Action Toolkit – Contact Your MEP
What’s happening?
The plenary vote on packaging waste (PPWR) is approaching fast. This is where the entire European Parliament, all 705 MEPs, will vote on the EU rules on packaging waste (PPWR) and we need to gather as much support as we can from all the MEPs to ensure the text is not further watered down by the European Parliament.
It is now urgent as the vote will be next week on Wednesday 22nd. As things stand, there is a very real risk of weakening the key waste prevention measures under the increasing pressure of the throwaway packaging lobbying.
We need the combined forces of the forest, paper, plastic and zero waste movements to ensure MEPs are aware of how much false information is being conveyed by the single-use industry, and how important it is to ensure reuse targets, as well as restrictions on unnecessary packaging & waste prevention measures are maintained.
How can I help?
- Reach out to your national Members of the European Parliament!
Here’s a step-by-step to guide you through it:
#1 The priority Political Groups are: The Left/GUE, S&D, EPP and Renew.
Find the full list of MEPs & contacts here!#2 Use this template to email them in your own language. Send this FAQ document that we elaborated together with our colleagues from the European Environmental Bureau, Break Free From Plastic, Rethink Plastic Alliance, Zero Waste Europe, FERN, ECOS, Deutsche Umwelthilfe and the Recycling Netwerke Benelux. You can find some DeepL translations available here. Be sure to review them first, as they are potentially imperfect.
#3 Choose a catchy email title! Here are some of our suggestions:
“PPWR Vote Now: Protect Our Planet from Single-Use Packaging Lobbyists”
“PPWR: Fight for Reuse, Not Throwaway Packing”
“Reduce Packaging Waste, Vote For a Strong PPWR!”#4 Send that email! Please reach out to your MEPs before November 21st,#5 Pick up that phone 😉
Keep in mind that phone calls will most probably have the highest chance of getting their interest and to actually lead to them hearing your arguments. Go over that shyness and pick up the phone!
- Get your national MEPs’ commitment to support, as a bare minimum, the ENVI compromises and avoid any further dilution of the reuse targets that will be put forward by single-use industries and right-wing political groups.
- Tell them you will be in touch with concrete voting recommendations on Tuesday, as we will be posting here (link will be available soon) voting recommendations as soon as possible after the voting list is published.
- Share the video and this page with friends and family members! Have more people reaching out to their elected representatives in the European Parliament and demand from them #ThrowAwayGoAway and to support #Reuse Targets!