Single-Use Plastics Phase-Out and Circular Plastic Packaging

Under the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans (GAWB), the Circular Economy pillar supports the transition away from single-use plastics (SUP) and towards circular plastic packaging. This work responds primarily to Action 22 of the Revised Action Plan (2025–2030), which commits the Western Balkans Six (WB6) to phasing out the most polluting single-use plastics and integrating circular solutions for plastic packaging by 2030. Its delivery is supported by Action 19 on functional Extended Producer Responsibility systems and Action 20 on enabling waste-management infrastructure.

This assessment sets out how the WB6 can move from fragmented efforts to a coherent transition pathway aligned with the European Green Deal, the European Union (EU) Single-Use Plastics Directive and the GAWB. Its central message is that reducing the most problematic SUP items and building the systems needed for circular plastic packaging are two sides of the same task.

REGIONAL PROGRESS OVERVIEW

The WB6 face a dual challenge: reducing the most problematic SUP items that dominate litter streams while simultaneously fixing the system backbone needed to deliver circular outcomes for plastic packaging. That backbone consists of functioning Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems and, where relevant, Deposit Return Schemes (DRS), sufficient collection and sorting infrastructure, and effective enforcement. Circular plastic packaging is therefore not only an environmental priority but a matter of industrial policy, trade competitiveness and regulatory convergence for a region that exports packaged goods to the EU. Without packaging designed for recyclability and meaningful recycled content, even major waste-sector reforms will struggle to deliver measurable circularity.

Packaging EPR frameworks are established or being introduced across the WB6, aligning with the EU Waste Framework Directive and the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. However, their maturity and performance remain uneven. Weak enforcement, incomplete producer registration, free-riding, poor Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) transparency, unreliable data, limited infrastructure and low public participation prevent the systems from delivering their full potential. The immediate priority is to move from legal frameworks to functioning systems through mandatory producer registration, harmonised reporting, audited data and eco-modulated fees that reward recyclable and reusable packaging.

DRS schemes remain largely at the planning or early-implementation stage. Compatible domestic systems should therefore be developed around common deposit, return and clearing principles, with a clear division of responsibilities between EPR and DRS. This is particularly important in view of the EU target, mandated by the Single-Use Plastics Directive, to separately collect 90% of single-use plastic beverage bottles by 2029.

The WB6 most commonly identify five priority SUP groups: plastic bags, beverage containers, cups for beverages, food containers and single-use cutlery, plates, straws and stirrers.

Stakeholders perceive the strongest near-term market readiness and economic viability for alternatives to plastic bags, followed by cups for beverages and food and beverage containers. Alternatives are considered least readily available for cigarette butts, balloons and wet wipes.

Figure 1. Current market readiness and economic viability of readily available alternatives to SUP items 
Source: Regional Cooperation Council, Support to the RCC Secretariat in Advancing Regional Action on Single-Use Plastics Phase-Out and Circular Plastic Packaging (Sarajevo: Regional Cooperation Council, 2025), based on CETEOR survey data (2025).

A regionally agreed core list would provide the basis for coordinated bans or restrictions, economic instruments, public-procurement criteria and reuse initiatives, while allowing implementation timelines to reflect the different starting points of the WB6. It would also provide a coherent signal to producers, retailers and investors that the region is moving in a common direction.

Note: The Regional Pledge for the five priority SUP groups has already been prepared and is expected to be endorsed as part of the Žabljak Declaration in 2026.

The transition can be underpinned by viable private-sector business models:

• Operating a domestic DRS for beverage containers, with a single system operator financed through producer fees, unredeemed deposits and the sale of high-quality recyclate, achieving high return rates and supplying feedstock for recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) and metal recycling;
• PET bottle-to-bottle recycling plants producing food-grade rPET, capitalising on EU recycled-content obligations and creating regional hubs for high-value recycling aligned with EU food-contact standards;
• Reverse-logistics providers for packaging and reusable systems, offering integrated collection, washing and logistics services for reusable cups, containers and transport packaging in hotel, restaurant and catering (HoReCa), retail and events.

Financing and demand-side measures must be tied to measurable results. EPR and DRS revenues should transparently support prevention, reuse, collection, sorting and recycling, while eco-modulated fees should reward recyclable and reusable packaging and penalise problematic designs. Public procurement can accelerate market change by introducing SUP-free, recyclability and recycled-content criteria and, by the end of 2028, excluding the five priority SUP groups from central-government framework contracts for catering and events.

The report sets out a phased implementation pathway. In 2026, priorities are political anchoring through the Regional Pledge on the top five SUPs, establishment of the regional platform and expert groups, and preparation of an investment and project pipeline, building on the Regional Action Plan on the Prevention of Plastic Pollution, including Marine Litter. During 2027–2028, regional frameworks should be translated into binding domestic measures, functional packaging EPR systems established across the WB6, DRS prepared or introduced in pilot WB6, and reuse and refill systems expanded. By 2028, all WB6 should have strategies and bans or restrictions covering the five priority SUP groups. By 2029, at least 50% of plastic packaging placed on the market should be recyclable, reusable or compostable. By 2030, average recycled plastic content in plastic packaging should reach 30%, with PET beverage bottles aligned with applicable EU targets.

Deposit Return Schemes across the WB6

Regional takeaway: No WB6 currently operates a fully functional DRS. Kosovo* is moving towards implementation, Montenegro has enabling legislation and Serbia has drafted provisions, while Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia do not yet have DRS legislation in place.

Table 2. DRS schemes comparison 
Source: Regional Cooperation Council, Support to the RCC Secretariat in Advancing Regional Action on Single-Use Plastics Phase-Out and Circular Plastic Packaging (Sarajevo: Regional Cooperation Council, 2025).

Extended Producer Responsibility across the WB6

Regional takeaway: EPR maturity ranges from pending or early implementation to systems that have operated for several years but continue to face enforcement, transparency, free-rider, data and infrastructure challenges.

Table 3. EPR schemes comparison. 
Source: Regional Cooperation Council, Support to the RCC Secretariat in Advancing Regional Action on Single-Use Plastics Phase-Out and Circular Plastic Packaging (Sarajevo: Regional Cooperation Council, 2025).