1. Waste management operators that participate in the supply chain of plastic input shall ensure that the collected plastic waste meets the following requirements:
(a)
the plastic waste originates only from municipal waste, or from food retail or other food businesses if it was only intended and used for contact with food, including waste discarded from a recycling scheme in accordance with Article 9(6);
(b)
the plastic waste originates only from plastic materials and articles manufactured in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 or recycled plastic materials and articles manufactured in accordance with this Regulation;
(c)
the plastic waste is subject to separate collection;
(d)
the presence of plastic materials and articles that are different from the plastic for which the decontamination process is intended, including caps, labels and adhesives, other materials and substances, and remaining food is reduced to a level specified in the requirements for the plastic input provided by the recycler and which shall not compromise the achieved level of decontamination.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, point (c), the plastic waste shall be considered as collected separately when one of the following conditions is fulfilled:
(a)
it consists only of plastic materials and articles meeting the requirements of paragraph 1, points (a) and (b), and which have been collected separately for recycling from any other waste;
(b)
it is collected together with other packaging waste fractions of municipal waste or with other non-packaging plastic, metal, paper or glass fractions of municipal waste collected separately from residual waste for recycling, and the following requirements are met:
(i)
the collection system collects only non-hazardous waste;
(ii)
the collection of waste and the subsequent sorting are designed and carried out to minimise contamination of collected plastic waste from any plastic waste not meeting the requirements of paragraph 1, points (a) and (b), or other waste;
3. The plastic waste shall be controlled throughout collection and pre-processing by means of quality assurance systems. The quality assurance systems shall:
(a)
ensure the conditions and requirements set out in paragraph 1 and 2 are met;
(b)
ensure traceability of each batch up to the point of the first sorting of collected plastic waste; and,
(c)
be certified by an independent third party.
Articles 4, 5, 6 and 7 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006 as well as point B of the Annex to that Regulation shall apply mutatis mutandis as regards good manufacturing practice, quality control and assurance systems and the relevant documentation.
1. The plastic input and the output of the applied decontamination process shall meet the specifications set out in column 3, 5, and 6 of table 1 of Annex I for the relevant recycling technology and, if applicable, the specific criteria set out in the authorisation.
2. The decontamination process shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant specifications and requirements laid out in column 8 of table 1 of Annex I and, if applicable, the specific criteria set out in the authorisation. Recyclers shall ensure compliance with Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006.
3. The decontamination installation shall meet the following requirements:
(a)
it is located at a single recycling facility, which is organised so as to ensure that no new contamination of recycled plastic or recycled plastic materials and articles can occur;
(b)
its configuration and operation corresponds to that of the recycling process it applies;
(c)
it is operated as described in the compliance monitoring summary sheet established in accordance with Article 26.
4. A repository of records used to record information on the quality of individual batches as defined in section 4.1 of the compliance monitoring summary sheet referred to in paragraph 3(c) shall be maintained. Records stored in that repository shall be retained for a period of at least 5 years.
Post-processing and use of recycled plastic materials and articles
1. Converters shall comply with the following requirements:
(a)
post-process recycled plastic in accordance with the instructions provided by the recycler or the supplying converter in accordance with Article 5(3);
(b)
where relevant, provide to subsequent converters instructions in accordance with Article 5, paragraphs (3), (4) and (5); and,
(c)
where relevant, provide instructions to the users of the recycled plastic materials and articles in accordance with Article 5(6).
2. Food business operators shall use recycled plastic materials and articles in accordance with the instructions received in accordance with Article 5(6).
They shall communicate relevant instructions to consumers of food packed in such materials and articles, and/or to other food business operators, where relevant.
3. Retailers of recycled plastic materials and articles not yet in contact with food shall communicate relevant instructions to the users of such materials and articles where such instructions are not apparent from labelling already applied to those materials and articles.
Requirements for the operation of recycling schemes
1. A single legal entity shall act as the manager of a recycling scheme, and shall be responsible for the overall functioning of the recycling scheme.
At least 15 working days prior to the start of the operation of a recycling scheme the manager of the recycling scheme shall inform the competent authority in the territory where it is established and the Commission for the purpose of its registration in the Union register established in accordance with Article 24.
The manager shall provide its name, address, contact persons, the name of the scheme, a summary of the scheme not exceeding 300 words, the marking referred to in paragraph 5, a list of Member States where business operators participating in the schemes are located, and references to any decontamination installations used by the scheme. Thereafter, the manager shall ensure this information is kept up to date.
2. A compliance monitoring summary sheet shall not be established, and Article 25(1)(c), and Article 26 shall not apply when recyclers notify the production of recycled plastic as part of a recycling scheme, unless column 8 of Table 1 of Annex I requires to establish it. In case Article 25(1)(c), and Article 26 do not apply, the registration status in accordance with paragraph 2, point (g) of Article 24, as referred to in Article 25(2), shall be ‘active’.
3. The manager of the recycling scheme shall provide a single document to all participating business operators and other participating organisations. This document shall set out the objectives of the scheme, explain how it functions, provide instructions, and set out the detailed obligations it places on the participants. The explanation shall include a description of the recycling operations.
4. Recycling schemes shall be set up in accordance with the specific requirements applicable to the applied suitable recycling technology as laid down in table 1 in Annex I and, where applicable, with the authorisation of the applied recycling process.
A waste collection system shall be part of a recycling scheme and shall be dedicated to the scheme so as to ensure that only materials and articles that were used subject to the scheme are collected.
5. At use stages during which their contact with food is intended or foreseeable, all materials and articles used subject to a recycling scheme shall be labelled with a marking registered in the Union register established in Article 24. That marking shall be clearly visible, indelible and unique to the recycling scheme.
6. Any food business operator using materials and articles bearing a marking provided for in paragraph 5 shall ensure that those materials and articles meet the following requirements:
(a)
they are labelled, used and cleaned in accordance with instructions obtained from the manager of the recycling scheme;
(b)
they are used only for the purpose of distribution, storage, display and sale of the foods which they are intended for;
(c)
they are not contaminated with materials or substances other than those permitted by the recycling scheme.
Where any of these requirements is not fulfilled, the materials or articles shall be excluded from the recycling scheme and be discarded.
7. Where a scheme permits collection from consumers, collection shall take place separately from other waste at designated collection points suitable for ensuring that the collection of waste is compliant with the scheme.
8. Recycled plastic materials and articles produced in accordance with the scheme may not be placed on the market for use outside of the scheme, unless column 9 of Annex I provides for derogation to this requirement.
9. Business operators and other organisations that participate in a recycling scheme:
(a)
shall operate a quality assurance system in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 2023/2006, designed to ensure compliance with the requirements of the scheme; or,
(b)
alternatively, small food business operators, may implement the requirements of the scheme as part of their permanent procedures based on the ‘hazard analysis and critical control points’ (HACCP) principles, as referred to in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 11 ) , applying these procedures mutatis mutandis to contamination hazards of the plastic.
