PACKAGING WASTE
Poll largely dismisses tethered caps for litter prevention / Just 26% of respondents see them reducing plastics trash – Sidel survey
 A majority of respondents say caps yoked to bottles won’t help reduce litter, according to one poll (Photo: Sidel) |
Consumers say the EU requirement for attaching caps to single-use bottles by 2024 will not have the desired effect for reducing litter and pollution.
A survey of 3,000 people conducted by Italian packaging equipment maker Sidel (Parma; www.sidel.com) found that the overwhelming majority (87%) said plastics pollution harmed the environment and that caps were part of the problem. Nearly half (45%) agreed with the argument that yoked caps reduce the risk of cap loss because they are attached to the bottle, but only just over a quarter (26%) said such caps would actively help reduce plastics littering. Instead, consumers said a cap – tethered or otherwise – should guarantee product safety and user-friendliness.
A 2019 EU directive on single-use plastics (SUPs) set out to implement mandatory tethered caps for all beverage containers up to three litres by 2024, at least 25% rPET content in plastics containers, and a collection rate of 77% for all SUP beverage containers by 2025 (see Plasteurope.com of 23.05.2019).
From 3 July 2021, the EU is banning certain SUPs. The European Commission recently provided a guidance on the rules of the ban (see PIEWEb of 11.06.2021).
A survey of 3,000 people conducted by Italian packaging equipment maker Sidel (Parma; www.sidel.com) found that the overwhelming majority (87%) said plastics pollution harmed the environment and that caps were part of the problem. Nearly half (45%) agreed with the argument that yoked caps reduce the risk of cap loss because they are attached to the bottle, but only just over a quarter (26%) said such caps would actively help reduce plastics littering. Instead, consumers said a cap – tethered or otherwise – should guarantee product safety and user-friendliness.
A 2019 EU directive on single-use plastics (SUPs) set out to implement mandatory tethered caps for all beverage containers up to three litres by 2024, at least 25% rPET content in plastics containers, and a collection rate of 77% for all SUP beverage containers by 2025 (see Plasteurope.com of 23.05.2019).
From 3 July 2021, the EU is banning certain SUPs. The European Commission recently provided a guidance on the rules of the ban (see PIEWEb of 11.06.2021).
18.06.2021 Plasteurope.com [247821-0]
Published on 18.06.2021