PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Andreia Candeias Mousinho, Diogo Duarte Campos, João Marques Mendes and Raquel Freitas, PLMJ
• The planning of waste prevention and waste man- agement – this is government planning, notably providing certain targets for which some persons (usually PROs) are accountable. • The proximity of waste management operations to the place where the product became waste. This legislation also covers waste transportation and establishes rules and schemes on urban waste, con- struction and demolition waste, as well as dangerous waste. Finally, it sets out the main provisions on the licensing procedures for waste management opera- tors. To create the conditions necessary for a circular economy, the RGGR has also introduced rules on by- products and end-of-waste status, as well as other forms of waste declassification. 15.2 Retention of Environmental Liability Environmental liability falls on the person responsible under the applicable law, and sanctions and regulato- ry responsibility cannot be transferred. However, from a contractual standpoint, the costs relating to envi- ronmental responsibility/liability may be transferred or retained under the parties’ agreement. Transfer of Liability When a party responsible for waste management delivers the waste to a third party, such as a licensed waste management operator or any other operator authorised to deal with it (eg, a PRO or public urban waste management system), the first party’s liability for waste management ceases and it is transferred to these operators. To properly transfer their respon- sibility, the person concerned must be sure that the chosen operator’s scope of licensing covers the waste that is being delivered for management. Documentation Evidence on the proper management and circula- tion of waste can be found in the documents that waste producers, transporters and final recipients are obliged to fill in, such as electronic waste notes (e-GAR), which must accompany all waste transport operations and set out information on the above play- ers and the waste. Likewise, waste producers must fill in and submit annual waste record charts to the APA
– eg, on the types and quantities of waste produced and to whom it was delivered for transportation and treatment. 15.3 Circular Economy Requirements The eco-design of products, take-back schemes and recovery obligations are prominent in specific waste flow regulations (listed in 15.1 Key Laws and Regula- tory Controls ). Information for End Users Concerning goods in general, producers must ensure that their end users can obtain the necessary informa- tion about the possibility of reusing the goods and their components and about their dismantling, as well as information about substances of high concern. In addition, specific regulations need to be enacted, and products are not to be placed on the market unless some quotas of recovered materials are incorporated into them. For specific waste flows, producers must also provide end users with certain information, such as on: • waste prevention measures; • their contribution to reuse and preparation for reuse; • existing take-back and collection schemes; and • the prohibition on littering. UNILEX UNILEX is based on two main features and brings into effect the EPR principle set out in European law. Pro- ducers placing products on the market under these flows (eg, packaging) must sign up to one of the cor- responding PROs, by which the producers’ responsi- bility is transferred to the manager of such scheme. Adhering to a PRO triggers a payment obligation of a regulatory fee ( ecovalor ) intended to cover all the costs of waste management vis-à-vis the products placed on the market and declared to the PRO. These producers can implement an individual scheme by carrying out the waste management operations themselves, subject to the prior approval of the APA. While provided for in Portuguese law, individual schemes are rare, though this solution is of growing interest to big players under the EPR.
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