It is the day before the day before the night before Christmas, so things have begun to quieten down on the news front. But do not fret because this Digest – the last one in 2023 – is still packed like a stocking hanging on the end of a well-behaved child’s bed.
First up is new research showing that major foodservice brands have “inconsistent” policies for the presence of PFAS – or forever chemicals – in the single-use fibre packaging they use. Research in 17 countries by IPEN found that McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, Subway, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and Jolly Time sell food in PFAS-free packaging in some countries but continue to use PFAS-tainted wrapping in other countries. Footprint has approached all the brands for comment, but is yet to hear anything from any of them, so we will pick this up again in the first week of January. (Worth noting, on the subject of chemicals, is that one of our other stories today concerns pesticides present in wine).
Let’s not forget that paper packaging has been making headlines in Europe for other reasons of late – with the likes of McDonald’s pushing for new packaging regulations to support single-use paper packaging rather than reusables. EU environment ministers this week secured several concessions before agreeing a joint position on the packaging and packaging waste regulation (PPWR). The proposed reuse targets have been met with fierce resistance from foodservice companies and EU member states like Italy and Finland.
The agreement reached offered some festive cheer to NGOs. A statement from the Rethink Plastic Alliance noted that the council retained all measures to restrict unnecessary packaging, such as those used for fruit and vegetables as well as single-use packaging in restaurants, and sectoral reuse targets for 2030 and 2040. More flexibility for reuse targets was introduced, however, while the reuse targets for wine were removed, and the exemptions for cardboard were reintroduced.
For the likes of the European Paper Packaging Association, which has contested the European Commission’s evidence base for the reuse targets and restrictions on single-use packaging when customers eat in, the reaction was more ‘bah Humbug’. EPPA’s president Antonio D’Amato said: “Unfortunately, the version of the PPWR that member states have decided to endorse would undo decades of progress towards a circular economy and go against the constructive approach taken by the European Parliament. The imposition of mandatory reuse targets and bans on fibre-based single-use packaging will damage well-functioning recycling systems and some of Europe’s most strategically important sectors,” he added. This drama continues in 2024 with the trilogues between representatives of the parliament, the council and the commission.
Sticking with packaging, we turn to the annual UK household plastic packaging collection survey, conducted by charity Recoup, which showed a reduction of 70,000 tonnes of plastic packaging placed on the market this year. There has however been a plateau in the development of kerbside collection services for plastic tubs and trays, while the number of councils wanting plastic films and flexibles fell from 13% to 12%. Recoup said more money must be spent on communicating to the public about plastics. Its UK citizen plastics recycling behaviours insights survey, also published this week, shows 32% choose not to recycle an item because they are confused whether it is actually recyclable or not. Perhaps the new guidance on such matters published by the Advertising Standards Authority last month will help.
Speaking of the ASA, it has this week upheld a complaint by the Children’s Food Campaign around Papa John’s Pizza marketing messages sent to football followers via digital calendar fixtures for the English Football League (EFL) Trophy during autumn 2022. HFSS (high fat, salt and sugar) product advertisements must not be directed at people under 16 and no medium should be used to advertise HFSS products, if more than 25% of its audience is under 16 years of age. The ASA said EFL had chosen to allow syncing of the calendar to those who were 13 years old or over, which meant that those who were aged between 13 and 15 years of age were allowed access to the fixture events containing the Papa John’s promotional message. The ads therefore breached the COP code. “It was totally intrusive for anyone just wanting to follow their favourite team, and especially for children under 16,” said Barbara Crowther, Children’s Food Campaign Manager at Sustain. “The EFL age-gating failed to protect young fans from this promotion, and those who had opted out of receiving additional marketing communications still got these notifications.”
Which brings us to the end of this, the last notification you will receive from us this year. Rest up. Be well. Stay cheerful. And see you in 2024.
