Until July 3 this year, the Bulgarian legislation must introduce the requirements of Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and the Council of June 5 2019 on reducing the impact of certain plastic products on the environment.
In this regard, on June 16, 2021, BIA held a working meeting to present the Directive. Representatives of the Directorate for Waste Management and Soil Protection at the MoEW, Ms Petya Peneva - Head of Department, Mr Anton Peychev - State Expert, and interested industry organizations and enterprises - members of BIA attended the meeting.
The Directive introduces requirements for single-use plastics, products made of oxo-degradable plastics, and fishing gear.
The attendees discussed the Directive's requirements, the Commission's Guidelines on Disposable Plastic Products and the framework of the MoEW proposals for national measures for the implementation of the Directive.
In the course of the discussion, it became clear that implementing the Directive in the national legislation will be introduced with a new Ordinance. Therefore, the document is currently in coordination with the MoEW, the WG-20 for compliance, and then up for public discussion. The public will have access to the texts 30 days before their submission to the Council of Ministers.
In line with EU waste policy, EU Member States have to decrease ambitious and sustainable quantitative volumes of these products by 2026. The first step must be introducing a ban on plastic plates, cutlery (forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks), beverage straws and stirrers, food containers, and cups for expanded polystyrene, incl. caps, earplugs, balloon sticks, all oxo-degradable plastic products.
The ban will enter into force in Bulgaria with the adoption of the Ordinance transposing the Directive. After introducing the Ordinance, the specified type of products will not be sold by manufacturers or importers. However, sites will sell the quantities placed on the market before the Ordinance until they're sold out.
By the new Ordinance, the following requirements are included for marking: tobacco products with filters; filters sold for use in combination with tobacco products; beverage cups; wet wipes for personal hygiene and household use and sanitary napkins. Similarly, those products that have already been placed on the market before the entry into force of the Ordinance and are not marked will be able to be sold until the quantities are exhausted.
By 2026 food containers (for on the spot or to go consumption, consumption by the vessel, without additional preparation - meeting all these criteria simultaneously), beverage cups and their caps/lids from States also require:
- to take measures for significant quantitative reduction of their consumption;
- to monitor the consumption of these disposable products and to report on their progress to the European Commission;
- ensure that they apply the extended responsibility of the manufacturer;
- to inform consumers and encourage responsible consumer behaviour to reduce waste from such products;
- to educate consumers about alternative reusable products and the impact of improper disposal of single-use plastic waste.
As before, the extended responsibility of producers, as before, the MoEW envisages to be an obligation of the manufacturers and importers. The Directive's term is 2024.
