http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/tris/pisa/cfcontent.cfm?vFile=120050413EN.DOC

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Decree-Law No …/2005

of …………

Second amendment to Decree-Law No 366-A/97, of 20 December, establishing the legal system for the management of packaging and packaging waste

Decree-Law No 366-A/97, of 20 December, subsequently amended by means of Decree-Law No 162/2000, of 27 July, transposed European Parliament and Council Directive No 94/62/EC, of 20 December, into national legislation and established the principles and rules applicable to the management of packaging and packaging waste.

The quantitative objectives for the recovery and recycling of packaging waste were revised by means of European Parliament and Council Directive No 2004/12/EC, of 11 February 2004.

The present order, as well as enshrining the principle of preventing the production of packaging waste, transposes the above-mentioned amendments into national legislation, through the introduction of additional interpretative criteria for determining the definition of ‘packaging’ and the updating of the objectives for the management of packaging waste.

The National Association of Portuguese Municipalities has been consulted.

Hence:

In accordance with point a) of Paragraph 1 of Article 198 of the Constitution, the Government orders:

Article 1

Amendment to Decree-Law No 366-A/97 of 20 December

Articles 1, 2, 6, 7, 11 and 14 of Decree-Law No 366-A/97, of 20 December, shall be worded as follows:

“Article 1

[…]

1 – The present decree-law lays down the principles and rules applicable to the management of packaging and packaging waste, with a view to the prevention of the production of that waste, the recovery of used packaging, recycling and other forms of recovery of packaging waste and the consequent reduction in its final elimination, ensuring a high level of environmental protection, and guaranteeing the operation of the internal market and preventing barriers to trade and distortions and restrictions of competition in the Community.

2 – The present decree-law transposes into national legislation European Parliament and Council Directive No 94/62/EC of 20 December, amended by means of European Parliament and Council Directive No 2004/12/EC, of 11 February 2004.

3 - [Previous No 2].

4 – [Previous No 3].

Article 2

Definitions

1 - […];

a) ‘Packaging’: all and any products made of any kind of material used to contain, protect, transport, handle, deliver and present goods, both raw materials and processed products, from the producer to the user or consumer, including all ‘disposable’ items used for the same purposes, without prejudice to the provisions of the following paragraph and of Annex I;

b) […];

c) […];

d) […];

e) […];

f) […];

h) […];

i) […];

j) […];

l) […];

m) […];

o) […];

p) […];

q) […];

2 - […];

3 - […];

Article 6

[…]

1 – […].

2 – […].

3 – […].

4 – […].

5 – In any event, with a view to facilitating recovery and recovery, including recycling, the packaging may indicate the type of material or materials used, for the purposes of identification and classification by the respective industry, in accordance with the identification system laid down in Commission Decision 97/129/EC.

6 – […].

Article 7

[…]

1 – The objectives for recovery, incineration in installations for the incineration of waste with energy recovery and recycling of packaging waste shall be as follows:

a) By 31 December 2001: recovery or incineration in installations for the incineration of waste with energy recovery of a minimum of 25% by weight of packaging waste, though it is recommended that the values defined in points b) and c) be achieved before the date set therein;

b) By 31 December 2005: recovery or incineration in installations for the incineration of waste with energy recovery of a minimum of 50% by weight of packaging waste;

c) By 31 December 2005: recycling of a minimum of 25% by weight of all materials contained in packaging waste, with a minimum of 15 % by weight for each packaging material;

d) By 31 December 2011: recovery or incineration in installations for the incineration of waste with energy recovery of a minimum of 60% by weight of packaging waste;

e) By 31 December 2011: recycling of between a minimum of 55% and a maximum of 80% by weight of packaging waste;

f) By 31 December 2011 the following minimum objectives for recycling of materials contained in packaging waste shall be achieved:

i) 60% by weight for glass;

ii) 60% by weight for paper and cardboard;

iii) 50% by weight for metals;

iv) 22.5% by weight for plastics, exclusively meaning material which is recycled in the form of plastics;

v) 15% by weight for wood.

2 – The objectives laid down in paragraph 1 only relate to packaging waste exported outside the Community, in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of the Council, and Regulation (EC) No 1420/1999 of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 1547/1999 of the Commission, for which it is demonstrated that the recovery or recycling takes place under conditions equivalent to those laid down in the applicable Community provisions.

Article 11

[…]

1 – The following shall be considered violations, punishable by a fine of …. to …., in the case of individual persons, and of …. to …., in the case of collective persons:

a) […];

b) […];

c) […];

d) […];

e) […];

f) […]º

2 – […].

Article 14

[…]

The abusive use of the symbol referred to in Article 6(3) shall also lead to the obligation to compensate the body referred to in the same article by a minimum sum of 0.50 euros per item of packaging.”

Article 2

New provisions

An Article 3-A and an Annex I are hereby added to Decree-Law No 366-A/97, of 20 December, with the following wording:

“Article 3-A

Prevention

1 – All parties involved in the life cycle of packaging, from its design to the handling of the respective waste, in accordance with their degree of involvement and responsibility, shall contribute to the proper functioning of the management systems created at national level for the flow of packaging and packaging waste, adopting the most appropriate ecodesign and sustainable consumption practices in view of the legal provisions and technical rules in force.

2. Packagers and/or those placing packaging on the national market, as well as producers of packaging, shall ensure compliance with the essential requirements for the manufacture and composition of packaging laid down in the rules adopted pursuant to Article 9, in particular in Decree-Law No 407/98, of 21 December, in accordance with the harmonised Community rules, in particular with NP EN 13428:2005 "Packaging – Specific requirements for manufacture and composition - Prevention through reduction at source" and EN 13429:2004 "Packaging - Recovery".

ANNEX I

1 – Additional criteria for detailing the definition of ‘packaging’ laid down in sub-paragraph a) of point 1 and in point 2 of Article 2:

a) The definition of ‘packaging’ includes items that also play other roles, except where, cumulatively, the item is an integral part of a product, where it is necessary in order to contain, support or conserve that product throughout its life or where all the elements are intended to be used, consumed or eliminated together.

b) The definition of ‘packaging’ includes items that are intended for display at the point of sale and ‘disposable’ articles sold, displayed or designed for display at the point of sale, where they play a packaging role.

c) The definition of ‘packaging’ includes:

i) The components of packaging;

ii) Additional elements integrated into the packaging;

iii) Additional elements directly appended or fixed to a product and which play a packaging role, except for cases in which they form an integral part of that product, intended to be consumed or eliminated together.

2 – The criterion laid down in point a) of paragraph 1 expressly includes boxes for confectionery and film for wrapping compact disc cases and expressly excludes pots intended to contain plants throughout their life, tool boxes, tea bags, wax coatings for cheese and skins of sausages.

3 – The criterion laid down in point b) of paragraph 1 expressly includes paper or plastic service packaging, disposable plates and cups, film for wrapping food products, bags for sandwiches and aluminium foil and expressly excludes disposable stirrers and cutlery.

4 - The criterion laid down in point c) of paragraph 1 expressly includes as packaging, labels directly appended to the product or fixed to it, and as part of the packaging, mascara brushes integrated into the lid of the recipient, self-adhesive labels fixed to another packaging article, staples, plastic bags and dose-measuring devices integrated into containers for detergents.”

Seen and approved in the Council of Ministers of