Companies must pay the EU fine for non-recycled plastic packaging, says Portuguese NGO

 

Portugal will pay an EU fine of €200 million next year for non-recycled plastic packaging on the market, but environmental group Zero says those who put it on the market should be the ones to pay.

Each member state pays €800 for each tonne of non-recycled waste, and Portugal will pay more than €200 million next year, according to the report on the proposed draft state budget for 2025 (OE2025). 

For the environmental group, this is an "unacceptable practice" because "all citizens and businesses will pay for the unsustainability of the current single-use packaging model" rather than only those who put it on the market, which would deter such practices. 

This obligation removes resources from the state budget that are essential for investing, for example, in waste, "where Portugal faces very significant challenges in meeting the EU targets to which it is obliged," the association added.  (...)