Starting in September, single-use containers containing aluminum for ready meals will be subject to a fee of 30 cents, the same rate that has been in force since July for plastic containers.
Starting July 1, single-use plastic containers for prepared meals are subject to a 30-cent fee, according to an ordinance, which extends the fee to aluminum or aluminum multi-sided containers. As the ordinance states, “the contribution on single-use packaging is in force as of July 1, 2022, for plastic or multi-material packaging with plastic, and as of September 1, 2023, for aluminum or aluminum multi-material containers”.
Multilateral containers with aluminum, or with plastic, are containers composed of more than one material, one of which is plastic or aluminum, regardless of its quantity in the total mass of the container, as explained in the ordinance.
It is, in particular, the packaging for “to go” and home deliveries.
The measure aims to encourage the implementation of reusable packaging systems in restaurants and promote the reduction of single-use packaging.
“The offer of prepared meals and to take away or with home delivery shows a clear growth trend, with the direct result of an increase in the consumption of single-use containers, which makes it even more urgent to adopt measures that allow dissociate this growth from the consumption of resources and the production of waste”, says the ordinance that regulates the change that comes into force on Sunday and that determines that the application to aluminum containers will only take place in September.
The document recalls that establishments that provide ready-to-eat and take-away meals are already required to accept that their customers use their own containers, so there is an alternative to paying the contribution.
The collection of the fee will go half to the State and 40% to the Environmental Fund, of preferential application in measures in the field of the circular economy, can also be read in the ordinance.
Since November of last year, the Government had already prohibited the placing on the market of other single-use plastic products, such as straws or cotton buds, cutlery and plates, balloon sticks or glasses, partially transposing a European directive.
Source: Observadora
