German Vote is a podcast about EU consumer issues. Because: These affect all of our everyday lives – very directly. In the “Kai from the box” section, I describe – “surprising” – EU initiatives and discuss their impact. So this time it’s the plastic lids that are now attached to drinks packaging – this is also due to an EU regulation.
New episodes are always published in the middle of the month, on the 2nd Monday of the month in German (indicated by a [de]). One week later, on the 3rd Monday of the month, there is the same episode in English (indicated by the [en] in the title). It is not exactly identical to the de-episode, but almost.
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Transcription:
Hello, my name is Jörg Stroisch. I’ve been a consumer affairs journalist for over 20 years. That’s also why I’m doing this podcast. When it comes to consumer issues, many things come from the EU. And this is an episode from the „Kai from the box“ section.
Fixed plastic licks comes suddenly
This fixed plastic licks comes very suddenly on the bottles, known as tetherate caps in English. Suddenly many media outlets started reported on it seriously on Monday, the third July of 2024, suddenly also because the caps were of course already attached to the lids several months earlier, at least in part. Moreover, the underlying directive has been enforced since 2019, namely Directive 2019/904 on the „reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment“, So the title.
Paragraph 17 of the directive stated this.
„Caps and lids made of plastic which are used for beverage containers are among the single-use plastic items that are found the most on beaches in the Union. Therefore, beverage containers that are single-use plastic products should only be allowed to be placed on the market if they fulfil specific product design requirements that significantly reduce the dispersal into the environment of beverage container caps and lids made of plastic. For beverage containers that are both single-use plastic products and packaging, that requirement is in addition to the essential requirements on the composition and the re-usable and recoverable, including recyclable, nature of packaging set out in Annex II to Directive 94/62/EC.“
In any case, there was great excitement in Germany. Andreas Schwab, member of the European Parliament for the European People’s Party (EPP), sees the reason for this:
„I believe that we need to start by recognizing that aging societies are fundamentally less willing to change. And everywhere in Europe, as the Draghi-report again pointed out, we are dealing with aging societies. And here, of course, the principal who could have thought of this? We’ve never done it like this before. It is true that in connection with this fixed or stuck lid on the bottles, of course, no thought was given to the scratches on the noses that can occur as a result, which has already happened to me. But in the case of plastic lids, I believe that we can probably achieve a lot at little cost over the next few decades. German consumers are aware of this and perhaps ask themselves with a little more vigor why he needed even more rules. But as we all know from our holidays, the yellow bag is not available in all European countries and certainly not in every country in the world. And that’s why I would simply ask for your understanding. You just have to push the lid to the side properly and then not take it at nose level, but to the right or to the left, then you can continue to drink from the bottle without any damage to your health.“
And René Repasi, member of the European Parliament for the Socialist Group S&D comments:
„The background to this particular story is of course, and anyone who has ever been on holiday on the coast knows this the massive amount of plastic waste in our seas. In the meantime, some communities are also saying that they will collect the rubbish that they come across on their regular walks. You’ll see that there are a whole bunch of bottle caps in there too. And this plastic does not decompose. When it is eaten by fish and the like, it returns to the cycle. This is really not healthy for human health either. And that may be looking at this one lid, so to speak. But many small lids become many lids. You have to start with something. This is a measure to prevent plastic lids from being thrown away unknowingly. In the meantime, there are also solutions for dealing with it so that it somehow doesn’t get on your nerves. In this respect, the drama calmed down relatively quickly.“
In force in Germany since July 3, 2024
In Germany, these requirements were implemented with the ordinance on the quality and labeling of certain single-use plastic products. In german: „Verordnung über die Beschaffenheit und Kennzeichnung von bestimmten Einweg-Kunststoffprodukten“. This came into force on July the 3rd, the date where the media are reporting first about it.
Expressly, this is stated in section three, paragraph one.
„Beverage containers with a filling volume of up to 3-point arrow liters that are single-use plastic products and whose closures or lids are made entirely or partially of plastic may be used from the third year of use. The product may only be placed on the market from 1st July 2024. If the caps or lids remain attached to the container during the intended period of use. For beverage containers that comply with the harmonized standards within the meaning of Article 6, Paragraph 3 of Directive EC 2019/904, it is assumed that they fulfill the requirements of sentence one.“
However, the basis for this was already led in 2019, so years ago. The acquisition that the directive was considered, perhaps even that there is now evidence of its effectiveness is challenging to understand for me. The status for a new EU regulation on less packaging which the European Parliament approved on April 24th can be an example. The accompanying research comprises 276 pages.
René Repasi from the S&D comments:
„This impact assessment identifies the problem. Here’s the problem so much plastic waste in the sea. And then they are obliged to present various policy options total ban, regulation, warnings, etc. Then you had to check the study situation or, if in doubt, commission studies yourself to determine which measure is the least intrusive but addresses the problem. There is a corresponding paragraph in each legislative proposal. And if you are interested in the studies, you can go to the additional accompanying document, which is usually over 100 pages, in which the study situation is very clearly presented. In this respect, the commission is obliged to do so. The documents are available everywhere, but let’s just say that this is not necessarily a shallow evening novel.“
In any case, there was a lot of discussion in Germany about plastic lids, which is very controversial. And of course, it was once again the stupid EU that was to blame.
Andreas Schwab from the EPP explains this as a general problem:
„If nonsense is decided in Berlin, nobody will therefore question the Federal Republic of Germany. Maybe that was the case 200 or 300 years ago because the federal republic hasn’t been around that long, but at least today there is no question of principle. That is still the case to a certain extent in the European Union and that is of course sometimes a bit exhausting. But it doesn’t have to be a bad thing because of course it means that you actually have to be aware and conscious of the fact that your own decisions are well communicated. We certainly need to improve in this area. But I think there are few decisions that are not prepared in the communication process. And we are certainly even further ahead of other countries, including in Europe. But we certainly need to improve in this area too. And of course we will also try to do this in this legislative period.“
This was a podcast episode from the „Kai from the box“ column, in which I deal with more or less current developments around EU consumer issues. And this time, the topic was suddenly bottle caps for which the EU faced harsh criticism in Germany a few weeks ago.
Transparency note for this episode
Here is the transparency notice for this episode. This episode includes statements and information from the EU Parliament, a recorded statement from the EU Parliament during a trip to Strasbourg. I received travel expenses as support from the EU Parliament and used its services for journalists, such as the recording stooges in Strasbourg. Of course, the various institution had now influence what’s over on the content and direction of this podcast.