S.I. No. 308/2006 - Waste Management (Packaging) (Amendment) Regulations 2006

S.I. No. 308 of 2006

WASTE MANAGEMENT (PACKAGING) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2006

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 7, 19, 27, 28, 29 and 39 of the Waste Management Act 1996 (No. 10 of 1996), as amended by the Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2001 (No. 36 of 2001), by Part 3 of the Protection of the Environment Act 2003 (No. 27 of 2003) and by Part 2 of the Waste Management (Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations 2005 ( S.I. No. 290 of 2005 ) hereby makes the following Regulations:-

1.         (1)  These Regulations may be cited as the Waste Management (Packaging (Amendment) Regulations 2006.

(2)  These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1^st day of July 2006.

(3)  The purposes for which these Regulations are made include the purpose of giving effect to European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC¹ of 20 December 1994 on packaging and packaging waste as amended by European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/12/EC² of 11 February 2004 amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste.

2.         The Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations 2003 ( S.I. No. 61 of 2003 as amended by the Waste Management (Packaging) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 871 of 2004 ) are hereby amended by -

(a)  the substitution in article 4(3) of the following for the definition of “packaging” -

“ “packaging” has the meaning assigned to it by section 5 of the Act and shall be read in accordance with the criteria set out hereunder so that -

(i)    items shall be considered to be packaging if they fulfil the definition set out in section 5 of the Act without prejudice to other functions which the packaging might also perform, unless the item is an integral part of a product and it is necessary to contain, support or preserve that product throughout its lifetime and all elements are intended to be used, consumed or disposed of together (and illustrative examples of this criterion are provided in Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule which from time to time may be subject to review and subsequent amendment by the Commission, as appropriate), or as appropriate,

(ii)    items designed and intended to be filled at the point of sale and disposable items sold, filled or designed and intended to be filled at the point of sale shall be considered to be packaging provided they fulfil a packaging function (and illustrative examples of this criterion are provided in Part 2 of the Fourth Schedule which from time to time may be subject to review and subsequent amendment by the Commission, as appropriate), or as appropriate,

(iii)   packaging components and ancillary elements integrated into packaging shall be considered to be part of the packaging into which they are integrated. Ancillary elements hung directly on, or attached to, a product and which perform a packaging function shall be considered to be packaging unless they are an integral part of that product and all elements are intended to be consumed or disposed of together (and illustrative examples of this criterion are provided in Part 3 of the Fourth Schedule which from time to time may be subject to review and subsequent amendment by the Commission, as appropriate), and

packaging constituted within the meaning assigned to it by section 5 of the Act and in accordance with the aforementioned criteria may only consist of -

(a)   sales or primary packaging, that is to say packaging conceived so as to constitute a sales unit to the final user or consumer at the point of purchase, or

(b)   grouped or secondary packaging, that is to say packaging conceived so as to constitute at the point of purchase a grouping of a certain number of sales units (whether the latter are sold as such to the final user or consumer or whether the packaging serves only as a means to replenish shelves at the point of sale), and which can be removed from a product without affecting the product's characteristics, or

(c)    transport or tertiary packaging, that is to say packaging conceived so as to facilitate handling and transport of a number of sales units or grouped packaging in order to prevent damage from physical handling and transport (but not including road, rail, ship and air containers);”

(b)  the substitution of the following sub-article for sub-article 9(3) -

“(3)  (a)   On and from the date of commencement of these Regulations, a major producer who is an importer of packaged products or is a packer/filler shall take such steps as are necessary to ensure that in any quarterly period, the aggregate weight of packaging waste which is accepted or, as appropriate, collected by that major producer for the purposes of recovery -

(i)     is not less than 55% of the aggregate weight of packaging material and packaging imported or packed/filled and supplied by that major producer in the preceding quarterly period, and

(ii)    that a minimum 50% of the aggregate weight of packaging material and packaging imported or packed/filled and supplied by that major producer in the preceding quarterly period is recovered by way of recycling,

until the 31^st day of December 2008;

(b)   On and from the 1^st day of January 2009, a major producer who is an importer of packaged products or is a packer/filler shall take such steps as are necessary to ensure that in any quarterly period, the aggregate weight of packaging waste which is accepted or, as appropriate, collected by that major producer for the purposes of recovery -

(i)     is not less than 60% of the aggregate weight of packaging material and packaging imported or packed/filled and supplied by that major producer in the preceding quarterly period, and

(ii)    that a minimum 55% of the aggregate weight of packaging material and packaging imported or packed/filled and supplied by that major producer in the preceding quarterly period is recovered by way of recycling;

(c)   Without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs (a) and (b) such steps may include -

(i)     accepting or collecting packaging waste from customers of the major producer, or from any other person,

(ii)    placing a notice in one or more newspapers circulating in the functional area of the local authority in which the premises of the major producer is situate stating that the major producer will accept or collect packaging waste,

(iii)   giving the notice referred to in sub-paragraph (ii) or drawing the attention of the public, or of business, to the notice, through other forms of broadcast or electronic media;

(d)   A major producer, shall not purchase packaging waste, either directly or indirectly, from any other major producer, whether that major producer is a member of an approved body or otherwise for the purposes of fulfilling its obligations under this article;

(e)   Where a major producer purchases packaging waste from any other source for the purpose of fulfilling its obligations under this sub-article, it shall keep a record of the type, amount and source of such packaging waste and shall include that information in the quarterly report to local authorities under article 12;

(f)    In this sub-article, “packer/filler” means a producer who puts products into packaging for the purpose of supply.”

(c)  the addition of the following Schedule after the Third Schedule -

“FOURTH SCHEDULE

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES OF THE APPLICATION OF CRITERIA TO CLARIFY THE DEFINITION OF PACKAGING IN ARTICLE 4(3)

Part 1 - Illustrative examples for criterion (i)

Packaging

Sweet boxes

Film overwrap around a CD case

Non-packaging

Flower pots intended to stay with the plant throughout its life

Tool boxes

Tea bags

Wax layers around cheese

Sausage skins

Part 2 - Illustrative examples for criterion (ii)

Packaging, if designed and intended to be filled at the point of sale

Paper or plastic carrier bags

Disposable plates and cups

Cling film

Sandwich bags

Aluminium foil

Non-packaging

Stirrer

Disposable cutlery

Part 3 - Illustrative examples for criterion (iii)

Packaging

Labels hung directly on or attached to a product

Part of packaging

Mascara brush which forms part of the container case

Sticky labels attached to another packaging item

Staples

Plastic sleeves

Device for measuring dosage which forms part of the container closure for detergents”

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations amend the Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations 2003 as amended by the Waste Management (Packaging) (Amendment) Regulations 2004 and are designed to promote the recovery and recycling of packaging waste. They are intended, in particular, to facilitate the achievement of the targets for the recovery of packaging waste established by Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste as amended by European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/12/EC of 11 February 2004 amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, so that by 31 December 2011: -

(a) a minimum of 60% of packaging waste by weight is recovered; and

(b) a minimum of 55% of packaging waste by weight is recycled in total, including material specific recycling targets as follows: -

(i)   60% by weight for glass,

(ii)   60% by weight for paper and board,

(iii)  50% by weight for metals,

(iv)  22.5% by weight for plastics, and

(v)  15% by weight for wood.

¹ O.J. No. L 365, 31.12.1994, page 10.

² O.J. No. L 47, 18.02.2004, page 26.