Legislative amendments in the field of packaging and packaging waste management

The Government Emergency Ordinance no. 74/2018 from the 17^th of July 2018 for the amendment and completion of the Law no. 211/2011 on waste regime, of the Law no. 249/2015 on the management of packaging and packaging waste and of the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 196/2005 on environmental Fund; published in the Official Gazette no. 630/19.07.2018

The GEO 74/2018 refers to numerous legislative amendments in environmental legislation, especially in the field of packaging and packaging waste management. You can find below the most important amendments to the ordinance:

implementing the concept of extended producer responsibility;

increasing capitalization / recycling objectives of packaging waste;

amending the manner of individual fulfillment of the capitalization / recycling of packaging waste objectives starting with the 1^st January 2019, namely by managing their own packaging placed on the national market;

establishing the obligation for all economic operators who place packaged goods on the market to have, starting from 1^st January 2020, an average annual percentage of reusable packaging of at least 5% of the total packaging used, a percentage that must increase annually by 5% until 2025;

changing the regime of reusable packaging, and regulating the guarantee-return system for non-reusable primary packaging;

establishing new sanctions and increasing fines for non-compliance of obligations incumbent on the parties involved in the management of packaging and packaging waste;

defining the contribution for circular economy and reducing its amount.

The full document can be consulted here.