Information on prevention and management of packaging waste
1. In addition to the information referred to in Article 8a(2) of Directive 2008/98/EC and in Article 12 of this Regulation, producers or, where entrusted with carrying out extended producer responsibility obligations in accordance with Article 46(1) of this Regulation, producer responsibility organisations, or public authorities appointed by Member States when applying Article 8a(2) of Directive 2008/98/EC, shall make available to end users, in particular consumers, the following information regarding the prevention and management of packaging waste with respect to the packaging that the producers supply on the territory of a Member State:
(a)
the role of end users in contributing to waste prevention, including any best practices;
(b)
re-use arrangements available for packaging;
(c)
the role of end users in contributing to the separate collection of packaging waste materials, including handling of packaging containing hazardous products or waste;
(d)
the meaning of the labels and symbols affixed, printed or engraved on packaging in accordance with Article 12 of this Regulation or present in the documents accompanying the packaged product;
(e)
the impact of inappropriate discarding of packaging waste, for example as litter or in mixed municipal waste, on the environment and on human health or the safety of persons and the adverse environmental impact of single-use packaging, in particular plastic carrier bags;
(f)
the composting properties and appropriate waste management options for compostable packaging in accordance with Article 9(2) of this Regulation; consumers shall be informed that compostable packaging is not suitable for home composting and that compostable packaging is not to be discarded in nature.
Obligations under the first subparagraph, point (d) of this paragraph shall apply from 12 August 2028 or from the date of application of the relevant provision of Article 12, whichever is the latest.
2. The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be up to date and provided by means of:
(a)
a website or other means of electronic communication;
(b)
public information;
(c)
education programmes and campaigns;
(d)
signposting in one or more languages which can be easily understood by end users and consumers.
3. Where information is provided publicly, the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information in accordance with the relevant Union and national law shall be preserved.
Reporting to the Commission
1. Member States shall submit the following data to the Commission for each calendar year:
(a)
data on the implementation of Article 52(1), points (a) to (d), and data pursuant to Table 2 of Annex XII on reusable packaging;
(b)
the annual consumption of very lightweight plastic carrier bags, lightweight plastic carrier bags, thick plastic carrier bags and very thick plastic carrier bags per capita, separately for each category as listed in Table 4 of Annex XII;
(c)
the separate collection rate of packaging as listed in Table 5 of Annex XII covered by the obligation to establish deposit and return systems set out in Article 50(2).
Member States may also provide data on the annual consumption of carrier bags of other materials.
2. Member States shall submit the following data to the Commission for each calendar year:
(a)
the quantity of packaging made available for the first time on the territory of that Member State, or unpacked by a producer without being an end user, for each packaging category as listed in Table 3 of Annex XII;
(b)
the quantity of collected packaging waste for each packaging material as referred to in Article 52;
(c)
the quantity of recycled packaging waste and recycling rates for each packaging category as listed in Table 3 of Annex XII.
3. The first reporting year shall concern:
(a)
with respect to the obligations laid down in paragraph 1, points (a) and (b), and paragraph 2, the second full calendar year after the entry into force of the implementing act that establishes the format for reporting to the Commission, in accordance with paragraph 7;
(b)
with respect to the obligation laid down in paragraph 1, point (c), the calendar year 2028.
4. Member States shall submit the data referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 electronically within 19 months of the end of the reporting year for which the data are collected in the format established by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 7.
5. The data submitted by Member States in accordance with this Article shall be accompanied by a quality check report. That quality check report shall be presented in the format established by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 7.
6. The data submitted by Member States in accordance with this Article shall be accompanied by a report on the application of Article 53(7) and (11), and shall include detailed information about the average loss rates where applicable.
7. The Commission shall, by 12 February 2027, adopt implementing acts establishing:
(a)
rules for the calculation, verification and submission of data in accordance with paragraph 1, points (a) and (c), and paragraph 2, including the methodology for determining the quantity of packaging waste generated, and the format for the submission of those data;
(b)
the methodology for the calculation of the annual consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags per capita referred to in paragraph 1, point (b), and the format for the submission of those data;
(c)
the correction factor referred to in Article 43(2) to account for the increase or decrease in tourism in relation to the base year.
Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 65(2).
8. Member States shall require that system operators of re-use systems and all economic operators making packaging available in the Member States provide competent authorities with accurate and reliable data allowing Member States to fulfil their reporting obligations under this Article, taking into account, where relevant, particular problems faced by small and medium-sized enterprises with regard to the provision of detailed data.
Packaging databases
1. By 12 months from the date of adoption of the implementing acts referred to in Article 56(7), Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that databases on packaging and packaging waste are established, where not already in place, on a harmonised basis, for the purpose of fulfilling their reporting obligations laid down in Article 56.
2. The databases referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the following:
(a)
information on the magnitude, characteristics and evolution of the packaging and packaging waste flows at the level of individual Member States;
(b)
the data listed in Annex XII.
3. The packaging databases shall be accessible to the wider public in a machine-readable format that allows access to up-to-date data regarding reporting and cost of packaging waste management and that ensures interoperability and the re-use of data. They shall be provided in the official language or languages of the Member State concerned by means of:
(a)
a website or other means of electronic communication; or
(b)
public reports.
The requirements referred to in the first subparagraph shall be without prejudice to commercially sensitive information or data protection laws.
