Poland will have to implement new regulations regarding Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) by 2020. The European Union presented it's amended EU directive on waste last year placing prevention, re-use and recycling clearly above landfilling and incineration. Simply put: this is a tax on packaging. Most of today's packaging goes to landfills or incinerators and is not - as it should - recycled. Besides that, eco-design (the use of secondary raw materials) should also become more attractive. The effects of the EPR mechanism will be felt most by companies.

The new legislation foresees more use of effective economic instruments and other measures in support of the waste hierarchy. Producers are given an important role in this transition through EPR schemes – meaning a producer’s responsibility for a product is extended to the post-consumer stage of a product’s life cycle. The new EPR requirements will lead to better performance and governance of these schemes. A mandatory EPR scheme has to be established for all packaging by 2025.

'Obviously, the EPR mechanism will pose a serious financial challenge, but it will help us achieve our recycling goals. Which is why we would like the implementation to follow the EU schedule. Changes resulting from the implementation of EPR in Poland should be a positive impulse not only financial, but above all qualitative, because the aim of the revised directives is to improve recycling rates on the municipal waste market, including packaging', says Magdalena Dziczek, board member of the Association of Packaging and Product Industry Employers EKO-PAK packaging.

Who will pay?

New regulations are also demanded by waste management companies. The Waste Management Forum (FGO) calls for the industry to finance as much as one-third of the costs of municipal waste management. Their position is supported by the Polish Chamber of Commerce (KIG) and municipal governments.

'In 2013 the entire financial cost of the waste system was transferred to local governments and residents, which was a mistake. This should be changed', writes FGO.

The EPR mechanism will de facto burden the consumers because the tax on packaging will be included in the price of the product. Experts stress, however, that most consumers make better-informed choices, as the prices for garbage disposal are growing all over Poland. These fees are set and collected by the communes not only for the export, but also for the management of waste. FGO estimates that thanks to EPR, residents of communes would pay only PLN 15 (EUR 3,60), instead of the average fee of PLN 22 (EUR 5,2).

Less than a month after publication of the FGO's report, entitled 'Evolution in seven steps', experts from the recycling industry (Interseroh, CP Recycling and Canpack) demanded an EPR team, appointed by the government, that would ensure a dialogue between all stakeholders on the market.

Additional billions

'A well-thought-out introduction of these new rules in the packaging and waste management system is necessary to eliminate risks and to achieve the required increase in recycling waste in Poland', says Anna Grom, President of Interseroh.

The European Union wants 50% of municipal waste recycled by 2020. The EU countries who fail to meet these levels will face high fines. These fines will be charged to the municipal offices. The Ministry of the Environment stated that the initial work on new regulations has begun.

'The EU has decided to clarify the provisions of the Waste Directive relating to the EPR, by increasing the requirements in this area. Poland, like all EU Member States, is required to transpose the amended provisions of the Waste Directive into national law by July 2020. Currently, the Ministry of the Environment is carrying out analytical and conceptual internal work on the implementation of new EU law regarding the EPR principle', informs the ministry.

'Today, manufacturers add about PLN 40 million (EUR 9,5 million) to the waste management system. After the implementation of the new regulations, we would have an additional PLN 1.5-2 billion (EUR 36-48 million) to improve the recycling system. The pace of implementation of the EU directive is of great importance', says Tomasz Uciński, president of the National Chamber of Waste Management.