According to Art. 45, para. 1, item 13 of the Waste Management Act, for the persons placing packaged goods on the market has been introduced an obligation for registration in the public register maintained by the Bulgarian Executive Environmental Agency (“EEA”).
With Art. 31, para. 1 of the Ordinance on the on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment (the “Ordinance“), the scope of the same obligation is extended to persons placing on the market single-use plastic products under Annex No. 1, Part E of the Ordinance, and fishing gear containing plastic. The Ordinance transposes into Bulgarian legislation the requirements of Directive (EU) 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. The obligation for registration applies as of 1 September 2022.
Which products are single-use plastic products?
According to Annex No. 1, part E of the Ordinance, these are:
- food containers (with or without lid) for fast foods – these are foods intended for immediate consumption on or off the premises (take away), without further preparation (e.g. cooking, boiling or heating), and which are normally consumed from the container;
- bags and wrappers of flexible material for ready-to-eat foods;
- beverage containers with a capacity not exceeding 3 litters;
- beverage cups (including their lids and caps);
- thin plastic shopping bags (up to 50 microns);
- wet wipes for personal hygiene and household use;
- balloons (excluding those for industrial or professional use); and
- tobacco products with filters, and filters for such products sold separately.
What information should be provided?
Within one month from the start of the activity, persons placing the above products on the market should submit an application for registration in the public register to the EEA with the following information:
- name and unique identification code;
- (where applicable) trademarks used in the country;
- mailing address, including post code, location, street/boulevard name and number, and internet address;
- contact person, telephone, fax and e-mail;
- type of products marketed/sold to end customers;
- (where applicable) the way the obligations are fulfilled (individually or through a collective system), including the name of the recovery organization, of which it is a member;
- a statement of the accuracy of the information provided; and
- the date of the application.
Withing 10 days of the submission of the above information, the EEA shall provide the applicant with a registration number.
In case of change in the data, or in case of termination of the activity, the registered persons shall submit electronically an application to the EEA for registration of the change, respectively for deletion from the register.
For further information contact:
Ilya Komarevski, Partner
ilya.komarevski@kdp-law.com
Stanislava Irikova, Associate
stanislava.irikova@kdp-law.com
