Environmental

​On 20 June, the Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council on market surveillance and compliance of products, was published. The new legislation prohibits products from being placed on the market in the EU unless the producer has an economic operator established in the EU. The aim of the Regulation is to prevent free riders f...

​On 12th July, Turkey published the Regulation on Zero Waste (the ‘Regulation') in the Official Gazette, number 30829. This introduces the procedures and principles of the zero waste management system to be implemented in enterprises and industrial plants, such as airports, educational and healthcare institutions, manufacturing facilities and many more. T...

The On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL)​ has launched a review of its labelling rules which will, for the first time, take into account the recycling infrastructure, in addition to developments in collections services. ​The new rules will take into account the sorting processes at Material Recycling Facilities (MRFs) and the likelihood of that material being r...

​Nigeria's e-waste production has increased​ by 170% from 2009 to 2017, with a generation of 290,000 tonnes in 2017. In addition to this, Nigeria receives shipments of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) from abroad. 60,000 tonnes of WEEE are shipped into the country through Lagos ports alone, according to United Nations University research. ...

​Earlier this year, Ontario Electronic Stewardship (OES) Program announced a ‘fee holiday' until the wind up of the program, on June 30th, 2020, due to a surplus of funds collected. It has just been announced that the Ministry of Environment, Parks and Recreation issued an amendment to the wind up date, which means the program will now end on 31st Decembe...

​Yesterday, the 'Proposed draft decree establishing goals of collection and recycling and associated packaging obligations' was published in Chile's Diario Oficial (official newspaper). The Draft Bill has been published for public consultation and would introduce the polluter pays principle alongside the hierarchy of waste management. Studies conducted by...

​Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a concept which is used globally. It is introduced into countries through legislation or in some cases, voluntary schemes. EPR has been well established in Europe for many years. PrincipleEPR is the principle that producers are obligated for end-of-life waste management of the products and/or packaging they plac...

​As always, the Edie Live conference at the National Exhibition Centre was full of interesting and topical talks and debates. The main themes included single-use plastics and how to reduce these in addition to the need for introduction of extended producer responsibility (EPR) so producers take on the cost and responsibility of packaging and packaging was...

The Singapore Packaging Agreement facilitates the National Environment Agency (NEA) of Singapore and industry to work together in reducing packaging waste. The agreement introduces the principle of product stewardship for the lifecycle management of packaging for consumer goods. In Singapore, packaging waste constitutes around a third of domestic waste. ...

​In Saudi Arabia, the Technical Regulation for Degradable Plastic Products applies to all disposable products manufactured from polypropylene and polyethylene plastics which are often used for a short time. The regulation stipulates that the products are oxo-degradable then bio-degradable, where plastic products used in the medical and food industries are...

​The South Korean Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals, known as K-REACH, came into force on January 1st, 2015. Since then, the Act has been revised by the Ministry of Environment with a new amendment which came into force on 1st January this year. This amendment means that all existing chemical substances (those listed on the Korea Existin...

​From May 1, 2019 WEEE scope is being extended to passive equipment such as cables, sockets, plugs, switches, aerials and busbars in Germany. The new rule is only of relevance to end-equipment designed for operation with a maximum alternating voltage (AC) of 1,000 volts or a maximum direct voltage (DC) of 1,500 volts. Passive devices belong to categories ...

​The Packaging innovations event was held by Easyfairs over the 27th and 28th February with a major focus on sustainability. The Ecopack stage provided talks from industry experts, made more relevant than ever with the release of consultations from the UK Government. The consultations cover a tax on plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content; a...

​EPR legislation have been proposed in both Washington State and Indiana. If the Bills are passed, producers in the states will become responsible for the end-of-life packaging waste created from the products they place on the market. Washington StateIn Washington State, the Senate Bill 5397 would make producers responsible for the design and management ...

In Ontario the e-waste stewardship program is being wound-up and is set to cease by 30th June, 2020. This is due to the transition of the current program to a circular economy regime. During the running of the e-waste program, Ontario Electronic Stewardship collects and remits HTS on the fees charged to the stewards. Due to charging eco-fees to consumers...

In Hong Kong, a mandatory scheme has been introduced to create a circular economy for glass. This will provide practicable solutions for at source separation, collection logistics, proper treatment and recovery outlets for the waste glass material. The Promotion of Recycling and Proper Disposal (Product Container) (Amendment) Bill 2015​, which lays out th...