EU Plastic Tax Hits €1/kg in 2028: Can Aluminium Adapt?

The EU's non-recycled plastic levy rises to €1 per kilogram in 2028, up from €0.80, putting aluminium-plastic composite packaging under direct cost pressure. Under the PPWR, which took effect in early 2025, all packaging must be recyclable by 2030, and multi-material laminates are the hardest to recycle mechanically.

The EU's non-recycled plastic levy reaches €1 per kilogram in 2028

The EU's non-recycled plastic levy is set at €1 per kilogram in 2028, up from €0.80 per kilogram, and the rate is index-linked to inflation and written into the bloc's long-term budget. For makers of multi-layer pouches, stand-up bags and liquid packaging, the levy turns recycling compliance from an environmental talking point into an operating cost.

The PPWR requires all packaging to be recyclable by 2030

The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), in force since early 2025, requires all packaging to be recyclable by 2030 and sets staged targets: 50% for plastic and aluminium by 2025, then 70% for aluminium and 55% for plastic by 2030. Aluminium-plastic laminates have to satisfy both the aluminium and the plastic recovery tracks.

Aluminium cans recycle well, while aluminium-plastic laminates barely recycle at all

Aluminium cans average a 74.5% recycling rate in Europe and reach 99% in Germany's deposit-return system, whereas flexible laminates that fuse aluminium foil with polyethylene or polypropylene are nearly impossible to recycle mechanically. Aluminium Deutschland warns that food-grade recycled plastic remains scarce, concentrated among a handful of suppliers amid fierce global competition.

Chemical recycling and delamination offer a route, but Europe's infrastructure lags

Chemical recycling and delamination technologies, such as hydro-pulping to separate layers, can recover value from aluminium-plastic composites, and pilot projects in China have reached 50% recycling rates for similar composites. Europe lacks standardised collection systems, a core PPWR requirement, so recovered aluminium often ends up in lower-grade applications instead of high-barrier packaging.

Fragmented national policies raise compliance costs for cross-border suppliers

Germany charges producers through its Einwegkunststofffondsgesetz, France relies on extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes, and Italy has delayed its plastic tax to 2026. The European Environment Agency reports that 18 EU states risk missing their 2025 waste targets, with Eastern European recycling rates hovering at 36%-38% against Germany's 99%, a gap rooted in collection efficiency rather than consumer habits.

Three moves for aluminium packaging producers

• Design for recyclability: shift to mono-material structures such as ultra-thin metallisation, or to separable layers that meet EFSA safety standards.
• Secure recycled supply chains: sign long-term contracts with recyclers; Ball Corporation's closed-loop aluminium cups and China's food-grade rPET breakthroughs show the model works.
• Push for harmonisation: advocate EU-wide EPR and deposit-return schemes; Germany's near-total aluminium recovery rate proves the model.

Guangdong Kody Packaging (Dongguan Kody Plastic Products Co., Ltd. / Guangdong Kody Packaging Products Co., Ltd.) supplies multi-layer pouches, stand-up bags and liquid packaging to food, pharma and beverage exporters, and builds recyclable structure design into new product development.

The €1 per kilogram levy is not just a cost, it is a signal that aluminium-plastic packaging producers must evolve or risk obsolescence.

Q: How much is the EU plastic tax in 2028?

A: The EU's non-recycled plastic levy is €1 per kilogram in 2028, up from €0.80 per kilogram. The rate is index-linked to inflation and written into the EU's long-term budget, so it is a long-term cost item for aluminium-plastic composite packaging.

Q: Can aluminium-plastic composite packaging still be mechanically recycled?

A: Aluminium foil fused with polyethylene or polypropylene is nearly impossible to recycle mechanically. Chemical recycling and delamination are the working alternatives, and pilot projects in China have reached 50% recycling rates for similar composites, though Europe's collection and sorting infrastructure is not yet ready.

Q: How should an aluminium packaging maker respond to the PPWR 2030 recyclability goal?

A: Focus on three moves: switch to mono-material or separable-layer structures that meet EFSA standards, lock in food-grade recycled material through long-term contracts with recyclers, and push for EU-wide EPR and deposit-return schemes, the model Germany's aluminium recovery rate already proves.