In an effort to facilitate effective waste management and enhance environmental protection, Cyprus has adopted legislation that implements the Extended Producer Responsibility Principle, regulating the assumption of responsibility by importers and manufacturers of selected products for financing and implementing the necessary infrastructure that would enable consumers to return a product when it becomes a waste.
What is the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)?
The EPR was implemented through EU Directives to tackle effectively and efficiently the issue of waste management. EPR related legislation imposes a responsibility to manufacturers and producers of products, to minimize as much as possible the life-cycle environmental impacts of the product they are designing. The implementation of EPR is regulated for the waste streams of packaging, electrical and electronic equipment, batteries and accumulators and tyres.
EU legislation regarding EPR
In the European Union, EPR is mandatory regarding Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), Batteries, and end-of-life vehicles (ELV) Directives, which put the responsibility for the financing of collection, recycling, and responsible end-of-life disposal of WEEE, batteries, accumulators, and vehicles on producers. Another measure that invokes EPR is the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) since it requires Member States to take all necessary measures in order to ensure that systems are set up for the collection and recycling of packaging waste.
The rules set on packaging and packaging waste in the PPWD cover both packaging design and packaging waste management. The main aim of these rules is to deal with the increasing packaging waste, which causes many environmental problems.
Cypriot legislation and EPR
In Cyprus, the PPWD was adopted with the Packaging and Packaging Waste Law (L.32(I)/2002) and the Waste Management Law of 2011 (L.185 (I)/ 2011), while any following additions and changes were made with latter amendments.
According to the Department of Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, for the Republic’s obligations to be fulfilled by meeting the European quantitative targets set, and in order to avoid strict sanctions being imposed on the Republic by the European Union, the producers must do their part too. As a matter of fact, the primary responsibility lies with the producers, since they are the ones who package products and import packaged products at minimum volumes of up to 2 tons per material per year. The producers must create individual or collective management systems for packaging waste in accordance with the Packaging and Packaging Waste Law.
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Law
This legislation covers all packaging on the market and all packaging waste, whether used or coming from industry, trade, offices, shops, services, households, or any other source, regardless of the materials that consist of the packaging.
The law is heavily based on the principle “the polluter pays” which is enacted to make the party responsible for producing pollution, responsible for paying for the damage done to the natural environment.
Lastly, one of the law’s main aims is to establish measures for the management of packaging and packaging waste through measures such as but not limited to the setting of quantitative targets for the recycling and other waste treatment of packaging and other products, as well as the setting of medium and long-term time frames for their implementation.
Penalties that can be imposed for violations of this law which can be imprisonment of up to 3 years or a monetary penalty of up to €85.000 or both. The actual penalty is to be decided on a case-by case basis, depending on the nature of the offence.
The Waste Management Law
This law’s importance lies in the EPR section.
This section consists of 3 articles (11, 11A, 11B) and explains that the measures referred to in subsections of the law are intended to encourage the development, production and marketing of products and components of multi-purpose products containing recycled materials, which are technically durable and easy to use, repairable and, once they become waste, are suitable for preparation for reuse and recycling to facilitate the proper application of the waste hierarchy.
In order to enhance the reuse, prevention, recycling and other forms of waste recovery, the Council of Ministers may, by regulations published in the Official Gazette of the Republic, determine measures to ensure that producers of products bear extended liability. Those measures include the acceptance of returned products and waste remaining after the use of such products, as well as the management of waste and financial liability for such activities.
Additionally, those measures may also include the obligation to provide publicly available information on the extent to which the product in question can be reused or recycled.
Lastly, the Minister of Agriculture, by decree published in the Official Gazette of the Republic, shall establish measures to encourage the design of products and components of products, in such a way that both reduce their impact on the environment and the production of waste during the production and consequent use of the products, and ensure that the recovery and disposal of waste products is carried out in accordance with the law.
Penalties that can be imposed for violations of this law can be imprisonment of up to 3 years or a monetary penalty of up to €500.000 or both. The actual penalty is to be decided on a case-by case basis, depending on the nature of the offence. However, the law imposes stricter penalties for legal persons than natural persons for violations of the above law.
Conclusion
In conclusion, in the past few years a shift has been realised towards understanding the impact of over-consumption, the minimization of this impact and the restoration of the environment to a better stage. Principles such as the EPR, hold corporations on a higher standard of responsibility, requiring them to re-form their operations in a manner which regulates what happens to their products after their life ends. Cyprus legislation on the matter recognises this, as evidenced by the high penalties that can be imposed in case of violation of such legislation. Further legislative developments and expansions of the EPR are envisaged as the market adapts to more environmentally friendly requirements.
By Antonia Michailidi
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