Within a closed-loop supply chain, entrepreneurs face the problem of proper waste management, both for waste generated on their premises and for waste resulting from the packaging of products they have introduced to the market. The group of packaging waste for which an entrepreneur is responsible arises from consumption, i.e., after the delivery of a good or service to the customer, which makes controlling such dispersed waste a real logistical challenge.
Who is subject to statutory obligations
Poland’s membership in the European Union has forced many changes in legal acts concerning, among other things, environmental protection, adapting the requirements contained therein to the standards applicable in the EU. In this way, entrepreneurs introducing products in packaging to the market were obliged under the Act of May 11, 2001, on the obligations of entrepreneurs in the scope of managing certain waste and on the product fee and deposit fee (Journal of Laws of 2001, No. 63, item 639, as amended) to ensure a specific level of recovery and recycling.
The provisions of the Act apply to:
• manufacturers of products in packaging
• importers (excluding imports for export purposes)
• entrepreneurs running a retail unit with a sales area of over 500 sq. m, selling products packaged there
• entrepreneurs running more than one retail unit with a total sales area of over 5,000 sq. m, selling products packaged there
• entrepreneurs who pack products manufactured by another entrepreneur and introduce them to the domestic market
• entrepreneurs who are not the manufacturers of the product, who commissioned its manufacture and whose designation has been placed on the product or packaging.
• importers (excluding imports for export purposes)
• entrepreneurs running a retail unit with a sales area of over 500 sq. m, selling products packaged there
• entrepreneurs running more than one retail unit with a total sales area of over 5,000 sq. m, selling products packaged there
• entrepreneurs who pack products manufactured by another entrepreneur and introduce them to the domestic market
• entrepreneurs who are not the manufacturers of the product, who commissioned its manufacture and whose designation has been placed on the product or packaging.
Which packaging is subject to statutory obligations
In light of the current legal status, supply chain entities responsible for introducing a product in packaging to the market are also obliged to ensure the recovery and recycling of packaging waste resulting from the consumption of their goods. In individual groups of packaging and in individual periods, there are different requirements regarding recovery and recycling levels (Fig. 1).
As can be seen in the chart, the levels of required recovery and recycling increase year by year, to equalize after 2014 with the levels applicable in the countries of the former fifteen. Over the more than four years of the Act’s operation, its subject and entity scope have undergone significant changes. In previous years, there were reliefs and exemptions in the fulfillment of this obligation in relation to small and medium-sized enterprises or sheltered workshops. The same was true for the subject scope of the Act. The PKWiU symbols introduced in the first year of the Act’s operation significantly limited the mass of packaging that was subject to recycling. At present, most of the reliefs have been abolished. Moreover, it is planned to increase the burdens on entrepreneurs. It is worth mentioning here, for example, the re-inclusion of wooden pallets in the recycling obligation starting from 2008.
In 2006, the obligation to recover wooden pallets was a surprise for many entrepreneurs and remains so for many. A similar situation occurs regarding the recycling of advertising materials. During 2005, there were two amendments to the Act in question, the first of which introduced the obligation to ensure the recycling of advertising materials. Appropriate regulations were enacted in this regard, and then, by another amendment, these obligations were removed, leaving the provisions in the regulation as dead provisions (regulation on annual recycling levels (Journal of Laws of 2005, No.
103, item 872), regulation on product fee rates (Journal of Laws of 2005, No. 157, item 1325).
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” No. 2/2006.