Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/1544601
1 0 Pallet C e nt ral • May -Ju ne 2 0 26 PLAY POLICY AT I n the last issue of PalletCentral, Kate Doherty, Director of Government Affairs for Woodpack, explained how Extended Producer Responsibility laws are changing packaging policy and highlighted the fight to keep wooden pallets properly classified under California's SB 54. at article showed why data-driven advocacy matters. is article shares how Woodpack Global (formerly the National Wooden Pallet & Container Association) used the same approach internationally and achieved a major win that protects pallet manufacturers everywhere, from the European Union to Texas. A Regulation That Could Have Reshaped The Global Pallet Market In November 2022, the European Commission introduced the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) to reduce packaging waste across all 27 EU member states by setting strict recycling and reuse requirements. e first draft required that 30% of transport packaging, including pallets, be part of a formal reuse system by 2030. at threshold would then increase to 90% by 2040. e impact this would have had on the pallet industry and in turn global trade cannot be overstated. Pallet manufacturers and exporters would need to track every pallet entering the EU, record each use, and prove a minimum number of reuse cycles, regardless of where the pallet was made. For most pallets, meeting these rules would not only be far too costly but nearly impossible. EU-based manufacturers would face the same challenges, driving up costs for everyone. We know that every additional regulatory cost gets passed down the supply chain, making our products more expensive to use. e regulation would have also kept most custom-designed packaging out of the EU market, forcing all pallets into a single reuse system. Contrary to the goal of the regulation, this would actually create more waste from broken products, not less. When we presented this to the Woodpack board, the mandate was clear: our industry does not support policies that unfairly favor How Showing Up In Brussels Protected The Pallet Industry Worldwide INSIDE WOODPACK GLOBAL'S MULTI- YEAR CAMPAIGN TO SECURE LANDMARK EXEMPTIONS IN THE EU'S PACKAGING AND PACKAGING WASTE REGULATION BY JASON ORTEGA