EU Plastic Levy to Reach €1/kg by 2028: Compliance Pressure and a Transition Roadmap for Flexible Laminates

In 2028, the EU will raise its charge on non-recycled plastic from €0.80 to €1 per kilogram. Indexed to inflation and embedded in the bloc's long-term budget, the measure works less as a revenue instrument and more as a lever for circularity. For makers of multi-layer pouches, spout pouches, tap-equipped stand-up bags and liquid packaging bags, cost pressure and a redesign window are arriving together.

Barrier Performance vs. Recycling Reality

• Aluminium-plastic laminates have long been the format of choice in food, pharma and beverage packaging for their barrier properties.
• The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), effective since early 2025, obliges all packaging to be recyclable by 2030.
• The milestones step up: 50% for both plastic and aluminium in 2025, then 70% for aluminium and 55% for plastic by 2030.
• Aluminium cans already post a 74.5% average recycling rate across Europe — 99% under Germany's deposit-return scheme. Flexible multi-material formats trail far behind.
• The obstacle is structural: fusing aluminium foil with polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) leaves mechanical recycling with almost nothing to work with.
• Aluminium Deutschland cautions that food-grade recycled plastic remains in short supply, with a handful of suppliers holding the market amid fierce global competition.

Technology Outpaces Infrastructure

• Chemical recycling and delamination — hydro-pulping to split the layers, for instance — point to a technical answer.
• Pilot programmes in China have reached a 50% recycling rate on comparable composites.
• In Europe, however, the infrastructure is not there yet, and recovered aluminium typically lands in lower-grade uses rather than returning to high-barrier packaging.
• Standardised collection, a PPWR cornerstone, is still missing — without it, recycling at scale stays out of reach.

Fragmented Rules, Inflated Compliance Costs

• Green taxation varies widely: Germany bills producers through the Einwegkunststofffondsgesetz, France leans on extended producer responsibility (EPR), and Italy has deferred its plastic tax to 2026.
• Such divergence drives up compliance costs for suppliers operating across borders.
• The European Environment Agency finds that 18 EU member states risk missing their 2025 waste targets.
• Eastern Europe's rates linger at 36-38%, a long way from Germany's 99%; the gap traces to collection efficiency rather than consumer habits.

Three Practical Routes Forward

• Design for recyclability: shift to mono-material builds such as ultra-thin metallisation, or separable layers that satisfy EFSA safety standards.
• Lock in recycled supply: long-term agreements with recyclers help, and Ball Corporation's closed-loop aluminium cups plus China's food-grade rPET advances show it can be done.
• Press for harmonisation: back EU-wide EPR and deposit-return systems, since Germany's near-total aluminium recovery demonstrates the model delivers.

A €1/kg charge is not merely a line-item cost — it is a signal: adapt, or be phased out. Supplying spout pouches, bag-in-box (BIB), stand-up pouches with taps, colostrum bags, liquid packaging bags and laminated roll film, KODY PACK guides food, personal care and liquid packaging customers through structure selection and recyclable design. Reach out for samples or packaging compliance advice.