A sweeping new EU law governing how products are packaged took effect on Wednesday, requiring manufacturers, hotels and food outlets across all 27 member states to overhaul packaging that has been standard for decades. The European Commission announced the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation now applies directly in every member state without the need for individual countries to write it into their own national law.
The regulation targets everyday items rarely thought of as environmental hazards, from the miniature shampoo bottles left in hotel bathrooms to the plastic sachets of ketchup handed out with takeaway orders. The Council of the EU, which along with the European Parliament adopted the law, sets out the full scope on its website.
