VANA calls for greater transparency and delay in consultation response
Today, VANA has sent a consultation response to the Environmental Protection Act to the Ministry of the Environment. Among other things, VANA calls for producer responsibility for packaging not to take effect until 1 January 2026 and for greater transparency in fees and frameworks for the transfer of waste
Just before the summer holidays, the Ministry of the Environment sent a draft of the Environmental Protection Act, which sets the framework for, among other things, the extended producer responsibility for packaging and disposable plastic products, for consultation.
Today, Thursday 22 August, is the consultation deadline, and VANA has sent a consultation response signed by CEO Marianne Roed Jakobsen and VANA's entire Board of Directors to the Ministry of the Environment.
CEO Marianne Roed Jakobsen emphasises: "In our consultation response, we strongly urge that the producer responsibility does not come into force until 1 January 2026 to take into account our members’ budget processes, future price agreements and the opportunity to adapt their entire business to producer responsibility. It is not possible for companies to adapt appropriately when, due to a lack of legislation and guidance, there is still no clarity about which companies are covered, what requirements they must fulfil and what the costs will be."
VANA calls for:
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that the effective date for the producer responsibility is 1 January 2026.
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a clear framework for calculating fees to municipalities and the state.
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removal of the packaging tax.
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ensure that fees are in line with the actual directive obligation and when the producers can expect to know the cost level.
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waste producers do not have to apply for compensation individually, but can do so via their waste collector.
Read VANA's full consultation response to the Ministry of the Environment here.
“In our response, we also recommend greater transparency in the fees. The draft presents many different types of fees and compensations, in fact, fees are mentioned 542 times in the 332-page draft law. We hope that the ministry will listen so that the green agenda does not drown in administrative hassle and unnecessary bureaucracy,” concludes CEO Marianne Roed Jakobsen.
The next step is the executive order, which implements the framework set out in the Environmental Protection Act. It is expected that the executive order will be sent out for consultation in September.
Find more information on the status of the implementation of producer responsibility for packaging here and on relevant legislation here.