The plastics own resource, in place since 1 January 2021, consists of a national contribution based on the amount of non-recycled plastic packaging waste. This own resource is closely linked to the EU policy priorities. This is expected to encourage Member States to reduce packaging waste and stimulate Europe's transition towards a circular economy by implementing the European Plastics Strategy. At the same time, it leaves Member States the possibility to define the most suitable policies to reduce plastic packaging waste pollution in line with the principle of subsidiarity.
A uniform call rate of €0.80 per kilogram will be applied to the weight of plastic packaging waste that is not recycled, with a mechanism to avoid excessive contributions from less wealthy Member States.
How does it work in practice?
The contributions will be calculated based on Eurostat data, which Member States already collect and provide under existing reporting obligations. More concretely, following the Packaging and packaging waste Directive (Directive 94/62/ECC) and its Implementing Decision (Decision (EU) 2019/665), Member States already provide data on plastic packaging waste generation and recycling. The data is publicly available on the Eurostat website.
Given that the exact data is reported to Eurostat in July of the year N+2, the European Commission will first calculate the contributions based on forecasts, to be agreed between the EU Member States and the Commission. This is a standard practice also applied for other sources of revenue to the EU budget.
Once final data is available, the European Commission will adapt the calculations of Member States’ contributions accordingly.
For instance, in 2021 (after the entry into force of the Own Resources Decision), Member States will pay their contributions, on a monthly basis, based on forecasts. This contribution will be adjusted after July 2023 when the final data will be available.