Single-Use Plastics Directive countdown: How EU food delivery is preparing for July’s disposable plastic ban

07 Apr 2021 --- E-commerce in the food delivery sector has been exponentially expanded by the COVID-19 pandemic, as identified by Innova Market Insights’ leading packaging trend this year: “Home Delivery Haven.”

Extended lockdown and home isolation measures have surged takeaway meals and online purchases, dramatically increasing single-use packaging consumption. 

However, the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) will take effect on July 3, banning popular throwaway plastic items like straws and cutlery that can be replaced with eco-friendlier alternatives.

Meanwhile, the foodservice industry has appeared more hesitant to accommodate reusable packaging due to food safety concerns and the spread of unfounded claims about COVID-19 hygiene issues.

What effect might this ban therefore have on the burgeoning food delivery sector, heavily reliant on disposable plastic and styrofoam packaging?

In this Special Report, PackagingInsights investigates the upcoming legislation, with insights from BFG Packaging, Vegware and Zero Waste Europe.

Reading the fine print
Food delivery packaging must ensure food orders are safe and hygienic for consumption as well as convenient to pack, transport and clean up. Plastic packaging has long been seen as the obvious industry choice to satisfy consumers’ key criteria.

The practical fold-out design of Vegware’s new meal boxes turns into a plate for dining (Image credit: Vegware).One of the ten throwaway plastic items targeted by the SUPD is food containers made of expanded polystyrene (EPS). These include those both with or without a cover, used to contain food:

• Intended for immediate consumption, either on-the-spot or takeaway.
• Typically consumed from the receptacle.
• Ready to be consumed without any further preparation, such as cooking, boiling or heating.

Many other single-use plastic products covered by SUPD Article 5, however, are also staple packaging items.

The directive targets cutlery – forks, knives, spoons and chopsticks – plates, straws*, beverage stirrers, as well as beverage cups and containers made of EPS, including their covers and lids.

Fiber-based frenzy
As a producer of one of the items on the “ban-list,” Romania-based packaging manufacturer BFG Packaging “couldn’t be impacted harder,” according to the company’s project manager Roderik Hoet. 

BFG Packaging sells standard and absorbent trays, menu boxes, hamburger boxes, plates made from extruded polystyrene (XPS), extruded polypropylene (XPP) and polypropylene (PP) on the Romanian and most other European markets.

“However, we are switching our production lines to both an alternative plastic and a natural fiber-based option,” he explains. The first range of BFG Eco Packaging products are made using sugarcane fiber, a sub-product obtained during the sugar manufacture process.

Sugarcane galore
Also banking on the fiber-based macro trend is Vegware, a UK packaging manufacturer using renewable plant-based materials. “Our bagasse takeaway boxes are made from reclaimed sugarcane,” says Lucy Frankel, Vegware’s environmental and communications director.

“The natural fibers provide an economic, sturdy takeaway box. One of the most popular products for years, end users like them because hot food doesn’t sweat inside them, so fish and chips stay crispy and pies don’t get soggy.” 

Spotlighting the industry race to create viable plastic packaging replacements, Innova Market Insights pegs “Fiber-Based Frenzy” as its third top packaging trend for 2021. Innovative plastic alternatives are not only driven by the SUPD, but also by the EU’s Plastics Strategy requiring all packaging to be recyclable or reusable in an economically viable way by 2030.

If fiber-based products were added to the SUPD, BFG’s investments would “be for nothing” (Credit: BFG Packaging).Meanwhile, the UK plans to introduce a tax on plastics packaging with less than 30 percent recycled content from April 2022.

Lacking legislative clarity
The SUPD hits BFG hardest not so much by the “ban-list,” but more by lacking clarity around material definitions.

“It is very clear this piece of legislation was written by bureaucrats without the necessary input from the industry,” Hoet affirms.

“The text as written leaves plenty of room for debate and uncertainty. Some items people expect to be banned are still allowed, and others which look, feel and seem to be without plastic are disappearing from the market.”

“Empty legislation with zero effect”
Zero Waste Europe shares these legislative concerns, wary of legal loopholes that could allow certain types of single-use plastics to escape the SUPD provisions.

Cautious of “empty legislation with zero effect,” Hoet provides an example from his own operations. Polystyrene can be expanded via two processes: an expansion chamber or an extrusion process.

“Some producers call the same product EPS or XPS depending on the market they sell in. However, if the legislation only bans ‘EPS food containers,’ the producer can start calling their products ‘XPS food containers’ and circumvent the ban – even if they have called the exact same products EPS for many years.”

XPP food packaging is an alternative to XPS for operators in the catering industry (Credit: BFG Packaging).“If the legislation only bans ‘expanded food containers’ made via the expansion chamber method, and not the extrusion method, exactly zero food containers will be banned since nobody makes food containers via that method,” he warns.

Oxo-degradable woes
A similar case in legislative confusion was made earlier this year by Symphony Environmental Technologies.

The British plastics additives and masterbatches specialist sued the EU for damages relating to the ban imposed through Article 5 on “oxo-degradable” plastics for failing to make clear the ban does not apply to “oxo-biodegradable” plastics. 

Oxo-degradable plastics are still common in smaller bag shapes, cups and straws, so banning these will “push the market toward more sustainable alternatives,” says Frankel. 

“An alternative to oxo-degradable bags is our bioplastic carrier bag, which is robust yet compostable, suitable for commercial composting so ideal for reuse as a food waste caddy liner.”

The cost of change
When asked how the ban will affect different European countries, Frankel explains Italy is best equipped for the shift toward biodegradable or compostable alternatives in home delivery packaging. 

“All businesses and households have a compostable waste stream. Constant society-wide education ensures contamination is kept to a minimum. All grocery carrier bags must be compostable, so householders have a ready source of quality food waste caddy liners – far better than conventional plastic liners polluting soils.”

Hoet expects Eastern European countries will feel the ban’s impact the most, “as with most directives.”On the other end of the spectrum, Hoet expects Eastern European countries will feel the ban’s impact the most, “as with most directives.”

“Packaging costs roughly the same in all countries in Europe, however the cost of meals vary greatly,” he notes.

“A €0.10 cost on a €20.00 meal in, for example, Finland is only 0.5 percent. However, the same box on a €4.00 meal in Bulgaria is 2.5 percent. If the packaging cost is tripled because of the directive, the impact will be much bigger in the poorer countries than in the West.”

Overall, he anticipates the cost of packaging and cutlery will increase for the whole supply chain, affecting producers, distributors and restaurants. “Ultimately, those costs will be passed on to the consumer,” says Hoet.

Reusable revolution
From East to West, alternatives to single-use plastics are widely available across Europe. “In many countries, systems of reusable cups and food containers for food delivery are on the rise, in addition to ‘bring your own’ initiatives,” affirms a Zero Waste Europe spokesperson.

“In others, refill systems are still existing or have existed until very recently and can serve as an inspiration for further reuse systems.”

While viewing the SUPD as a “great achievement,” Zero Waste Europe urges Member States to go beyond the measures established in the directive, taking this opportunity to scale-up reusable alternatives rather than simply switching to single-use products made of another material.

“Each type of single-use material presents different pressures on the natural environment, such as land-use change and deforestation, or the contamination of recycling streams. This cannot be the answer for a sustainable resource-saving and circular economy,” says the organization.EU countries should support the transition to reusables in food services, says Zero Waste Europe.

“The food delivery sector would also benefit from this as, for instance, reusable systems can help ensure a great consumer experience, greater business credibility and reliability, and consequently create fidelity dynamics through deposit return schemes.”

Countdown to July 3
Ultimately, Hoet believes the transposition time given for the implementation of the directive is proving to be “much too short.”

“With the current lack of guidance from the EU, we see various national legislations are doing their best to transpose the directive into law within the timeframe given.”

However, there are already situations where products are legally placed on the market in one country but banned just across the border, he adds.

“It is imperative that the promised ‘Single-Use Plastic Guidelines’ to be issued by the EU Commission will include a clear description on all products and all measurements.”

By Anni Schleicher