Mr. Jean-Pierre Schweitzer:

On the packaging of health products, there was a great deal of lobbying in Brussels during the pandemic from single-use packaging companies claiming that reusable options were not hygienic. I strongly refute that and am happy to submit evidence on it. In fact, many reusable materials like glass and steel can be washed in industrial washing facilities at very high temperatures - much higher than the temperatures possible with most single-use materials – which shows there is a possibility for them to be just as, if not more, hygienically clean than the single-use options. As I said, I am happy to submit evidence on this. Our partners at Zero Waste Europe have collected a significant amount of information on the topic.

I have an English translation of the Italian ruling the Senator referred to, which I am happy to share with her, but I do not know the particulars about how the authorities there managed to prosecute the company in question. One issue that is interesting to consider - implementation in this regard may be ongoing in Ireland – is the sale of goods directive and the length of the legal guarantee period. I understand the minimum period in the EU is two years but there is the possibility to extend it to three.

There is a burden of proof, which describes the amount of time consumers have to prove that the fault in the product is due to the manufacture. This can also be extended to two years. This is something to look into because it at least extends slightly the period of time in which consumers have some control over the products they own. Admittedly, however, this is only a three-year period and many products, if we think about laptops or washing machines, should really last much longer than this. It is, however, something that could be worth looking at.

Mineral extraction is a very important topic because if we think about the transition we all need to make time now in moving towards climate neutrality, we will need an awful lot of minerals and materials to produce renewable energy batteries and electrification. Any kind of wasteful application of electronic products or products containing critical materials at this time is dreadful. It is in this context that we have to think about it. I do not have any suggestion on how we can monitor obsolescence for products but it is an issue we should consider and take seriously.