The new packaging and waste legislation published in 2022 brings with it significant changes to EPR, in our view the most relevant aspects are:

• The obligation for producers to declare packaging placed on the market through the Register of Product Producers.
• The extension of the EPR to commercial and industrial packaging from 2025.
• The extension of the costs of the EPR for household packaging.

There are a number of circumstances that can confer on a company the role of product producer:

• Packager: an economic operator packaging products for placing on the market
• Economic operator who commissions a third party for packaging
• Trader involved in intra-Community import or purchase
• Shops using service packaging to deliver the product to the final consumer
• E-commerce platforms, if packaged products from outside Spain are placed on the market through these platforms and the producer has not appointed an Authorised Representative in Spain.
• Courier companies, retailers or e-commerce platforms that add packaging for long-distance shipments.

If your company’s activity falls into any of the above cases, you are considered a product producer according to the legislation and therefore have to comply with the obligations related to extended producer responsibility. Contact us for more information.

Royal Decree 1055/2022 allows companies to meet their separate collection and recycling obligations for the waste they place on the market individually (SIRAP) or collectively (PRO). The difference is that in a SIRAP the company assumes the PAR on an individual basis and if it joins a PRO, it is the collective system that assumes this responsibility on its behalf.

The obligation for EPR on commercial and industrial packaging starts on 1 January 2025, therefore companies have to choose either PRO or establish a SIRAP during 2024.

PRO is responsible for financing and/or organising all or part of the separate collection of waste to meet separate collection and recycling targets at both regional and national level on behalf of its producer partners.

Companies have to choose their PRO, or establish a SIRAP for their commercial and industrial packaging by 2024. In the case of household packaging, the obligation to be a member of a PRO dates back to 1998

The legislation provides for the possibility for companies to change PRO each year by notifying the PRO to which it was previously affiliated and the register of producers. Article 17 of RD 1055/2022 establishes that a company can be a member of several SCRAPs at the same time, with the condition that the same type of packaging has to be a member of only one PRO.

According to Article 15.3 of Regulation 1055/2022, the number assigned in the entry in the Register of Producers must appear on invoices and any other documentation accompanying commercial transactions of packaged products from their placing on the market to the points of sale of goods or products to consumers for household packaging, or to the end user for commercial and industrial packaging. It is not necessary to cite which PRO it has joined.

Article 23.5 sets out the information to be provided on the financial contribution to PRO:

1. Contribution made to PRO for the packaging of the products covered by the invoice
2. Differentiated from the rest of the items: it will not be included in the unit price and will be considered effective production cost.
3. If this information does not appear, it is presumed that you are not contributing to any PRO.

According to Royal Decree 1055/2022, for registration in the Ministry’s Register of Product Producers, it must be the product producers who must make the entry in the packaging section of the register and make the declarations.

PRO can perform registration and data reporting on your behalf only if the company authorises it to do so.

RPWith the new Royal Decree 1055/2022 the marking with the green dot symbol, which until now was compulsory on the Spanish market, is no longer compulsory.

The Prevention and Ecodesign Plan must be submitted the year after the minimum thresholds established by RD 1055/2022 in article 18 have been exceeded. Procircular will develop PEPEs in 2024 for companies that adhere to its PRO and support them in complying with this legal obligation.

Under Spanish law, a foreign company must appoint an Authorised Representative in Spain for compliance with the EPR. In the event that he chooses not to do so, the responsibility would fall on the importer who would be responsible for placing the products on the market and would therefore have to comply with the obligations under the ADR.

Procircular bases its proposal on generating value for its clients on four pillars:

• All your packaging in a single PRO.
• Efficient models and efficient tariffs.
• Customer service that responds quickly to your needs.
• International scope that allows us to provide services both in Spain and in third countries.

Procircular incorporates in its scope domestic, commercial and industrial packaging; covering all materials and all the national territory. We are open to companies coming from any sector obliged to comply with the EPR.

You can register directly in the “Join us” module. We will get in touch with you and let you know.