CHAPTER II

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

General minimum requirements for extended producer responsibility schemes
Article 8a
1
Where extended producer responsibility schemes are established in accordance with Article 8(1), including pursuant to other legislative acts of the Union, Member States shall:
a
define in a clear way the roles and responsibilities of all relevant actors involved, including producers of products placing products on the market of the Member State, organisations implementing extended producer responsibility obligations on their behalf, private or public waste operators, local authorities and, where appropriate, re-use and preparing for re-use operators and social economy enterprises;
b
in line with the waste hierarchy, set waste management targets, aiming to attain at least the quantitative targets relevant for the extended producer responsibility scheme as laid down in this Directive, Directive 94/62/EC, Directive 2000/53/EC, Directive 2006/66/EC and Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council
, and set other quantitative targets and/or qualitative objectives that are considered relevant for the extended producer responsibility scheme;
c
ensure that a reporting system is in place to gather data on the products placed on the market of the Member State by the producers of products subject to extended producer responsibility and data on the collection and treatment of waste resulting from those products specifying, where appropriate, the waste material flows, as well as other data relevant for the purposes of point (b);
d
ensure equal treatment of producers of products regardless of their origin or size, without placing a disproportionate regulatory burden on producers, including small and medium-sized enterprises, of small quantities of products.
2
Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the waste holders targeted by the extended producer responsibility schemes established in accordance with Article 8(1), are informed about waste prevention measures, centres for re-use and preparing for re-use, take-back and collection systems, and the prevention of littering. Member States shall also take measures to create incentives for the waste holders to assume their responsibility to deliver their waste into the separate collection systems in place, notably, where appropriate, through economic incentives or regulations.
3
Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that any producer of products or organisation implementing extended producer responsibility obligations on behalf of producers of products:
a
has a clearly defined geographical, product and material coverage without limiting those areas to those where the collection and management of waste are the most profitable;
b
provides an appropriate availability of waste collection systems within the areas referred to in point (a);
c
has the necessary financial means or financial and organisational means to meet its extended producer responsibility obligations;
d
puts in place an adequate self-control mechanism, supported, where relevant, by regular independent audits, to appraise:
1. its financial management, including compliance with the requirements laid down in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 4;
2. the quality of data collected and reported in accordance with point (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article and with the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006;
e
makes publicly available information about the attainment of the waste management targets referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1, and, in the case of collective fulfilment of extended producer responsibility obligations, also information about:
1. its ownership and membership;
2. the financial contributions paid by producers of products per unit sold or per tonne of product placed on the market; and
3. the selection procedure for waste management operators.
4
Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the financial contributions paid by the producer of the product to comply with its extended producer responsibility obligations:
a
cover the following costs for the products that the producer puts on the market in the Member State concerned:
- costs of separate collection of waste and its subsequent transport and treatment, including treatment necessary to meet the Union waste management targets, and costs necessary to meet other targets and objectives as referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1, taking into account the revenues from re-use, from sales of secondary raw material from its products and from unclaimed deposit fees,
- costs of providing adequate information to waste holders in accordance with paragraph 2,
- costs of data gathering and reporting in accordance with point (c) of paragraph 1.
This point shall not apply to extended producer responsibility schemes established pursuant to Directive 2000/53/EC, 2006/66/EC or 2012/19/EU;
b
in the case of collective fulfilment of extended producer responsibility obligations, are modulated, where possible, for individual products or groups of similar products, notably by taking into account their durability, reparability, re-usability and recyclability and the presence of hazardous substances, thereby taking a life-cycle approach and aligned with the requirements set by relevant Union law, and where available, based on harmonised criteria in order to ensure a smooth functioning of the internal market; and
c
do not exceed the costs that are necessary to provide waste management services in a cost-efficient way. Such costs shall be established in a transparent way between the actors concerned.
Where justified by the need to ensure proper waste management and the economic viability of the extended producer responsibility scheme, Member States may depart from the division of financial responsibility as laid down in point (a), provided that:
1. in the case of extended producer responsibility schemes established to attain waste management targets and objectives established under legislative acts of the Union, the producers of products bear at least 80 % of the necessary costs;
2. in the case of extended producer responsibility schemes established on or after
4 July 2018
to attain waste management targets and objectives solely established in Member State legislation, the producers of products bear at least 80 % of the necessary costs;
3. in the case of extended producer responsibility schemes established before
4 July 2018
to attain waste management targets and objectives solely established in Member State legislation, the producers of products bear at least 50 % of the necessary costs,
and provided that the remaining costs are borne by original waste producers or distributors.
This derogation may not be used to lower the proportion of costs borne by producers of products under extended producer responsibility schemes established before
4 July 2018
.
5
Member States shall establish an adequate monitoring and enforcement framework with a view to ensuring that producers of products and organisations implementing extended producer responsibility obligations on their behalf implement their extended producer responsibility obligations, including in the case of distance sales, that the financial means are properly used and that all actors involved in the implementation of the extended producer responsibility schemes report reliable data.
Where, in the territory of a Member State, multiple organisations implement extended producer responsibility obligations on behalf of producers of products, the Member State concerned shall appoint at least one body independent of private interests or entrust a public authority to oversee the implementation of extended producer responsibility obligations.
Each Member State shall allow the producers of products established in another Member State and placing products on its territory to appoint a legal or natural person established on its territory as an authorised representative for the purposes of fulfilling the obligations of a producer related to extended producer responsibility schemes on its territory.
For the purposes of monitoring and verifying compliance with the obligations of the producer of the product in relation to extended producer responsibility schemes, Member States may lay down requirements, such as registration, information and reporting requirements, to be met by a legal or natural person to be appointed as an authorised representative on their territory.
6
Member States shall ensure a regular dialogue between relevant stakeholders involved in the implementation of extended producer responsibility schemes, including producers and distributors, private or public waste operators, local authorities, civil society organisations and, where applicable, social economy actors, re-use and repair networks and preparing for re-use operators.
7
Member States shall take measures to ensure that extended producer responsibility schemes that have been established before
4 July 2018
, comply with this Article by
5 January 2023
.
8
The provision of information to the public under this Article shall be without prejudice to preserving the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information in conformity with the relevant Union and national law.
Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of
4 July 2012
on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) (
OJ L 197, 24.7.2012, p. 38
).
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).