Question of the day

Waste generation is the main by-product of modern economic and social lifestyle. At the same time, it is one of the main – and constantly worsens – environmental and human health issues, despite all its control tests.

Lately, we have increasingly heard about the extended responsibility of the producer in the waste context. The concept of extended producer responsibility was introduced in national legislation with the adoption of Law No 209 of 29 July 2016 on waste.

The law defines the extended producer responsibility (hereinafter – REP) as all obligations imposed on manufacturers for the recovery, recovery and recycling of end-of-life products. In other words, the law puts the obligation on producers to collect, exploit, recycle and eliminate the products they have put on the market and which have become waste.

Activities for the application of the extended producer responsibility involve measures to accept returned products and waste that remain after the use of those products, as well as subsequent waste management and financial insurance for these activities.

For the purposes of Law No 209 of 29 July 2016 on waste, natural or legal persons who, on a professional basis, design, produce, process, treat, sell and/or import the following categories of products are producers:

batteries and accumulators;

electrical and electronic equipment;

vehicles;

oils;

packaging.

These products are subject to the EPR regime as a matter of priority because of the presence of dangerous substances in their components.

What is the EPR and where it has its sorgregate

Rep is an environmental policy where the responsibility of the manufacturer of a product is extended to the post-consumption stage of the product’s life cycle.

Rep implies the transfer of responsibility (in financial and organisational terms) from governments and municipalities to producers.

The Rep is also an incentive for manufacturers to take environmental account during the product design and manufacturing phases and, at the same time, an incentive to reduce the use of primary resources, promote the use of secondary materials and exchange products to reduce waste.

The implementation of the EPR attempts to achieve a reduction in the environmental impact of products over their lifetime from production to end. Whether manufacturers are responsible take over and recycle products, try to minimise the real costs of the environmental consequences of their products. The policy emerged in the early 1980s in a few Member States of the European Union, in particular for packaging waste and has since spread continuously. [2] The concept of extended producer responsibility was introduced by Swedish academic academic Thomas Lindhqvist in 1990.

In European Union law, the EPR is considered to be one of the cornerstones of waste policy reflected in different elements of the legislation.

In the European Union, extended producer responsibility is mandatory in the context of waste of electrical and electronic equipment (waste Electrical and electronic Equipment (WEEE), batteries and accumulators (B & A) and vehicles (end-of-life vehicles (ELVs)), which lay the responsibility for financing the collection, recycling and responsible disposal of these categories of waste by producers.

Implementation of the EPR in Moldova

Although Law No 209 of 29.07.2016 on waste recently completed 4 years since adoption, the EPR implementation mechanism is still under development.

Currently, this mechanism only exists for waste of electrical and electronic equipment, governed by Government Decision No 212 of 7.3.2018 approving the Waste Electricity and Electronic Equipment Regulation.

The Regulation on packaging and packaging waste has recently been approved by the Government and is to be published in the Official Journal. The Regulation on packaging and packaging waste regulates their management for the purpose of preventing or reducing environmental impacts, ensuring a high level of environmental protection, market functioning and avoiding obstacles to trade, preventing distortion or limiting competition.

There is also a draft Government Decision approving the Regulation on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and accumulators.

Existing EPR delivery schemes

Both Law No 209 of 29.07.2016 on waste and Government Decision No 212 of 7.3.2018 approving the Waste Electricity and Electronic Equipment Regulation provides that the obligations of producers of products subject to the extended producer responsibility regulations are to be fulfilled:

individually; or

by shifting responsibilities, on a contractual basis, to the collective system.

An individual system is when a manufacturer organises its own system (individual responsibility of the manufacturer) and the collective system – when several manufacturers decide to collaborate and thus transfer responsibility to a specific organisation (Collective Responsibility of the Manufacturer).

These schemes have also been taken from EU legislation.

In the Waste Electricity and Electronic Equipment Regulation, the collective system is defined as a non-profit organisation, set up by at least two EEE producers, which is registered in the State Register of non-commercial organisations for the purpose of taking over and fulfilling the obligations of EEE producers or authorised representatives acting on behalf of producers with regard to waste management of electrical and electronic equipment.

Each producer, whether on an individual basis or that it is a party to or has acceded to a collective scheme, must register in the ‘List of producers’.

The Regulation provides that as of 1 January 2019 only producers registered in the List of Producers may place EEE on the market.

‘Manufacturers’ list’ is drawn up and maintained by the Environment Agency by means of an information subsystem an integral part of the automated computer system ‘Crete Management’ (SIAMD).

In ‘Producers’ List’, information on:

the quantities and categories of EEE placed on the national market;

the amounts and categories of WEEE that have been collected through all means and that have been reused, recycled and recovered;

quantities and categories of WEEE exported.

In this way, the compliance of EEE producers with the extended producer responsibility obligations is monitored.

Liability

For failure to comply with the manufacturer’s extended liability obligations, civil liability is provided for on the basis of Article 154 of the Coventional Code (Infringement of waste management rules).

Source: Bizlaw.md