EU Confirms Metal Ring-Pull Caps and Sealed Aluminium Lids Fall Outside Single-Use Plastics Rules

The European Commission has ruled out an EU ban on metal ring-pull caps and sealed aluminium lids used with single-use plastic beverage bottles and beverage containers, clarifying that these closures fall outside the scope of the Single-Use Plastics Directive. The clarification is contained in Communication C/2026/4813, published in the C series of the EU Official Journal on 8 September, as reported by ItaliaOggi.

An update to the 2021 guidance

The communication updates the guidelines the Commission issued in 2021 on the interpretation and implementation of Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on reducing the environmental impact of certain plastic products, known as the SUPD.

The revision is narrow. It amends the table on caps, lids and covers contained in section 4.4.2 of the guidelines, and turns on the classification of a plastic cap used in combination with an aluminium foil lid — a configuration typically found on high-density polyethylene bottles for UHT-treated milk.

What stays in scope and what falls out

Excluded from the directive are the metal ring-pull cap with a plastic seal and plastic tab, and the sealed aluminium lid used with single-use plastic beverage bottles and beverage containers. Plastic closures remain fully covered. According to the updated table, the following are within scope:

• all plastic caps used in combination with single-use plastic beverage bottles;
• plastic caps used with single-use plastic beverage pouches;
• flip-top caps for single-use plastic beverage containers;
• the plastic cap with a distinct plastic seal.

Table 7 of the guidelines sets out illustrative examples of caps and sealed lids for single-use plastic beverage bottles and containers, specifying in each case whether the item falls inside or outside the scope of Article 6(1) of the SUPD — the provision requiring caps and lids to remain attached to their containers.

How the Commission separates caps, sealed lids and lids

The Commission notes that caps and lids close beverage containers in order to preserve their contents. They are used together with beverage containers, beverage bottles and beverage cups to ensure the liquid does not leak and can be transported. Neither the directive nor any other EU legislation or technical standard in force defines these terms clearly, but the communication states that a distinction between them can be drawn.

Caps are closures fitted to beverage containers or beverage bottles, for example to stop the liquid escaping — including after a sealed lid has been removed — and to allow safe transport.

Sealed lids consist of plastic or composite material, including plastic films sealed onto beverage containers, beverage bottles and beverage cups. They can be peeled off or torn away. Once a consumer removes one at first opening, it cannot be repositioned on the product. The category can also cover certain caps of larger diameter or of non-round shape.

Lids are closing devices used on beverage cups that protect the liquid but generally do not seal it completely. They can be put back on the product after removal without losing their closing function. Some lids include a tamper-evident element, which is treated as part of the closure system.

Compliance implications for fillers and converters

For beverage fillers, packaging converters and closure manufacturers, the practical effect is that formats using an aluminium foil lid on HDPE bottles — the standard configuration for UHT milk — are not caught by the tethered-cap obligation of Article 6(1). Producers using all-plastic closures, including flip-top caps and caps with a separate plastic seal, remain subject to it.

The guidelines are interpretative and do not amend the text of Directive 2019/904 itself; enforcement continues to rest on national transposition. The updated table nonetheless sets the reference point against which closures placed on the EU market by manufacturers and importers will be assessed.