No C 204/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 13.8.81 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Directive on containers of liquids for human consumption 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 23 April 1981) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 235 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the first action programme of the European 
Communities on the environment (') recognizes the 
need for Community action relating to certain types 
of waste, including used containers; whereas the 
second action programme of the European 
Communities on the environment (2) emphasizes inter 
alia the importance of re-using or recycling the 
various materials contained in waste; 
Whereas Article 3 of Council Directive 75/442/EEC 
of 15 July 1975 on waste (3) calls for the 
implementation of measures to encourage the 
prevention, recycling and processing of waste; 
Whereas at its meeting of 9 April 1979, when 
examining the communication from the Commission on the tightening-up of the Community's environ­
mental policy (4), the Council called on the 
Commission to propose appropriate measures to 
promote inter alia the standardization of containers 
of liquids for human consumption (5); 
Whereas containers of liquids for human 
consumption account for a significant proportion of 
urban waste and are a source of litter; whereas the 
cost of collecting and disposing of household waste is 
a matter of growing concern to local authorities and 
governments in the Member States; 
Whereas the environmental impact of used containers 
should be reduced and a reduction in the 
consumption of energy and raw materials 
encouraged; 
Whereas Member States should fix, each year and for 
each type of packaging material, the objectives to be 
progressively attained in respect of the increase in the 
quantities of containers refilled and/or recycled and 
the reduction in the tonnage and/or volume of 
containers in household waste; whereas moreover for 
reasons of hygiene or because of special regulations it 
is impossible, in respect of certain containers of 
liquids for human consumption, such as for example 
those of vinegar and olive oil, for them to be refilled; 
Whereas, in order to attain these objectives, Member 
States should take all necessary and appropriate 
measures, whether by legislative or administrative 
means or by voluntary agreements, concerning the 
recovery of waste, technological innovation, the 
choice of containers and methods of distribution, and 
consumer education; 
(') OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973, p. 1. 
(2) OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977, p. 33 
C) OJ No L 194, 25. 7. 1975, p. 47. (4) COM(79)144 final, 22. 3. 1979. 
(5) Document 6755/79 (ENV/73), 29. 5. 1979. 
13.8.81 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 204/7 
Whereas there are various means of achieving the 
recovery of waste; whereas if a deposit system is used 
certain conditions must be complied with; 
Whereas Member States should take all appropriate 
measures to discourage the bringing on to the market 
of new containers which are neither refillable nor 
recyclable or which it would be difficult to recycle; 
Whereas Member States should encourage the use on 
their territory of containers of liquids for human 
consumption which comply with Council Directive 
75/106/EEC of 19 December 1974 on the approx­
imation of the laws of the Member States relating to 
the making-up by volume of certain prepackaged 
liquids O as amended by Directive 79/10C5/EEC (2); 
Whereas Member States should gather data to enable 
an assessment to be carried out of the progress made, 
and should send these data to the Commission every 
two years in the form of a report; 
Whereas the measures taken by Member States to 
comply with the present Directive should not be at 
variance with the provisions of the Treaty, and in 
particular with those concerning the free movement 
of goods; 
Whereas the Commission should be notified of such 
measures at the draft stage so that it can examine 
whether they are in line with the present Directive 
and the EEC Treaty and, where appropriate, ask 
Member States to suspend the introduction of such 
measures in order to enable it to prepare proposals in 
this area and submit them to the Council; 
Whereas the Committee on Waste Management set 
up by Commission Decision 76/431/EEC (3) can play 
a particularly useful role by advising the Commission 
concerning the implementation of the Directive, and 
in particular concerning new containers; 
Whereas the Treaty has not provided the necessary 
powers, and Article 235 of the EEC Treaty should 
therefore be invoked, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
The objective of this Directive is to provide for action 
to be taken in the field of production, marketing, use 
and disposal of containers of liquids for human 
consumption in order to reduce the environmental 
impact of used containers, to encourage a reduction 
in energy consumption and to save raw materials. 
(') OJNoL42, 15. 2. 1975, p. 1. 
O OJ No L 308, 4. 12. 1979, p. 25. 
(J) OJ No L 115, 1. 5. 1976, p. 73. Article 2 
For the purposes of this Directive: 
(a) liquids for human consumption means the liquids 
listed in Annex I; 
(b) container means any bottle, can, jar, carton or 
any other type of initially sealed container 
(excluding barrels and casks) which contains a 
liquid for human consumption and is made of 
glass, metal, plastic, paper or any other material; 
(c) refillable container means any container which 
once emptied is capable of being refilled for 
further use; 
(d) recyclable container means any container the 
constituent materials of which can be used to 
manufacture new containers or different products 
or, where appropriate, to generate energy; 
(e) returnable container means any container in 
respect of which the consumer pays the retailer, 
at the time of purchase of a liquid for human 
consumption contained in that container, a 
certain sum of money (deposit) which is repaid to 
the consumer when the container is returned; 
(f) recovery of containers means the re-use of any 
used container either by refilling of recycling. 
Article 3 
Each year, Member States shall fix, for each type of 
packaging material, the objectives to be attained in 
the following year concerning: 
— the reduction in the tonnage and/or volume of 
containers in household waste; 
— the increase in the amount of refilled and/or 
recycled containers. This increase is to be 
calculated by comparing the quantities of refilled 
or recycled containers with the quantities of 
containers brought on to and used on the market 
(total quantities of containers produced and 
imported less the quantities of containers 
exported). 
Article 4 
In order to attain the objectives fixed in accordance 
with Article 3 Member States shall take all necessary 
and appropriate measures, either by legislative or 
administrative means or by voluntary agreements. 
These measures shall seek inter alia: 
(a) to encourage the recovery of used containers, 
taking into account health factors and any 
restrictions arising out of Community legislation; 
No C 204/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 13.8.81 
(b) to promote technological innovation; 
(c) to bring about changes, where necessary, in the 
choice of containers and methods of distribution; 
(d) to develop consumer education in the use and 
disposal of containers. 
Article 5 
Measures to be taken by Member States pursuant to 
Article 4 relating to the recovery of used containers 
shall include, in particular, measures which seek to: 
— promote selective collections far containers; 
— assist the development of effective processes for 
the sorting and treatment of household waste; 
— promote the widest possible range of outlets for 
the materials recovered from used containers. 
Article 6 
Measures to be taken by Member States pursuant to 
Article 4 regarding the promotion of technological 
innovation shall, without prejudice to considerations 
of safety, seek to reduce the weight of containers and 
save energy. 
Article 7 
1. Measures to be taken by Member States 
pursuant to Article 4 regarding the choice of 
containers and methods of disdtribution may, in 
particular, seek to increase the proportion of refillable 
containers used. 
2. Where a deposit system is used, Member States 
shall take steps to ensure that: 
(a) every container of liquids for human consumption 
which is offered for sale by a retailer clearly bears 
the symbol 'R', either on the container itself or 
on the label, to indicate that it is a returnable 
container. The symbol must be affixed in such a 
way that it will remain intact when the container 
is opened; 
(b) the consumer is clearly informed of the amount 
of the deposit. Article 8 
1. Member States shall take the necessary steps by 
the appropriate means to discourage the bringing on 
to the market of new containers which are neither 
refillable nor recyclable or which, because of the 
materials from which they are made, would be 
difficult to recycle. 
2. They shall communicate to the Committee on 
Waste Management the information which they have 
concerning such containers. 
Article 9 
1. Member States shall encourage the use on their 
territory of containers of liquids for human 
consumption which comply with Directive 75/106/ 
EEC. 
2. In order to simplify sorting operations and 
promote the standardization of containers, Member 
States shall develop, insofar as barriers to trade are 
not thereby liable to be created, the use of standard 
containers for the liquids for human consumption 
listed in Annex I. 
3. In consultation with the sectors of industry 
concerned, the Commission shall establish and submit 
to the Council as soon as possible, proposals for 
common rules relating to the standardization of 
containers for the liquids for human consumption 
referred to in items 3 and 8 of Annex I. 
Article 10 
1. Member States shall gather data to enable the 
results of the measures taken in order to attain the 
objectives fixed in this Directive to be checked and to 
enable an assessment to be made of the progress 
made on their territory. For this purpose, they shall 
set up appropriate structures and methods insofar as 
such structures and methods do not already exist. 
2. Every two years, as from 1 January 1985, 
Member States shall submit a report to the 
Commission on the results and progress referred to in 
paragraph 1. This report shall be drawn up in 
accordance with the guidelines given in Annex II. 
Article 11 
1. Member States shall communicate to the 
Commission all the draft measures, whether 
legislative, administrative or in the form of voluntary 
agreements, by which they propose to attain the 
objectives fixed in conformity with Article 3 and to 
apply the provisions of Articles 8 and 9. The 
13.8.81 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 204/9 
provisions of the Agreement of the Representatives of 
the Governments of the Member States meeting in 
Council of 5 March 1973 on information for the 
Commission and for the Member States with a view 
to possible harmonization throughout the 
Communities of urgent measures concerning the 
protection of the environment (') shall apply with 
respect to such draft measures. 
2. Member States shall notify to the Commission 
the objectives which they fix in pursuance of Article 3 
before 15 October of the year preceding that for 
which those objectives are fixed. They shall also 
notify to the Commission the other measures which 
are adopted pursuant to this Directive. Article 12 
1. Member States shall fix the objectives referred 
to in Article 3 for the first time in 1984, in respect of 
the year 1985, taking as reference basis the mean 
value for the years 1981 to 1983. 
2. Member States shall take the necessary measures 
for implementing Articles 8 and 9 as from 1 January 
1984. 
Article 13 
(') OJ No C 9, 15. 3. 1973, p. 1. This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
ANNEX I 
1. (a) Wine of fresh grapes (CCT heading No ex 22.05 C) 
(b) Other still fermented beverages, for example cider, perry and mead (CCT heading No 22.07 
B II) 
(c) Vermouths, and other flavoured wines of fresh grapes (CCT heading No 22.06) liqueur 
wines (CCT heading No ex 22.05 C) 
2. (a) Sparkling wines (CCT heading No 22.05 A + B) 
(b) Other sparkling fermented drinks, for example cider, perry and mead (CCT heading 
No 22.07 B I) 
3. Beer (CCT heading No 22.03) 
4. Spirits and other spirituous beverages (CCT heading No 22.09) 
5. Vinegar and substitutes for vinegar (CCT heading No 22.10) 
6. Edible oils (CCT heading No 15.07 A I) (CCT heading No 15.07 D II) 
7. Milk and milk-based beverages sold by volume (CCT heading No 04.01) (excluding yoghourt 
and kephir) 
8. (a) Waters, including spa waters and aerated waters (CCT heading No 22.01) 
(b) Lemonade, flavoured spa waters and flavoured aerated waters, and other non-alcoholic 
beverages, not including fruit and vegetable juices (CCT heading No 22.02 A) 
9. Fruit juices and vegetables juices (CCT heading No 20.07) 
No C 204/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 13. 8. 81 
ANNEX II 
The reports referred to in Article 10 shall include: 
— Separately for each type of packaging material, the percentages of re-used or recycled 
containers, by reference to the amount of containers manufactured and imported less the 
number of exported containers, and/or 
— Separately for each type of packaging material, the weight of non-recovered containers in 
household waste. 
These reports shall, as far as possible, include data on the energy consumption arising from each 
process in the life of a container (production, filling, recycling, etc.). 
The reports shall also describe the methods by which the data was gathered and processed. 
These reports shall, as far as possible, be presented to the Commission in the following form: 
Material 
(glass, PVC, PE, PET, other plastic materials, metal, cardboard composites, other) 
Quantities produced: 
(tonnes and number of containers) 
Quantities imported: 
(tonnes and number of containers) 
Quantities exported: 
(tonnes and number of containers) 
Percentage of re-used containers (by 
reference to the total quantities of 
containers produced and imported less 
the quantities exported) 
Percentage of recycled containers (by 
reference to the total quantitites of 
containers produced and imported less 
the quantities exported) 
Quantities of non-recovered used 
containers Year concerned Reference basis