Herbalife Europe Limited

Herbalife Nutrition feedback accompanying the answers to the questionnaire of the public consultation on the review of the requirements for packaging and other measures to prevent packaging waste In the new Circular Economy Action Plan the Commission announced to review and reinforce the essential requirements for packaging laid down in Directive 94/62/EC on Packaging and Packaging Waste and reduce (over)packaging and packaging waste. Herbalife Nutrition values the European Commission’s intention to review the requirements for packaging and other measures to prevent packaging waste and welcomes the opportunity to submit feedback to this initiative.

…and other measures to prevent packaging waste and welcomes the opportunity to submit feedback to this initiative. This statement aims to summarise Herbalife Nutrition’s comments on the essential requirements for packaging and to provide feedback about the objectives and measures mentioned in the public consultation to support the Commission’s work in revising the Directive 94/62/EC on Packaging and Packaging Waste. • The outcome of the review of the essential requirements for packaging should be a well-functioning internal market through fully harmonised requirements for packaging and uniform implementation among Member States. • Clear and uniform definitions for reusable, compostable and recyclable packaging will allow for a more focused effort. • Waste streams need to be optimised or recycling will not have the desired effect.

…allow for a more focused effort. • Waste streams need to be optimised or recycling will not have the desired effect. More capacity is required in the various waste streams in order to facilitate more recycling. • Reusable packaging can be challenging in long and international supply chains and might increase the overall environmental impact. This issue could be difficult to regulate through essential requirements only and should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. • The recycled content targets should be addressed via product-specific legislation due to existing regulatory restrictions in certain applications, such as food contact materials. The Commission should accelerate the authorisation of recycling processes for plastic food contact materials to allow the industry to introduce recycled content. • Light weighting of packaging should be further analysed.

…to allow the industry to introduce recycled content. • Light weighting of packaging should be further analysed. The conclusion that this is done at the expense of recycling may not consider the net environmental effect. Mass or source reduction is usually preferred as it reduces the amount that needs to be recycled. It usually can also reduce the overall carbon footprint through transportation efficiencies. • Lifecycle assessment of the entire value chain for packaging from design to end use must be assessed to underpin a coherent evidence base and analysis of the issues and recommendations associated with the prevention of waste packaging, increased recycled content use and green public procurement criteria Ref. Ares(2020)8014119 - 31/12/2020

…packaging, increased recycled content use and green public procurement criteria Ref. Ares(2020)8014119 - 31/12/2020 1. On Objective 1: To increase level playing field and harmonization of requirements for products placed on the internal market We strongly agree with the first objective stated in the public consultation and believe that that the outcome of this review of the essential requirements for packaging should be a well-functioning internal market through fully harmonised requirements on packaging and uniform implementation among all Member States.

…internal market through fully harmonised requirements on packaging and uniform implementation among all Member States. 2. On objective 2: To limit and/or reduce the packaging waste generated across the EU We agree with the second objective to limit and/or reduce the packaging waste generated across the EU. However, we would like to remind the Commission that packaging, besides conveying the product to the end user, is also protection for the product through the transportation channel and is crucial for ensuring food safety. Therefore, it is not always possible to reduce the amount of packaging as it might lead to an increase in food waste due to shorter shelf life. It is very important to regulate the type and amount of packaging as it has to be best in class - not only for its functionality and compatibility but also its sustainability. We consider that the amount and sustainability of…

…in different types of product. It would be also beneficial to educate the end user of the functionality of packaging. 3. On objective 3: To promote the use of reusable packaging whenever logistically feasible with a view to reduce packaging waste generation We choose the ‘undecided’ answer to the third objective since the possibility of using reusable packaging depends on the type of supply chain and is not always feasible. When examining possible restrictions, the Commission should be aware that reusable packaging can be challenging in long and international supply chains and reverse logistics would increase the overall environmental impact. We believe that the option of ‘re-use by a consumer’, without the product being returned to a system for refill/reloading, should be explored within the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive for packaging whose product design characteristics and…

…and Packaging Waste Directive for packaging whose product design characteristics and performance allow such re-use. 4. On objective 4: To increase the recyclability of packaging We strongly agree with the fourth objective to increase the recyclability of packaging, however, we don’t consider that this can be achieved only by legislating the requirements for recyclable packaging. Currently, there is a lack of appropriate waste streams for different types of packaging materials. Presently, mature waste streams exist for glass, aluminium and PET, while demand for other packaging is much lower. We recommend that the EU Commission study and create incentives for additional uses for recycled packaging, and optimised recycling processes. Legislating the requirement for recyclable packaging will not solve the demand problem.

…optimised recycling processes. Legislating the requirement for recyclable packaging will not solve the demand problem. Incentives to increase the recyclability of packaging need to be accompanied by a significant effort to upgrade the sorting capacity for packaging waste in Europe. We consider that reduction of complexity of packaging materials, including the number of materials and polymers, should be addressed within product-specific legislation instead of horizontal legislation. For food contact materials this should be covered within the scope of food contact materials legislation to ensure that product safety is not jeopardised. There may need to be an exemption for products that require moisture and oxygen barrier – layers are required in packaging of such products in order to achieve the barrier and allow for machinability.

– layers are required in packaging of such products in order to achieve the barrier and allow for machinability. 5. On objectives 5-7 about clear definitions of biodegradable and compostable packaging, harmonisation the labelling of biodegradable and compostable packaging and criteria for the use of compostable packaging in order to restrict the types of packaging that can be designed for composting We strongly agree with objectives 5-7 as harmonised definitions on biodegradable and compostable packaging are needed to give businesses a clear framework and ensure free movement of packaging and products. However, we do not consider that the labelling requirements should be mandatory. In case it will be required to designate the packaging status on labelling, the administrative burden for industry will increase causing a significant cost and inventory obsolescence. We consider that the…

…to avoid contamination of the non- compostable waste streams, which is crucial to increase recyclability and recycling. 6. On objective 8: Increase the level of recycled content in packaging We agree with the objective eight to increase the level of recycled content in packaging, however, we consider that the introduction of recycled content targets for all packaging formats within the essential requirements could be challenging and unfeasible to meet. We believe that such requirements should be given under product-specific legislation to ensure that product-specific characteristics are considered. The introduction of recycled content targets will not have a successful outcome without appropriate recycling technology and optimisation of recycling processes.

…will not have a successful outcome without appropriate recycling technology and optimisation of recycling processes. We ask the Commission to evaluate not only the demand for recycled secondary materials but also the supply as we have noticed that the quality and availability of recycled materials for certain applications is not sufficient. Furthermore, certain packaging formats cannot introduce the recycled content without appropriate regulatory framework. Lack of authorised recycling processes for plastic food contact materials at EU level is currently preventing introduction of recycled content to such packaging. We ask the European Commission to take authorisation of recycling processes as a priority to allow the industry to start introducing recycled content to their packaging.

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