European political exchange: Vice-President of the European Parliament visits Jokey Group

Sabine Verheyen, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and First Vice-President, and Christian Berger, Member of the NRW State Parliament for the CDU, visited the Jokey Group at its headquarters in Wipperfürth on Saturday, January 18, 2025. The meeting focused on the new EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) adopted by the Council of the European Union at the end of December 2024. Verheyen found out how Jokey is developing recyclable and climate-friendly packaging solutions, using recycled secondary raw materials and setting up targeted recycling systems.

On Saturday, January 18, 2025, the First Vice-President of the European Parliament, Sabine Verheyen, visited the Jokey Group at its headquarters in Wipperfürth. The visit took place against the backdrop of the imminent introduction of the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). The Council of the European Union approved the new regulation on December 16, 2024. The EU packaging regulation PPWR aims to reduce the environmental impact of packaging. Among other things, the regulation requires companies to adapt the design and use of materials in order to increase recycling and reuse. Key aspects include reducing the weight of packaging and promoting the circular economy. During a tour of production at the Wipperfürth site, the CDU politician was able to see for herself how Jokey is already implementing the requirements of the PPWR, from the design to the recycling of its packaging solutions and the reuse of secondary raw materials (recyclates).

Following her visit to the Jokey Group, Sabine Verheyen emphasized: “A functioning, practical circular economy is essential in order to make packaging solutions more sustainable – especially in the plastics sector. Jokey is a pioneer in the development of recyclable and climate-friendly packaging and shows what is possible. I will continue to campaign for clear and practicable implementation of legislation to promote innovation in this area.

The Jokey Group processes thousands of tons of recyclate from household packaging collections. The company’s goal is to achieve maximum substitution of virgin plastics in the production of packaging for the non-food industry by 2030.

“We would like to thank Ms. Verheyen for her visit, the good discussion and the open exchange,” says Jens Stadter, CEO of the Jokey Group. “Giving political decision-makers well-founded insights into our industry, its diverse challenges and the interactions of international markets is a matter of course for Jokey,” continues Mr. Stadter.

Stadter continues. With its production sites in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, the Jokey Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of rigid plastic packaging.

The central topic of discussion was Article 29 of the PPWR, which requires the reuse of packaging – including packaging with chemical residues or food waste. Jokey is very critical of such an obligation from an ecological, hygienic and economic point of view and does not consider it to be expedient. In its current form, the obligation would pose the risk of inefficient processes that could impair the current progress of the circular economy. Sabine Verheyen emphasized that the concerns of the industry must be heard in the legislative process in order to reconcile environmental policy objectives with economic feasibility.

The meeting with Sabine Verheyen was attended by Ralf Kemmerich (Chairman of the Board of Directors), CEO Jens Stadter, CFO Peter Dörmbach and Sustainability Officer Michael Schmitz.

All participants praised the productive and fair discussion, which provided important impetus on how the European plastics system should be designed in order to remain competitive in the future and to produce packaging in a recyclable and climate-friendly manner.