A step towards a cleaner environment – banning certain plastic products from the market
On 25 November 2021, the National Assembly adopted the Act on prohibition of placing of certain single-use plastic products on the market in the Republic of Slovenia (“ZPDPPEUT”). This Act transposes into Slovenian legislation the provisions of Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment (the “Directive”), which the Republic of Slovenia should have transposed by 3 July 2021.
The Directive delivers on the EU’s strategy on plastic, an important element in the EU’s move towards a circular economy, which dictates that the design and manufacture of plastics and plastic products should respect the needs for reuse, repair and recycling and promote more sustainable materials.
ZPDPPEUT therefore places restrictions on certain plastic products in order to reduce their adverse impact on the environment. The Act thus prohibits the placing on the market of oxo-degradable plastic products and single-use plastic products. In doing so, it defines single-use plastic products as those products that are made wholly or partly from plastic and that are not conceived, designed or placed on the market to accomplish, within their life span, multiple trips or rotations. It therefore refers to products that are not designed to be returned to a producer for refill or re-used for the same purpose for which they were conceived.
ZPDPPEUT, which entered into force on 22 December 2021, exhaustively lists which single-use plastic products will now be banned. These include, inter alia: (i) certain cotton bud sticks; (ii) cutlery; (iii) plates; (iv) straws (with some exceptions); (v) certain food containers made of expanded polystyrene; and (vi) beverage containers made of expanded polystyrene, including their caps and lids.
ZPDPPEUT also lays down fines for producers who would place these products on the market. In this context, “placing on the market” means the first making available of a product on the market in the Republic of Slovenia. However, under the ZPDPPEUT, a producer is not only a legal person or a sole proprietor who manufactures these products, but also, inter alia, a person who professionally fills, sells, obtains from another EU Member State or EEA Member State, or imports from third countries. The Market Inspectorate will oversee implementation of this Act.
Author: Klavdija Kek, Senior Associate
