Guide No.15
Revision III
Published on: 12/03/2025
Guidance on single-use plastic directive (EU) 2019/904 and standard EN 17665+A1
Scope of application
This guide is intended to offer interested parties like bottlers, brand owners or closure manufacturers an introduction to the application of the Single-Use Plastic Directive (SUP) 2019/904 [1] and harmonised standard EN17665 - PACKAGING - TEST METHODS AND REQUIREMENTS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT PLASTIC CAPS AND LIDS REMAIN ATTACHED TO BEVERAGE CONTAINERS, specifically Article 6 (1) to (4) which requires single-use plastic products, as defined in Part C of the Annex of the Directive, that have caps and lids made of plastic may be placed on the market only if the caps and lids remain attached to the container during the product’s intended use stage.
One purpose of this document is to guide parties intending to place products on the market that might fall into the scope of Article 6 (1) to (4) to answer the following questions:
Prevention notice:
Please note that the Single-Use Plastic Directive (SUP) 2019/904 [1] is legally binding and only the Court of Justice of the EU can give an authoritative interpretation of EU law.
One purpose of this document is to guide parties intending to place products on the market that might fall into the scope of Article 6 (1) to (4) to answer the following questions:
- Does my product fall into the scope of Article 6 (1) to (4) of the Directive?
- If so, does my product comply with Article 6 (1) to (4).
- If so, how can I demonstrate compliance with the Directive?
Prevention notice:
Please note that the Single-Use Plastic Directive (SUP) 2019/904 [1] is legally binding and only the Court of Justice of the EU can give an authoritative interpretation of EU law.
Table of contents
1 Scope
2 Definitions
3 Clarification of the Directive in the field of beverage packaging
3.1 How to better address recyclability
3.1.1 Impact of attached closures on collection
3.1.2 Impact of attached closures on recyclability of containers
3.2 Clarification of the interpretation of the European Commission Guidelines
3.2.1 Packaging components in scope
3.2.2 Specific case of sealing membranes
3.2.3 Distinction between beverage and food
2 Definitions
3 Clarification of the Directive in the field of beverage packaging
3.1 How to better address recyclability
3.1.1 Impact of attached closures on collection
3.1.2 Impact of attached closures on recyclability of containers
3.2 Clarification of the interpretation of the European Commission Guidelines
3.2.1 Packaging components in scope
3.2.2 Specific case of sealing membranes
3.2.3 Distinction between beverage and food
3.3 Clarification on the application date for placing products on the market
4 Reasoning for the requirements specified in the EN 17665+A1 STANDARD
4.1 Reasoning minimum tensile resistance force (Strength)
4.1.1 Containers with integrated neck finishes – 25 N minimum tensile resistance force
4.1.2 Containers where the neck finish is not an integral part – 12 N minimum tensile resistance force
4.2 Reasoning number of cycles (Reliability)
4.2.1 Number of cycles
4.2.2 Latency time
5 Help applying the harmonised standard
5.1 How to declare the conformity to the harmonised standard EN 17665+A1
5.2 Who shall declare compliance with Directive 2019/904?
6 Other questions asked about the harmonised standard
7 Related documents
7.1 Cetie
7.2 Standards
7.3 Others
8 Document history
Annexes
Annex A — DGPR statement (French Ministry for Environment), July 2024 / May 2023
Annex B — Infant milk Case of France, excluding infant milk from the scope of Article 6 (1) to (4)
Annex C — Example of a declaration of compliance with Directive 2019/904
Annex D — Example of a test report in accordance with EN 17665+A1
4 Reasoning for the requirements specified in the EN 17665+A1 STANDARD
4.1 Reasoning minimum tensile resistance force (Strength)
4.1.1 Containers with integrated neck finishes – 25 N minimum tensile resistance force
4.1.2 Containers where the neck finish is not an integral part – 12 N minimum tensile resistance force
4.2 Reasoning number of cycles (Reliability)
4.2.1 Number of cycles
4.2.2 Latency time
5 Help applying the harmonised standard
5.1 How to declare the conformity to the harmonised standard EN 17665+A1
5.2 Who shall declare compliance with Directive 2019/904?
6 Other questions asked about the harmonised standard
7 Related documents
7.1 Cetie
7.2 Standards
7.3 Others
8 Document history
Annexes
Annex A — DGPR statement (French Ministry for Environment), July 2024 / May 2023
Annex B — Infant milk Case of France, excluding infant milk from the scope of Article 6 (1) to (4)
Annex C — Example of a declaration of compliance with Directive 2019/904
Annex D — Example of a test report in accordance with EN 17665+A1
History
First edition: 06/2023
Revision I: 01/2024
Revision II: 07/2024
Revision III: 03/2025 - Text improvements and major rewriting of section 3.2.2 and 3.2.3.
First edition: 06/2023
Revision I: 01/2024
Revision II: 07/2024
Revision III: 03/2025 - Text improvements and major rewriting of section 3.2.2 and 3.2.3.
Contributors
ACQUA MINERALE SAN BENEDETTO, ACTEGA DS GmbH, ALPLA KUNSTSTOFF GmbH, ALPLA WAIDHOFEN GmbH, ALPLA WERKE Alwin Lehner GmbH & Co KG, AMCOR FLEXIBLES CAPSULES, AMCOR FLEXIBLES CAPSULES (SAINT-SEURIN), AMCOR RIGID PACKAGING PLC, APTAR FREYUNG GmbH, AROL S.p.A., BERICAP GmbH & Co. KG (BUDENHEIM), BERLIN PACKAGING FRANCE, BERLIN PACKAGING GERMANY, BERLIN PACKAGING NETHERLANDS B.V., BETAPACK, BRASSERIES KRONENBOURG SAS, BRITVIC SOFT DRINKS Ltd, CAP SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS, CITEO, COCA-COLA GmbH, COCA-COLA SERVICES FRANCE S.A., COCA-COLA SERVICES S.A/N.V. , CORVAGLIA MOULD AG, DAVID ROSE PACKAGING SOLUTIONS, DAVID SYRETT PACKAGING CONSULTANCY Ltd, ECKES GRANINI FRANCE, ECKES GRANINI GERMANY, ELIPSO (Fédération des entreprises de l'emballage plastique), EPG Service GmbH, ETS ANDRE ZALKIN & CIE, GENOSSENSCHAFT DEUTSCHER BRUNNEN EG, GEORGES MONIN S.A.S., HEINEKEN GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN, HEUFT FRANCE, HEUFT SYSTEMTECHNIK GmbH, HEUFT USA, HUSKY INJECTION MOLDING SYSTEM S.A , INTRAVIS GmbH, KRONES, LOGOPLASTE, LUCOZADE RIBENA SUNTORY LIMITED, LYONDELLBASELL INDUSTRIES - BASELL POLYOLEFINE GmbH, NESTLÉ PRODUCT TECHNOLOGY CENTRE KONOLFINGEN (SUISSE), NESTLE WATERS MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGIES S.A.S, NETSTAL Maschinen AG, OBRIST CLOSURES SWITZERLAND GMBH, OTTO HOFSTETTER AG, PEPSICO RUSSIA, PLASTISUD, REFRESCO FRANCE, RESILUX (BELGIUM), RETAL BALTIC FILMS, RETAL LITHUANIA, SACMI IMOLA, SAEME SAS Danone Eaux France, SECURE INDUSTRIES PVT LTD, SELIG FRANCE, SGT France, SIDEL BLOWING & SERVICES, SILGAN CLOSURES UK, SILGAN WHITE CAP MANUFACTURING GmbH, SIPA S.p.a., SOLOCAP-MAB S.A.S, SPA MONOPOLE S.A., SUMITOMO (SHI) DEMAG PLASTICS MACHINERY GMBH, SUNTORY BEVERAGES & FOOD EUROPE (FRANCE - AIX EN PROVENCE), TORRENT INNOVA S.A., TREFFPACK – C.E. GÄTCKE'S GLAS GESELLSCHAFT Mbh, UNITED CAP FRANCE, UNITED CAP WILZ, UNIVERSAL CLOSURE LIMITED (UCL), WISECAP GROUP, Z-MOULDS GmbH,
Document under responsibility of working group:
Sustainability aspects of rigid plastic and composite packaging
WG chair: Michael KRUEGER - CORVAGLIA MOULD AG
In the context of EU Directive 2019/904, this group developed the standard related to closures, that remain attached to containers, which became the harmonised standard EN 17665 published by CEN (European Committee for Standardisation ). It continues to support work on packaging aspects of sustainability standards and regulations like the EU PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation).
