In order to ensure transposition of the requirements of Article 8 (1), (8) and (9) of Directive 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment into the regulatory enactments of the Republic of Latvia in accordance with the Law on the Reduction of Consumption of Products Containing Plastic, a draft regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers ‘Operational regulations on the extended producer responsibility systems for products containing plastics’ has been developed and is being harmonised, which, upon entry into force, will impose an obligation on the producers themselves to create or participate in an established extended producer responsibility system (hereinafter referred to as PRS). The expected changes concern a range of single-use products containing plastic and fishing gear containing plastic, which will mean additional costs to their producers.
The Law on the Reduction of Consumption of Products Containing Plastics stipulates that producers that place wet wipes, balloons, and fishing gear containing plastics on the market must establish PRS or participate in a PRS system starting from 31 December 2024 so that accounting of these products containing plastics and proper management of their produced waste are ensured. Even earlier these changes will affect producers of tobacco products – for tobacco products with filters and filters designed for use with tobacco products they must already establish or participate in the PRS starting from 5 January 2023.
In the future, the PRS merchant will have to ensure collection of the litter created by products containing plastic and management of the collected waste, cover the costs of the municipality for collection of environmental litter from products containing plastic in public places and management of the collected waste, as well as additionally ensure establishment and maintenance of such infrastructure for collection and management of such waste, as well as inform consumers about the negative impact of the plastic on the environment.
Currently established PRSs in the country do not manage any of the mentioned single-use products containing plastic or fishing gear containing plastic. Moreover, the producers of these products and gear have not incurred any additional costs for the maintenance of such PRSs.
“Zaļā josta” SIA (company with limited liability) has started implementation of the project LIFE Waste To Resources IP ‘Waste To Resources Latvia – boosting regional sustainability and circularity by introducing the concept of using waste as a resource’ co-financed by the European Union LIFE Programme. The project is implemented together with the leading partner, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, and 20 other cooperation partners of the industry.
Within the framework of the project, “Zaļā josta” SIA will participate in the implementation of two activities: within the framework of the project, together with other cooperation partners, they will evaluate and develop recommendations for implementation of the producer responsibility system model in Latvia relating to tobacco products with filters and filters for use with tobacco products, with the aim to achieve improvement of the situation and reduce pollution from cigarette butts, to look for the most appropriate solutions that motivate people to dispose cigarette butts in a household waste container. Within the project, it is planned to study consumer behaviour and to model behavioural change, by creating a preventive infrastructure in the pilot territories of two municipalities and carrying out a comprehensive campaign that addresses the public, is educative and informative.
LIFE integrated project ‘Waste to Resources Latvia – boosting regional sustainability and circularity by introducing the concept of using waste as a resource’ (LIFE Waste to Resources IP, LIFE20 IPE/LV/000014) has received funding from the European Union LIFE Programme and the State Regional Development Agency. The main goal of the project is to reduce the amount of waste by introducing new measures for material circulation and reducing the environmental impact and carbon footprint of the economy, by fully implementing the measures determined in the National Waste Management Plan for 2021–2028.
The total funding allocated to “Zaļā josta” SIA for the implementation of the project is EUR 301,009.00, of which the EC LIFE Programme funding is EUR 181,205.00, the State Budget co-financing of the State Regional Development Agency is EUR 90,603.00 and the funding of “Zaļā josta” SIA is EUR 30,201.00.
For information:
In total, 1,900 million cigarette units were released for consumption in Latvia in 2019, thus the average annual amount of waste generated from cigarette filters amounts to ~ 394,492 kg. Currently, all European Union member states are working on development and introduction of PRS for tobacco products with filters and filters designed for use with tobacco products. To date, France is the only Member State in which PRS for tobacco products with filters and filters designed for use with tobacco products has been established and operating. France started the fight against environmental pollution caused by cigarette butts in 1975, but in February 2022 a national strategy was adopted to reduce the environmental impact of single-use plastic products, to reduce consumption and to promote recycling.
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