Starting from 01.01.2021, AO "Recycling" takes responsibility for PACKAGING waste

Most recently, in July of this year, the Regulation on packaging and packaging waste was approved by Government Decision no. 561 of 31.07.2020 and which will enter into force in August 2021. In accordance with the provisions of this Regulation, producers of packaging waste of various types, regardless of how (individually or collectively) will be responsible for organizing the process of proper waste management generated, and starting in 2023, they will also be responsible for reaching the first recycling recovery targets.

Responsibility for packaging that has become waste, in accordance with the provisions of art. 12 of Law no. 209/2016 on waste, it falls to him as follows:

1) producers who place packaged products on the markete – for packaging waste generated by primary, secondary and tertiary packaging, used for packaging the products they place on the market, with the exception of sales packaging;

2) producers who overpack packaged products for resale/redistribution on the market – for packaging used for overpacking;

3) manufacturers who manufacture/import, for placing on the market, retail packaging, including plastic shopping bags - for the respective packaging;

4) producers who rent packaging, in any form, with a professional title for the respective packaging. Reusable packaging (shuttles, pallets, bottles, plastic packaging for distribution (buckets, boxes)) are available for rent, these being declared the first time they are introduced to the market.

In order to honor their responsibility, producers have the right to join a collective system that will otherwise take over the responsibility of producers on the basis of a contract (according to the provisions of art. 25 of Law no. 209/2016 on waste) and which will act in order to honor the responsibility them for the separate collection of packaging waste in order to ensure the recycling and recovery targets, in accordance with the provisions of art. 12 and 29 of Law no. 209/2016 on waste and ensures the fulfillment of the contractual conditions regarding the management of packaging waste.

A collective system already created and which will take over from 01 January 2021 the responsibility for PACKAGING waste is Recycling. The collective system will organize the collection, sorting and recycling cycle of packaging waste to ensure the recovery objective for producers, which from 2023 will be calculated as a percentage of the quantities of packaging that producers/importers place on the market, according to the Annex no. 2 to Regulation on packaging and packaging waste. To ensure these objectives, Recycling has established an operating plan, being consulted in this process by its Romanian partners, the Greenpoint company. The REP enforcement mechanism is in the process of being established and the proposed formula will be announced to AO RECICLARE members and other manufacturers in the near future. As the market for recyclables is still limited, we urge packaging manufacturers to find that REP partner that will be able to provide them with the entire cycle of reporting and recycling in relation to the quantities of packaging they place on the market.

Packaging manufacturers who do not know this concept and who want to find out about the future legislative obligations regarding packaging waste are invited to contact the AO Reciclare team.

Contacts:

Vadim Accents: 079707576

aorecyclare@gmail.com

The use of plastic packaging throughout Europe and including in the Republic of Moldova has led to an increase in plastic packaging waste over time. At the same time, it is estimated that the packaging sector is the main user of plastics in Europe, representing approximately 40% of the demand for plastics (Plastics Europe, 2016). Other uses of plastics in Europe are attested in construction (20% of the total market share), the automotive market (9%), electrical / electronic equipment (EEE) (6%) and agriculture (4%), a fact that confirms the role of the correct implementation of the schemes REP in the correct management of packaging waste, of course respecting the principles of the Waste Hierarchy, which is the cornerstone of EU waste policy and legislation and an essential element for the transition to the circular economy.