Single-use plastic products - is your company covered?
All companies which place single-use plastic products on the market will be responsible for financing the clean-up of litter from these including the municipal and state collection of waste from the single-use plastic products in public collection systems.
The main rule is that the financing obligation falls on the company that first makes the single-use plastic products available on the Danish market. That company is called the producer and is either:
- Danish companies which are established in Denmark and which professionally manufacture, package or import and market single-use plastic products in Denmark.
- Foreign companies that sell single-use plastic products and packaged plastic products directly to private households or to users other than private households professionally in Denmark via distance selling (by means of distance contracts).
Placement of producer responsibility
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency writes the following about the placement of the producer responsibility for the individual categories of single-use plastic products:
Food containers
Producer responsibility for food containers also applies to empty containers and will therefore generally fall to the manufacturer or importer.
Packaging bags and films
The directive states that packaging bags and films containing food, the producer responsibility generally will fall to the filler.
Beverage containers, including bottles
The company that manufactures, or the importer who imports, and first makes available the container for beverages that are consumed by drinking them.
Drinking cups
The producer responsibility for drinking cups is independent of any contents and will therefore generally fall to the manufacturer or importer.
Lightweight plastic carrier bags
The producer responsibility for lightweight plastic carrier bags is independent of any content and will therefore generally fall to the manufacturer or importer.
Wet wipes
The producer responsibility for wet wipes will generally fall to the manufacturer or importer.
Balloons
The producer responsibility for balloons is independent of any content and will therefore generally fall to the manufacturer or importer.
Filters for tobacco products
The producer responsibility for filters for tobacco products is independent of whether or not there is tobacco associated with the filter when it is sold, and therefore the producer responsibility will generally fall to the manufacturer or importer.