Increased Demands On Waste Producers - Who Do They Apply To And What Do They Entail?

Published date03 February 2021
Subject MatterEnvironment, Environmental Law, Waste Management
Law FirmFoyen Advokatfirma
AuthorMs Caterina Carreman and Sara Eriksson

During the summer of 2020, several new rules regarding waste were enacted. These changes in waste legislation were part of the implementation of the Waste Framework Directive and the ongoing work towards a more circular economy. One of the changes is that commencing on 1 November 2020, waste producers must report hazardous waste to a national waste register. Below is an overview of what rules applies with respect to the reporting of hazardous waste.

The changes that came about in the summer of 2020 in the area of waste management entailed adjustments to both Chapter 15 of the Environmental Code and the new Waste Ordinance (SFS 2020:614). The most important changes from 2020, which are a first step in the implementation of the revised legislative framework on waste, can be summarized as introducing mandatory minimum requirements for producer responsibility. This means increased producer responsibility for packaging, increased waste prevention work for municipalities, requirements for the separate collection of hazardous waste, textiles and biological waste, a ban on incineration of certain waste, increased requirements for construction and demolition waste and a national waste register for hazardous waste. These various changes will take effect at different times, spanning a period of time from 1 August 2020 to January 2023.

As of August 2020, stricter rules with respect to the business' duty to maintain records in relation to their handling of hazardous waste apply to all businesses classed as waste producers, The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency gives fluorescent lamps as an example of hazardous waste. It is therefore important to bear in mind that as the contents of the waste product that may be hazardous i.e. mercury or certain electronic components, what is classified as hazardous waste, may be something that is handled in otherwise "ordinary" circumstances. As of 1 November 2020, businesses must report information regarding their hazardous waste to the national register at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.

Who must report to the national register?

The Waste Ordinance stipulates who has a duty to record and report hazardous waste and this duty applies to the following operators: waste producers, transporters, collectors, dealers and brokers and, ultimately, processors. In this article we will focus on waste producers. In the new rules, the legislators have provided a new definition in Chapter 15, section 4 of the Environmental Code...

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