2. The content and characteristics of EU directives
The EU directives stipulate the basic requirements and are technical regulations.
Essential requirement
The basic requirements stipulate the basic elements to protect the public interest;
The basic requirements are mandatory, and only products that meet the basic requirements can be put on the market and delivered for use;
Basic requirements mainly refer to product requirements in terms of life, environment and national security, consumer interests and energy consumption. As far as the main technical content is concerned, the EU directives are equivalent to my country's mandatory national standards. The difference is that EU directives involve taxation, stipulate the responsibilities of manufacturers, suppliers, importers and operators, and mention the obligations of consumers, etc., while my country's mandatory national standards usually do not involve these content. For the packaging of goods exported to the EU, one should first understand the basic requirements of the EU’s packaging directives:
The technical documents related to basic requirements between WTO members are mutually open. The term that can correspond to the basic requirements in our standards is: exclusive requirement;
The basic requirement is the first technical threshold for market access, and only those who cross this threshold are eligible to participate in market competition.
2.1 94/62/EC packaging and packaging waste
Directive 94/62/EC is based on the requirements of environmental and life safety, and the rational use of energy and resources. It puts forward corresponding requirements and requirements for all packaging and packaging materials, packaging management, design, production, circulation, use, and consumption. Goals that should be achieved. The technical content involves packaging and the environment, packaging and life safety, packaging and the use of energy and resources. Special attention should be paid to deriving specific technical measures based on these requirements and goals. In addition, the specific implementation includes related directives, harmonized standards and conformity assessment systems.
Directive 94/62/EC was fully implemented in 1997. However, some EU member states have objections to the recycling rate of packaging materials. For example, there are differences in the assessment of environmental protection, economy, feasibility, and safety of the reuse or one-time use of beverage bottles. On February 11, 2004, the European Union promulgated the 2004/12/EC amendment to 94/62/EC, which stipulates that the overall recovery rate is 60% and the recycling rate is 55%. In addition, specific recycling rates are specified: 60% for glass, 60% for paper and cardboard, 50% for metal, 25% for plastic, and 15% for wood. The heavy metal concentration index has not changed.
The maximum allowable limit of harmful heavy metal content specified in Article 11 of Directive 94/62/EC is 100 mg/kg, which aims to protect groundwater sources and soil. The scope of implementation covers all packaging and packaging materials.
The slag formed by metal recycling and smelting, the waste slag formed by glass recycling and melting, composite materials and some paper and plastics that are not easy to be recycled as resources, and the residue formed by incineration in the form of energy recovery. After the final landfill, hazardous substances will pass through infiltration. Pollution to groundwater sources.
The compost obtained after aerobic or anaerobic biodegradation is related to the soil. It should be especially noted that the packaging materials used are not degradable. The European Community has separate regulations for soil and soil improvement, and the relevant regulations are cited in EN 13432.
Directive 94/62/EC Appendix A (normative appendix) gives the provisions of the maximum element content allowed for packaging materials and all packaging, and requires the weight of the tested substance to be 50% of the residual inorganic minerals (non-degradable) Metering. See Appendix 17 for details.
Directive 94/62/EC is mainly divided into two parts, namely: packaging and packaging waste containing environmentally harmful substances and measures to reduce resource consumption. The following two regulations related to Directive 94/62/EC can understand the effect of the Directive and interpret what Europeans call the "Unified European Common Market".
Special reminder: The maximum allowable limit of harmful heavy metal content specified in Article 11 of Directive 94/62/EC is 100 mg/kg, which is a basic requirement for each package. It should be understood as the bottom line or minimum requirement, but not The only requirement.
