S.L. 549.141 Art. 4Extended producer responsibility. S.L. 549.63 S.L. 549.63 S.L. 549.36 S.L. 549.43 S.L. 549.54 S.L. 549.89 S.L. 549.63

(1) In order to strengthen the re-use and the prevention, recycling and other recovery of waste, the Minister may take either legislative or non-legislative measures to ensure that any producer of a product has extended producer responsibility:

Provided that, when applying extended producer responsibility, the Minister shall take into account the technical feasibility and economic viability and the overall environmental, human health and social impacts, respecting the need to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market.

(2) The extended producer responsibility shall be applied without prejudice to the responsibility for waste management as provided for in regulation 12(1) of the Waste Regulations and without prejudice to existing waste stream specific and product specific Union or national legislation.

(3) In the case of the introduction of the measures referred to in sub-regulation (1), the costs of waste management are to be borne wholly by the producer of the product from which the waste came:

Provided that the distributors of such product may share these costs.

(4) Where the measures referred to in sub-regulation (1) include the establishment of extended producer responsibility schemes, including those established pursuant to other Union or national legislation, the Minister, in consultation with the Authority and the Agency, shall:

(a) define in a clear way the roles and responsibilities of all relevant actors involved, including producers of products placing products on the national market, producer responsibility organisations, private or public waste operators, local authorities and, where appropriate, re-use and preparing for re-use operators and social economy enterprises;

(b) in line with the waste hierarchy, set waste management targets, aiming to attain at least the quantitative targets relevant for the extended producer responsibility scheme as laid down in the Waste Regulations, the Waste

Management (End of Life Vehicles) Regulations, the Waste

Management (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations, the Waste Management (Waste Batteries and Accumulators) Regulations and the Waste Management (Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations, and set other quantitative targets and, or qualitative objectives that are considered relevant for the extended producer responsibility scheme;

(c) ensure that a reporting system is in place to gather data on the products placed on the national market by the producers of products subject to extended producer responsibility and data on the collection and treatment of waste resulting from those products specifying, where appropriate, the waste material flows, as well as other data relevant for the purposes of monitoring the targets referred to in paragraph (b);

(d) ensure equal treatment of producers of products regardless of their origin or size, without placing a disproportionate regulatory burden on producers, including small and medium-sized enterprises, of small quantities of products:

Provided that the Authority shall ensure that extended producer responsibility schemes that have been established before 4 July 2018, comply with the requirements laid down in these regulations by 5 January 2023.

(5) Producers of products established in another Member State of the European Union and placing products on the national market may appoint a legal or natural person established in Malta as an authorised representative for the purposes of fulfilling their obligations related to any extended producer responsibility schemes established in Malta:

Provided that the authorised representative shall adhere to the Authority’s requirements, such as registration, information and reporting requirements.

(6) The Minister may, in consultation with the Authority and the Agency, through publication in the Gazette, require that producers of products that undertake financial or financial and organisational responsibilities for the management of the waste stage of a product’s life cycle of their own accord shall apply some or all of the requirements referred to in these regulations.

(7) The Authority shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the waste holders targeted by the extended producer responsibility schemes established in accordance with sub-regulation (1), are informed about waste prevention measures, centres for re-use and preparing for re-use, take-back and collection systems, and the prevention of littering:

Provided that the Minister shall take measures to create incentives for the waste holders to assume their responsibility to deliver their waste into the separate collection systems in place, notably, where appropriate, through economic incentives or regulations.

(8) The Minister, in consultation with the Authority and the Agency, may take appropriate measures to encourage the design of products and components of products in order to reduce their environmental impact and the generation of waste in the course of the production and subsequent use of products, and in order to ensure that the recovery and disposal of products that have become waste take place in accordance with regulations 4A and 4B of the Waste

Regulations.

Such measures may encourage, the inter alia, development, production and marketing of products and components of products that are suitable for multiple use, that contain recycled materials, that are technically durable and easily repairable and that are, after having become waste, suitable for preparing for re-use and recycling in order to facilitate proper implementation of the waste hierarchy. The measures shall take into account the impact of products throughout their life cycle, the waste hierarchy and, where appropriate, the potential for multiple recycling.