The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment talks about the key principles of recycling packaging in the country

A year ago, President Vladimir Putin signed a law that allowed the launch of an update to the extended responsibility of producers and importers of goods and packaging (ERP) system.

The main objective of improving the system is to stimulate businesses to create their own recycling facilities and produce more "environmentally friendly" goods. But if companies are not ready to recycle their own goods, then they must pay the state an eco-tax. These funds will be used to create the necessary infrastructure for waste management - from containers for separate waste collection to recycling plants.

"The system is being improved at the request of the president. And the "polluter pays" principle he outlined is fair and understandable. If you make a profit, but harm the environment, reduce the harm and eliminate the consequences. The EPR law and the regulations developed for its implementation are designed to establish clear rules for industry representatives. The documents reduce the number of “gray areas”, for example, they eliminate the possibility for a manufacturer or importer to release one product onto the market and report on the processing of another,” commented Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Alexander Kozlov.

Packaging manufacturers are required to dispose of packaging waste, not the companies that produce the goods. The law assumes the emergence of full liability, that is, the obligation to 100% dispose of packaging for its manufacturers and importers in 2027. It is important that the growth of standards for the disposal of packaging waste is gradual: in 2025 - 55%, in 2026 - 75%, and in 2027 already 100%.

For the first time, long-term 6-year standards have been established for goods, the growth of which for almost all goods is + 10% per year.

According to the head of the Russian Ecological Operator, Denis Butsaev, EPR is a fundamental mechanism for the transition to a closed-loop economy in our country.

"The impact of the law on the economy is systemic: it shifts the main burden of disposal costs from the manufacturer of goods using packaging to the manufacturer of the packaging. In turn, this stimulates the manufacturer of the packaging to look for more environmentally friendly solutions and ensure the most effective disposal. The waste recycling industry is getting an impetus for development. We have noticed that a number of packaging manufacturers have started developing their own recycling capacities — this is an example of the rapid and immediate effect of EPR.

The new eco-tax rates will become another source of funding for closed-loop economy projects,” said Denis Butsaev, head of the PPC REO.

In order for the law to work, after its adoption, the Ministry of Natural Resources, together with the PPC REO, relevant federal authorities and businesses, prepared 15 regulatory legal acts - all of them have already been supported by the Government of Russia. The documents define the methodology for calculating the eco-tax rates, approved a new list of EPR goods, a converter, requirements for maintaining a register of utilizers, new rules for reporting by manufacturers, importers and utilizers, a new form of the disposal certificate, changes to the regulation on the Unified State Register of UoIT Information Systems, and a regulation on the experiment for importers.

When preparing the documents, experts analyzed international practice, regulatory legal acts in the field of technical regulation, as well as a wide package of acts on standardization in the relevant areas. The determining factor for disposal is the development of the industry - for example, the processing of goods is possible only with the availability of equipment, methods and other components of the process. Therefore, the experts also studied all the best available technologies.

"The decision on extended producer responsibility adopted a year ago is a breakthrough and progressive in the environmental policy of our country. The state is finally bringing order to the recycling market. Today, the transparency and openness of the entire system for users and controllers has already been ensured. Responsible businesses accept the rules of the game; it will not be possible to work any other way. And of course, the tasks of implementing closed-loop economy measures are directly related to the development of recycling, ensuring the collection of environmental payments. The environmental progress of territories and the environmental well-being of citizens depend on this. In this sense, the ROP institute is a public good," noted Rashid Ismailov, Chairman of the Russian Ecological Society.

Extended producer responsibility was first introduced in Russia in 2015. However, during its operation, the mechanism did not stimulate the development of the waste management system. Therefore, it was decided to improve the system. The development of the EPR law took more than two years, with representatives of various industries, public figures, environmentalists, and representatives of federal and regional authorities participating.

Irina Baibarovich, Sustainable Development Advisor at Siberian Glass, previously said that the company had been preparing for the introduction of EPR in the country for two years. As a result, they declared their readiness to fulfill the entire recycling standard and not pay the eco-tax in 2025.

"We have worked very closely with the ministry for two years. We have an understanding, and we perceive EPR positively. Our economists have calculated that by 2024 we should recycle 50% and, apparently, we will not pay the eco-tax, because as of December 2023 we are showing the result: in new packaging, in new glass containers, we are already using 50% of glass waste for a brown bottle and somewhere around 30% for a transparent one. Next year, we set standards for ourselves to increase the use of secondary resources in a brown bottle to 80%. If we talk about the rise in the cost of packaging, those manufacturers who have not prepared for EPR will probably raise the price of glass containers," commented Irina Baibarovich, Advisor on Sustainable Development at Siberian Glass.

The adopted law also became the basis for regulating the industry - an official register of utilizers has been created and is being expanded, with which companies will be able to work within the framework of the EPR.

“REO received almost 500 applications for inclusion in the register. On-site assessments were conducted for 35 applications with the participation of our specialists. An electronic trading platform is in operation, where you can both sell or buy secondary resources and secondary raw materials, and order waste disposal services from verified enterprises from the Register of Utilizers. Today, about 2.5 thousand participants have already registered here,” said Denis Butsaev, head of the REO PPC.

For EPR participants, it is envisaged to abandon paper applications and reporting. All interaction is now only in electronic form.

Author: Press Service of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia

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Currently, specialists of the Association "StekloSouz" of Russia, as part of the interdepartmental commission on EPR issues, are dealing with problematic tasks of glass melting plants entering the register of recyclers.

Unscheduled joint consultations of the heads of specialized departments of the SSR and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia were held. Ways to solve this problematic issue, which is economically important for the glass industry, have been outlined.

The interdepartmental working group (WG) has also prepared a Program for overcoming problems in organizing joint collection of secondary glass cullet for subsequent melting at glass melting plants.