Agricultural plastics european regulation

Agricultural plastics European regulation: extended producer responsibility, several European Union (EU) member states have their own national regulations in place for the recovery of agricultural plastics.

Extended Producer Responsililty

Several European Union (EU) member states have their own national regulations in place with regard to the recovery of agricultural plastics but, apart from packaging products, there is no common European regulation in this respect.

Regulation aside, agricultural plastics are mentioned specifically in the European Commission waste list (200/532/EC, cat: 02 01 04).
Agricultural plastics manufacturers have for some years been voluntarily involved in sustainable manufacturing and environmental protection initiatives and have sought to manage their activities under one major European principle.

Agricultural plastics european regulation: principle

This principle aims to relieve local authorities by transferring the elimination costs of used products from the taxpayer to the consumer by integrating them in the sales prices of the new products. Originally initiated by OECD, in the early 1980s, the ERP principle has been adopted by the European Union which has included more product categories in order to stop the increase of non-recyclable or non-biodegradable waste. Considered to be a central tenet of the EuropeanUnion 2000-2010 Environment Programme, the ERP has been clearly mentioned in Directive 2008/98/EC on waste management.

Article 8 of this Directive expressly states that each member state may introduce the ERP concept into its own legal framework in addition to deciding how to encourage manufacturers to participate in the prevention, re-use, recycling and recovery of used plastic products. However, in doing so member states should continually take account of:

  • The technical feasibility
  • The economic visibility
  • The domestic market
  • The environmental effects
  • The social impact

Directive 2008/98/EC

NATIONAL COLLECTING SCHEMES (NCS)

Operating Schemes:

Based on the principle of extended producer responsibility, 8countries have set up or are developing national collecting schemes for agri-plastics, with users, distributors and producers and in compliance with local legislation. Countries that have implemented NCS, experience collection rate between 75% and 95%. Once collected, 98% of agri-plastics waste are recycled.

  • Ireland
  • Iceland
  • Sweden
  • France
  • Germany
  • Switzerland
  • Spain (Andalusia) – in development
  • Norway
  • UK – in development