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The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency steps up supervision
Recent legislative changes have significantly increased the costs associated with packaging collection, particularly for packaging from households. In accordance with producer responsibility, companies that sell packaged goods must pay for this collection.
As a producer responsibility organization, we believe it is essential that all companies with producer responsibility actually participate and pay their share of these costs. It is unacceptable to free ride on the system that responsible companies with producer responsibility finance.
NPA has repeatedly highlighted that far too many companies currently fail to fulfil their producer responsibility obligation. In addition to our own efforts to contact non-compliant producers, we have for a long time stressed the importance of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency intensifying its proactive supervision. This is crucial for ensuring fair competition among companies subject to producer responsibility for packaging.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency is now launching an initiative to develop its working methods and increase supervision in the area of producer responsibility. The aim is to ramp up efforts both in the short and long term and to conduct more thorough supervision in this area.
”We are very pleased that the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has responded to this issue and has now decided to strengthen its efforts in supervision and market surveillance of producer responsibilities. We naturally hope this will result in more companies fulfilling their obligations. It is also positive that the Agency is addressing market surveillance, although we would have liked to see even stronger measures in that area,” says Henrik Nilsson, Head of Business Development & Public Affairs at NPA.
Packaging is one of nine product groups subject to producer responsibility for which the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency is the supervisory authority. This year, the focus of supervision is on identifying companies with producer responsibility and ensuring they register, report, and join a producer responsibility organisation. The Agency also reviews submitted data and supervises the producer responsibility organisations.
Currently, companies for supervision are being selected based on incoming tips and lists of companies suspected of non-compliance. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency will send out information and initiate individual cases against companies. Regarding market surveillance, control efforts will be undertaken to develop methodologies and increase understanding of regulatory compliance.
Read more about the Swedish EPA’s supervisory work here (in Swedish)
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