We need to use less and recycle more packaging
Denmark is lagging behind when it comes to consumption and recycling of packaging. We use too much and recycle too little. The business community now wants to change that. The feature is written by the Confederation of Danish Industry, the Danish Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture & Food and DagSam, February 2023
In the coming years, consumers and businesses will have a huge challenge in limiting the consumption of packaging and recycling more of what cannot be dispensed with. It is both about taking climate and environment into account, but also about reducing the amount of waste and the costs of handling packaging waste.
Therefore, in the coming years, a united Danish business community will invest a lot of money and time to get ready to handle the EU-determined producer responsibility for packaging from 1 January 2025 – i.e., in two years' time. The ambitions are great. In business, we have been ready to take responsibility for a long time. We are now waiting for the final policy framework to fall into place. It is urgent... For many reasons!
Within the EU, Denmark is only surpassed by Austria in the discipline of waste production. Every year, a Danish household produces an average of 814 kilos of waste – a second place which we should not be proud of. A large part is packaging – cardboard, plastic, cans, etc. For example, we only recycle 23 percent of plastic in Denmark. Countries like Lithuania and Slovakia are better than us.
Denmark lags behind
We can and must do better. That is why we in the business community support the so-called extended producer responsibility. From 2025, this will apply in all EU countries, and means that up to 40,000 Danish companies that put packaging into circulation must take financial and practical responsibility for the packaging being collected, sorted and recycled in the best possible way according to the "polluter pays" principle.
The producer responsibility has already been introduced in several EU countries, but in Denmark, the regulatory framework is only slowly crystallizing.
It is unfortunate that Denmark is lagging behind. Both because we usually pride ourselves on being first on the green transition and more practically, because there is a very short time until 2025. Building up the producer responsibility is a huge task. But at the same time, it is an important part of the increasingly more circular society, which we must also use market forces to create.
Business creates the common solution
We, in the business community, would like to claim responsibility and have therefore created VANA together – Danish Packaging Responsibility.
VANA is a so-called Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) that Danish companies can choose to join. Behind the word "PRO" is the fact that VANA can take over responsibility for the packaging that the signed-up production and trading companies put into circulation from 2025. It is far more economical, efficient and unbureaucratic for the individual company than if everyone has to handle their own packaging. VANA will also work for better packaging design and for minimizing packaging consumption.
Our expectation is that most companies will sign up for a PRO. Only a few have a size and a setup where it is even possible to create their own systems. Therefore, VANA – and similar schemes – will in practice take over the responsibility for most packaging waste in Denmark and will through tenders ensure that it is recycled in the best possible way after collection.
Cheaper and better
With the producer responsibility, we in the business community are given far greater responsibility for our packaging than today, and a bill of DKK 2.35 billion annually is shifted from municipal waste fees to companies' payment to the producer responsibility.
For consumers and society, it should end up being cheaper and better in the long run. When companies have to shoulder the financial burden of packaging waste directly, they have an effective incentive to save on packaging and to design packaging that is easy to recycle. That will namely lead directly to a lower payment to the PRO to which they are members.
The profits should be passed on to consumers. From 2025, the price that all households pay to the municipality (on average DKK 600 annually per household) for collecting waste will be passed on to the companies – and thus back to consumers via the price of the product. However, because companies compete and because they can save money by saving on packaging, the scheme will lead to both lower costs and lower resource consumption. It is green transition at its best.
Three wishes to the government
It sounds complex – and it is. Therefore, we have three wishes for the future government and the Folketing, which as recently as August 2022 agreed on the overall framework for the producer responsibility.
Three wishes to the government
- Hurry up and get the final frameworks, executive orders and guidelines in place – trivial limits, payment models, data requirements, etc. All the technique necessary for a good scheme. 1 January 2025 is just around the corner.
- Think uniformly. Denmark is too small for different waste systems, and the existing climate agreement from 2020 sets the stage for a clear and uniform framework for the contract sector. Hold on to the 10 factions and be reluctant opening up special schemes – it will end up hindering the necessary investments and efficiency.
- Think internationally – our members trade a lot with other countries, so we need solutions which are close to our neighbouring countries.
The goal is – and must be – that the producer responsibility makes a real difference to the environment, the climate, and the wallet. With the right framework, the producer responsibility can become a major environmental and climate projection, saving packaging and ensuring better recycling at the same time – without the bill getting out of control.
Find more information about VANA, membership and benefits as a PRO here.