When the new waste management system was introduced this summer, the high level of fees hit food manufacturing companies rather unexpectedly. 

As part of the European Green Deal and the new circular economy action plan, the European Commission put forward a revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive in November 2022. The objective is to ensure that all packaging is reusable or recyclable in an economically feasible way by 2030. The aim is to reinforce the essential requirements for packaging to ensure its reuse and recycling, boost the uptake of recycled content, and improve the requirements' enforceability. 

Measures are also envisaged to tackle over-packaging and reduce packaging waste. The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) will come into force next year, requiring manufacturers to pay for the packaging that they use.

Hungarian manufacturers want to ensure that the government does not cause further cost increases for them by further raising the fees. According to the Association of Responsible Food Manufacturers, these are considered exceptionally high even at the European level, and the worry is this may also be reflected in the level of food prices and food inflation.