Law No. 20,920 for the Management of Waste, Extended Liability of the Producer and Promotion of Recycling (“EPR Law”), was published in the Official Gazette on June 1, 2016.
Purpose
The Law seeks to reduce the generation of waste and encourage its reuse, recycling and other types of recovery. To this end, it establishes the Extended Liability of the Producer (“REP” on account of its Spanish acronym), making the producer liable for the waste generated by its products, from its production until its recovery or elimination.
Scope of Application
The Law establishes various priority products, to which the EPR system shall apply. These are:
- Lubricant oils;
- Electric and electronic devices;
- Batteries;
- Containers and packaging;
- Tires; and
- Small Batteries.
For purposes of the Law, a producer will be defined as the person that (i) sells a priority product for the first time in the national market; (ii) sells under his/her/its own brand a priority product acquired from a third party that is not the first distributor; or (ii) imports a priority product for its professional use.
Associated obligations
The following are the main obligations this Law will impose for producers:
- Report, on an annual basis, the main aspects of its waste management through the Record of Emissions and Transference of Contaminants.
- Organize and finance the collection, storage, transportation and treatment of priority products waste.
- Comply with the waste collection and recovery goals set for each category of product.
- Through supreme decree, the Law also enables the establishment of eco-design; certification, signage and labeling of products; deposit and reimbursement systems, among others.
Establishment of collection and recovery goals
The collection and recovery goals shall be set through supreme decree. For establishing the latter, a stage of public consultation will be required, in order for any individual or corporate body to present comments and observations.
Any person who believes that the supreme decree does not adhere to the law and causes a damage may file a claim before the Environmental Tribunal.
Surveillance and penalties
The Superintendence of the Environment will be tasked with oversight and ensuring compliance with the requirements contained in the Law. This regulatory body will be authorized to impose penalties of up to 10,000 UTA (Unidades Tributarias Anuales a unit of account used in Chile for tax and penalty purposes, adjusted according to inflation) taking into consideration the seriousness of the infraction.
Link to Law No 20,920 (EPR Law) – in Spanish
