As of 1 January 2023, restaurants will be prohibited from selling food and drinks in cardboard or plastic when clients want to consume on location. This means that fast food businesses will have to rethink how they serve their products.
The next change for restaurants will come into effect in 2025. Businesses will then no longer be allowed to use disposable packaging for take-away and delivery services.
Grocery stores will also be affected by the new waste disposal acts as fruit and vegetables below a certain weight can no longer be wrapped. Furthermore, large supermarkets will have to set up their own recycling centres and offer to take back packages.
MP Jean-Paul Schaaf from the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) praised the new laws for their contemporary nature, but criticised the fact that they were created without consulting representatives from the sector.
MP Fred Keup from the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) expressed doubt that the new acts will bring about a significant impact and questioned the supermarket recycling centres in particular.
Doubt was also voiced that large multinationals will actually change their packaging practices in light of Luxembourg’s new waste disposal acts.
