RECYCLING
Circular Economy goals – demonstrated via tangible European Union legislation detailing the guiding principles to achieve circularity -are well established pillar in the EU regularity landscape. Although the implementation of some of these principles may yet have crystallised, the principles of circularity themselves are well understood and clearly defined. Managing waste in an environmentally sound manner and making use of the secondary materials they contain are key elements of the EU’s environmental policy.
Particularly important for printing ink is the EU law covering packaging and packaging waste on the European market. The rules, first laid out in the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation 2025/40 (PPWR), regulate what kind of packaging can be placed on the EU market, as well as packaging waste management and prevention measures.
All packaging must comply with essential requirements related to its manufacturing, composition, and reusable or recoverable nature.
EuPIA is actively fulfilling a responsible position in this respect. Our members are part of the main recycling organisations and develop own Design for Recycling guidelines (D4R) where needed.
We are constantly addressing customer needs and questions with respect to the different substrates. It is important to note that it is not the ink but the substrate that is printed on that needs to be considered when we talk about recycling.
This statement answers questions such as do inks affect the recyclability of packaging, how should they be handled in the recycling process and is there a link between recyclability and the EuPIA Exclusion Policy?
Film - Plastic
Our position paper on deinking plastic packaging waste to promote the circularity of packaging and reduce packaging waste is another example showing that deinking could be one of the most effective ways of achieving the goals outlined in the EU Action Plan for a fully circular economy.
Basic questions on inks in current plastic recycling practices are addressed in a dedicated paper.
In Municipal Recycling Facilities where recycled waste is sorted, the plastic waste is normally sorted into different chemical classes by its near-infra-red (NIT) signature. Black ink typically uses carbon black pigment which reduces the NIT reflection.
This customer information note sets out to which extent the use of carbon black is acceptable so that the sorting process is not impeded.
This document is aimed to give EuPIA interpretation on some aspects in regard to printing inks with respect to Directive (EU) 2019/904 and the “corresponding Commission Guidelines on single-use plastic products in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/904” published on 31.05.2021 – especially against the background, that inks are explicitly excluded from the scope of the Directive, but are being re-addressed by the Guidelines.
Fibre - Paper & Cardboard
Fibre recycling is a well established process in material recovery. EuPIA is part of the industry self-initiative European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC) which was set up in 2000 to monitor progress towards meeting the paper recycling targets set out in the 2000 European Declaration on Paper Recycling. Since then, the commitments in the Declaration have been renewed every five years. In 2023 the paper recycling rate in the EU was at 79.3% .
Deinking technologies are widely deployed nowadays. Deinking is the industrial process of removing printing ink from paper fibers of recycled paper to make deinked pulp which is then again used to make paper.
EuPIA members are addressing recurring issues such as mineral oils in and after the paper recycling process. The following paper explains for instance which inks can be used in offset and flexographic applications that enable printers and convertors to meet their respective industry associations recommendations to use only mineral oil-free printing inks on paper and board packaging.
In the context of the French legislation on mineral oils, EuPIA has updated ( February 2025 ) the Information Note on French Order on Mineral Oils in Printing Inks explaining the general situation on the market and highlighting the current analytical challenges and issues for ink manufacturers and their customers.
