting on 3 July, all bottles with a capacity of up to 3 litres, including milk and tetrapaks, will be subjected to the new guidelines. The sector had just under five years to address this, with large investments necessary to meet the guidelines. In Luxembourg, around 3 billion bottle caps are produced each year for local drinks producers, among others. The industry has had to react quickly in order to be ready for when the directive comes into force this summer.
It remains to be seen how the new directive will affect charity collection campaigns, such as the Luxembourg guide dog association's "E Stopp fir de Mupp" ("a cap for the dog") action. The ASA association is able to finance guide dog training through the collection and recycling of bottle caps, receiving €350 from Valorlux in exchange for a ton of bottle caps. The campaign has enabled ASA to sponsor training for ten guide dogs in recent years.
