Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation has been established in the Philippines, which affects brand owners and some manufacturers and importers. Lucy Dolan outlines who is obligated by EPR for plastic packaging, the products in scope, incentives, and penalties for non-compliance.
EPR has been established for plastic packaging. Producers and importers of packaged goods and service packaging with assets above PHP 100m (EUR 1.75m) will be required to register with DENR and launch an individual or collective programme. Micro, small, and medium enterprises are not required to register but are highly encouraged. This concerns B2B and B2C sales routes.
Under these regulations, the obligated party is the brand owner. In the absence of a brand owner, the obligation will lie with the product manufacturer or importer that supplies to the general consumer or distributes the same as the material product of the brand owner.
The products in scope under this act include:
There will be penalties for producers that are non-compliant. Large enterprises will pay twice the recovery and diversion of their plastic footprint or the fines below (whichever is the higher amount):
These fines will be the same if an enterprise fails to register with the EPR programme on time. There will also be an audit programme in place to ensure compliance.
There are talks that the law will be encouraging EPR schemes through a reward system. There is an opportunity for large enterprises to apply for a tax incentive following approval – activities must be identified in the qualified activities under the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP).
If your business is affected by environmental legislation overseas, Valpak will remove the administrative and resource-intensive burden of complying and has a range of services that can be tailored to suit your business’s needs.
To find out more about international environmental legislation and how Valpak can help please call us on 03450 682 572 or complete our online enquiry form.