Unified EU recycling labels, still rare in Estonia, coming to food by 2028
By 2028, food packaging across the EU will need unified recycling labels — a change still uncommon in Estonia, where such markings appear mostly on imported goods.
In larger EU countries, shoppers may already notice clear recycling symbols on food packaging — a ham packet labeled as plastic, a bread bag marked for paper recycling.
Estonia has yet to widely adopt such markings, but that will change once the EU's new labeling rules take effect.
"Given the small size of the Estonian market, it hasn't made sense to create a labeling system just for Estonia," said Dagny Kungus, adviser at the Ministry of Climate's Circular Economy Department. She added that an EU-wide rulebook setting unified criteria for all packaging is expected in the second half of next year.
The new labels won't only indicate how to sort waste. They'll also include details about packaging materials, reuse options and, likely, a QR code linking to additional information.
"Through that code, consumers can access other details that don't fit on the package itself," said Estonian Retailers' Association (EKL) managing director Nele Peil.
Producers will also be responsible for labeling waste containers, Kungus said. Those costs would likely be covered through producer responsibility organizations.
"When consumers throw something away, they should know exactly which bin it goes in," she explained.
The ministry adviser noted that the reform shouldn't significantly affect food prices since producers already redesign packaging regularly.
But Peil warned that building the digital tracking systems behind the labels could get expensive. For example, some specially marked reusable packages will have to be washable and logged for how many times they're reused.
"The logos themselves aren't costly," she said. "It's the IT systems behind them that will be."
France's early rollout of its own national labels has already caused friction. The European Commission has launched infringement proceedings, asking the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to determine whether France's labeling rules restrict the free movement of goods within the bloc.
The new EU-wide system, meanwhile, will take effect in 2028, with a three-year transition period for producers to use up existing packaging.
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Editor: Barbara Oja, Aili Vahtla
