— By Plasteurope.com staff — 

A joint industry initiative has seen the publication of a guidance on certification schemes to support waste management operators and sorters in complying with EU Regulation 2022/1616.

The regulation mandates third-party certification of quality assurance systems for food-contact recycled plastics. The guidance provides a detailed interpretation of the legal framework and is intended as a practical tool for both EU and non-EU operators, as the latter must meet equivalent requirements.

The initiative includes European Plastics Converters (EuPC, Brussels; www.plasticsconverters.eu), the Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance (Expra, Brussels; www.expra.eu), the European Association of Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organisations (Epro, Brussels; www.epro-plasticsrecycling.org), Natural Mineral Waters Europe (NMWE, Brussels; www.naturalmineralwaterseurope.org), Petcore Europe (Brussels; www.petcore-europe.org), and Unesda (Brussels; www.unesda.eu).

Related: Petcore updates recycling guidelines on Tray Circularity Evaluation Platform

The document covers procedures that must be implemented during the pre-processing of plastic packaging waste, including collection and sorting. Pre-treatment activities such as washing and grinding are not addressed in the guidance, “as they are already covered by existing third-party certification”, according to the document.

For collectors and sorters, the guidance includes sections on the origin of collected waste, accepted separate collection systems, plastics input specification, quality assurance systems, and quality control.

The document also touches on monitoring and revision. According to the partners, the first revision of the guidance is planned for 2026/2027.

Further supporting the PET recycling value chain, the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP; www.epbp.org) has announced its strategic liaison role within the technical committee on packaging at the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN).

Related: EPBP releases design guidelines for PET bottles, non-food products

The announcement comes as the recently adopted Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) directs the European Commission to integrate CEN standards into future design for recycling criteria.

This presents a significant opportunity for EPBP to shape discussions on packaging circularity in Europe, the association technical manager, Argiris Dablanis, said.