CNMC PUBLISHES REPORT ON THE PRD THAT WILL REGULATE PACKAGING AND PACKAGING WASTE

To regulate waste management through a series of obligations in order to protect general interests related to public health and environmental conservation. To this end, the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) has just published a report on the Draft Royal Decree (PRD) on packaging and packaging waste.

This body values positively the validity throughout the national territory of the authorization of collective systems, the inclusion of ‘ecomodulation’ criteria in the financial contributions of producers and the introduction of safeguards against anti-competitive behavior in extended producer responsibility systems, all of which are previous recommendations of the Commission.

Among the main recommendations is the risk of exchanges of commercially sensitive information and other risks to competition. To avoid bad practices, it is recommended to use extended responsibility models that should be evaluated periodically; to entrust the management of commercially sensitive information to independent third parties, as well as to ensure that public information and reports do not contain any sensitive information.

Regarding packaging targets, the CNMC recommends further justification of certain reuse and packaging collection targets in order not to create unjustified competitive disadvantages between different beverage containers, product types or packaging (household, commercial and industrial).

With regard to prevention and eco-design, greater temporal flexibility is proposed, allowing plans with lower periodicity in order to better adapt to changes, as well as a more precise delimitation of permitted activities.

The document also recommends greater precision in the terms “specifications and precisions” that can be introduced in the authorization of the system by the regional authorities, in order to avoid unjustified differences at the territorial level.

Likewise, it is positively valued that the financial contribution provided by the producer of the product establishes a system of bonuses and penalties that is transparent with respect to the ecomodulation criteria, as well as a periodic review of these systems.

It is also proposed to promote the conclusion of public contracts when public authorities intervene in the organization of waste management in order to open up the provision of the service to competition, as well as to include the possibility for public authorities to notify the CNMC of any indication of anti-competitive practices in this area.

Regarding the deposit, return and refund systems, the commission recommends an efficient design of the DRS and the implementation of control procedures in order to avoid or minimize fraud. In the case of the mandatory DRS for single-use packaging, further justification is recommended both for the minimum amount, 10 cents, and for not considering volume and material in this minimum amount.