CHAPTER II

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Extended producer responsibility
Article 8
1
In order to strengthen the re-use and the prevention, recycling and other recovery of waste, Member States may take legislative or non-legislative measures to ensure that any natural or legal person who professionally develops, manufactures, processes, treats, sells or imports products (producer of the product) has extended producer responsibility.
Such measures may include an acceptance of returned products and of the waste that remains after those products have been used, as well as the subsequent management of the waste and financial responsibility for such activities. These measures may include the obligation to provide publicly available information as to the extent to which the product is re-usable and recyclable.
Where such measures include the establishment of extended producer responsibility schemes, the general minimum requirements laid down in Article 8a shall apply.
Member States may decide that producers of products that undertake financial or financial and organisational responsibilities for the management of the waste stage of a product’s life cycle of their own accord should apply some or all of the general minimum requirements laid down in Article 8a.
2
Member States may take appropriate measures to encourage the design of products and components of products in order to reduce their environmental impact and the generation of waste in the course of the production and subsequent use of products, and in order to ensure that the recovery and disposal of products that have become waste take place in accordance with Articles 4 and 13.
Such measures may encourage,
inter alia
, the development, production and marketing of products and components of products that are suitable for multiple use, that contain recycled materials, that are technically durable and easily reparable and that are, after having become waste, suitable for preparing for re-use and recycling in order to facilitate proper implementation of the waste hierarchy. The measures shall take into account the impact of products throughout their life cycle, the waste hierarchy and, where appropriate, the potential for multiple recycling.
3
When applying extended producer responsibility, Member States shall take into account the technical feasibility and economic viability and the overall environmental, human health and social impacts, respecting the need to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market.
4
The extended producer responsibility shall be applied without prejudice to the responsibility for waste management as provided for in Article 15(1) and without prejudice to existing waste stream specific and product specific legislation.
5
The Commission shall organise an exchange of information between Member States and the actors involved in extended producer responsibility schemes on the practical implementation of the general minimum requirements laid down in Article 8a. This includes,
inter alia
, exchange of information on best practices to ensure adequate governance, cross-border cooperation concerning extended producer responsibility schemes and a smooth functioning of the internal market, on the organisational features and the monitoring of organisations implementing extended producer responsibility obligations on behalf of producers of products, on the modulation of financial contributions, on the selection of waste management operators and on the prevention of littering. The Commission shall publish the results of the exchange of information and may provide guidelines on these and other relevant aspects.
The Commission shall publish guidelines, in consultation with Member States, on cross-border cooperation concerning extended producer responsibility schemes and on the modulation of financial contributions referred to in point (b) of Article 8a(4).
Where necessary to avoid distortion of the internal market, the Commission may adopt implementing acts in order to lay down criteria with a view to the uniform application of point (b) of Article 8a(4), but excluding any precise determination of the level of the contributions. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 39(2).
Substituted by Directive (EU) 2018/851 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste (Text with EEA relevance).
Inserted by Directive (EU) 2018/851 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste (Text with EEA relevance).