The government proposed to postpone the requirements for the disposal of packaging

The government finalized the draft law “On Production and Consumption Wastes”, prepared as part of the extended producer responsibility (EPR) concept, follows from a letter from Elena Kovaleva, director of the department of natural resources, land relations and agro-industrial complex of the government. The document was sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Justice, the Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Federal Customs Service on March 7 (Vedomosti has it). According to the bill (available from Vedomosti), a 100% packaging recycling standard for manufacturers will have to come into force on January 1, 2027. At the same time, from January 1, 2025, businesses will have to ensure the recycling of 55% of the mass of produced and imported packaging, and from January 1, 2026 – 75%. The law itself, if adopted, will enter into force in 2024.

The reform has been discussed in the government for two years. Initially, the rules stipulated that the standards would gradually (by 10% annually) increase from 2023, but then the government postponed the reform. The previous version of the bill (“Vedomosti” wrote about this on May 18, 2022) assumed that the increase in standards to 100% would come into force in 2025. The current standard assumes a recycling obligation of 10–45% (depending on the type of packaging).