Question for written answer E-000XXX/2021 to the Commission
Rule 138
Carlo Calenda (S&D), Massimiliano Salini (PPE), Maria da Graça Carvalho (PPE), Antonio Tajani (PPE), Jens Geier (S&D)
The European Commission is defining the guidelines on single-use plastic products, under Directive (EU) 2019/904 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment.
In the draft document circulated to the Member States, the Commission has included the plastic coating or lining applied to the surface of paper/board material (to provide resistance against water or fat) as a main structural component of packaging that are made with a minor amount of polymers (less than 10%).
In this regard, considering that the scope of the SUP Directive as agreed by the European Parliament and the Council was not intended to cover also paper based products, we ask to clarify:
- What are the criteria defined by the Commission to differentiate the main packaging structural component from the secondary ones and what are the quantitative elements used by the Commission to justify that plastic coating or lining can be considered as "main components" of a product?
- Why the European Commission is interpreting that products made with a minor amount of polymers are in the scope of the Directive?