Is plastic still allowed?

Plastic litter is increasing every year and that is very harmful to the environment. It is an international environmental problem and that is why the European Commission has introduced a new European Directive: the Single-Use Plastics (SUP) directive. But what is single-use plastic or disposable plastic? And is plastic still allowed?

Single-use plastic (SUP) directive in a nutshell

The European directive was introduced on 3 July 2021 and new rules for single-use plastic have been laid down in this directive. The aim of this SUP directive is to reduce plastic litter and to intensify the collection and recycling of plastic. This directive concerns the 10 plastic products that most often remain on European beaches. You can consult the full guideline via this link.

What exactly does this mean?

The SUP Directive contains a detailed description of various categories of plastic products. In short, you classify these categories into 2 groups:

1. Single-use plastics

Plastic for packaging foodstuffs for direct consumption. Think of plastic straws, stirrers, forks, chip trays, etc. This category also includes plastic handbags in which takeaway meals or groceries are transported. The chance that these types of plastic products will end up as litter is very likely. In addition, many of these products are not recyclable.

2. Reusable plastics

Reusable plastic for packaging food for indirect consumption. Think of (takeaway and delivery) meals, delicacies and other fresh products that people buy with the intention of using them at home. The chance that these plastic products will be reused and/or recycled via the plastic waste is very likely.

Pack-Store and single-use plastic

We can go into detail about the various parts of this SUP guideline, but that does not make it any easier for you as a customer. That is why we focus on the product that we produce ourselves and sell through the webshop.

Pack-Store’s plastic tubs, drinking cups and buckets can be categorized as reusable plastics and are still allowed after 3 July 2021. Because our products are intended for food retail and food service, they are mainly used for indirect consumption. This type of packaging makes reuse and recycling via plastic (household) waste easy!

The difference between recyclable plastic and recycled plastic

The products in our webshop are made of polypropylene: a 100% recyclable material that can be reused 8 – 10 times after processing. It can therefore be used to manufacture non-food products and packaging. Think of waste bins, flower pots, compost bins, plastic car parts, speed bumps and even furniture.

The recycled plastic is not suitable for the production of food-safe packaging because the food safety of recycled polypropylene is not sufficiently demonstrable. That is why food packaging is always made from new materials. Once recycled, this material is only used for the non-food industry.

Future of plastic packaging

As a producer of plastic packaging, our focus is on sustainability and the effects of plastic packaging on the environment. This regularly results in new products.

For example, our range has been expanded since last year with biobased food packaging. The bioplastic food packaging is made from leftovers from sugar cane production; read more about it in this article. In addition, we are continuously working on improving our products. Reducing plastic, without compromising on quality, plays a major role in this. Curious about the developments? Sign up here for the monthly news update and stay informed!