The European Union s IPA 2010 programme for Albania

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1 1 The European Union s IPA 2010 programme for Albania Technical Assistance for Strengthening the Capacity of the Ministry of Environment in Albania for Law Drafting and Enforcement of National Environmental Legislation (EuropeAid/130987/C/SER/AL) Directive Specific Implementation Plan for the Directive 94/62/EEC of 20 December 1994 on packaging and packaging waste as amended by Directive 2004/12/EC This project is funded by The European Union

2 Project title: Technical Assistance for Strengthening the Capacity of the Ministry of Environment in Albania for Law Drafting and Project number: Europe Aid/130987/C/SER/AL; Contract no. 2011/ Country: Republic of Albania Beneficiary Contractor Name: Ministry of Environment Grontmij A/S Address: Durresi str. Nr 27, Tirana, Albania Granskoven 8 DK-2600 Glostrup Contact Person: Ardiana Sokoli Paolo Bacca Phone: Ardinana.Sokoli@moe.gov.al Paolo.Bacca@selea.al Date of Report: November 2013 Component A: Enhancing Ministry s ability to implement and enforce legislation Title: Directive Specific Implementation Plan for the Directive 94/62/EEC of 20 December 1994 on the packaging and packaging waste as amended by Directive 2004/12/EC Authors: QA Checked: Bendis Bocari, Jesper Ansbaek Paolo BACCA Acknowledgement The project team wishes to express its gratitude to all resource persons and experts from all institutions and stakeholders involved in the collection of data and information and to all persons and bodies that have supported the development of this Working Paper. Special thanks are extended to the Ministry of Environment and its legal staff. This report has been prepared by a project team working for Grontmij. The findings conclusions and interpretations expressed in this document are those of Grontmij alone and should not in any way be taken to reflect the opinions and policies of the European Commission. 2

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7 1. REQUIREMENTS OF EU LEGISLATION Background EU Legislation Covered Direct Requirements of Legislation Implications Links with other Legislation in this Sector PRESENT SITUATION Government Policy Roles & Responsibilities Other issues related to implementation and enforcement Current Legal Framework Current Implementation Status Current Investment Status APPROXIMATION PLAN Overall Plan and Milestones Transposition Plan Implementation Plan Resources and Costs Financing Strategy Benefits Key Issues and Uncertainties 37 ANNEXES 38 ANNEX I: RELEVANT NATIONAL LEGISLATION 38 ANNEX II: TABLE OF CONCORDANCE 39 3

4 List of abbreviations BAT BOT CA CARDS CDF CDW CF CoM CP DCM DfID DG DSIP EAN EBRD EC ECJ EEA EEC EFA EI EIA EIB ELPA EMAS EPR ERDF EU EWC Ftpe GTZ HE HW IFC IFI INPAEL IPA Best Available Techniques build operate - transfer Competent Authority Community Assistance for Reconstruction Development and Stabilization Confined Disposal Facility Construction and Demolition Waste Cohesion Fund Council of Ministers Collection Point Decision of Council of Ministers Department for International Development (UK) Directorate General Directive Specific Implementation Plan Environmental Agencies Network European Bank for Reconstruction and Development European Commission European Court of Justice European Environmental Agency European Economic Community Environment and Forests Agency Environmental Inspectorate Environmental Impact Assessment European Investment Bank Environmental Legislation and Planning (project) Environmental Management Audit Schemes Environmental Performance Review European Regional Development Fund European Union European Waste Catalogue Full-time person equivalent Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit Health Establishment Hazardous Waste International Finance Corporation International financial institution Implementation of National Plan for the Approximation of Environmental Legislation Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance 4

5 IPC IPH IPPC ISPA KfW LGU LIFE MAFF MAP MoEI MoARDWA MoE MoF MoH MoUDT MoU MS MTF NAPISAA NEAP NES NfPO NGO P&PW PEPSE PHARE PPP PVC REA REACH REC RoA RoHS S SAA SAPARD SIDA SME SoER TA TAT ToC ToR Industrial Pollution Control Institute of Public Health Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau Local Government Unit Legal Instrument for Environment Multi-annual Financial Framework Mediterranean Action Plan Ministry of Energy and Industry Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Water Administration Ministry of Environment Ministry of Finance Ministry of Health Ministry of Urban Development and Tourism Memorandum of Understanding Member State Medium Term Financing National Action Plan for the Implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement National Environmental Action Plan National Environmental Strategy Non for Profit Organization Non-Governmental Organisation Package and Packaging Waste Private Enterprise Partnership for Southeast Europe Poland and Hungary Assistance for the Restructuring of the Economy Public Private Partnership Poly Vinyl Chloride Regional Environmental Agency Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regional Environmental Centre Republic of Albania Restriction of Hazardous Substances Senior Stabilization and Association Agreement Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development Swedish International Development Assistance Small and Medium Enterprise State of Environment Report Technical Assistance Technical Assistance Team Table of Concordance Terms of Reference 5

6 UNDP UNECE UNEP WB WEEE WMP United Nation Development Programme United Nations Commission for Europe United Nations Environment Program World Bank Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment Waste Management Plan 6

7 Executive Summary The EU legislation covered in this implementation plan, "Packaging and Packaging Waste" (the Council Directive No. 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994, as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 September 2003; Directive 2004/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004; Directive 2005/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2005; Regulation (EC) No 219/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009; Commission Directive 2013/2/EU of 7 February 2013 Council Directive No. 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994 aims to harmonize national measures concerning the management of packaging and packaging waste in order: to prevent any impact thereof on the environment of all Member States as well as of third countries or; to reduce such impact, thus providing a high level of environmental protection, and, to ensure the functioning of the internal market; to avoid obstacles to trade and distortion and restriction of competition within the Community. A revised Packaging Directive, 2004/12/EC, was published in The revised Directive further clarified the definition of packaging and sets new minimum recovery and recycling targets, as a percentage of all packaging waste arising from Member States, to be attained by The Directive allows each Member State to set programs that go beyond the minimum recovery and recycling targets, providing these targets avoid introducing EC market distortions and also comply with the Directive s requirements. The Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste has the following specific objectives: To increase the recovery and recycling of packaging waste in a consistent way in all EU Member States To reduce the amount of packaging used and to encourage the reuse of packaging To limit the concentration levels of certain heavy metals used in packaging products in order to reduce the environmental impact of packaging products which are land-filled or incinerated The measures envisaged in this Directive aim at: preventing the production of packaging waste and; reusing packaging, recycling and other forms of recovering packaging waste and, reducing the final disposal of such waste The competent authority designated for performing the duties arising from the Package and Packaging Waste Directive is the Ministry of Environment through the Sector of Waste Management and Industrial Accidents within the Department of Environment. As far as transposition of the Directive is concerned, the existing Albanian Laws adequately address the issues and problems related to: waste reuse; recycling; separate collection; biodegradable waste; extended producer responsibility; 7

8 product; by- product; waste; end of waste. The main competent authorities and institutions are also identified in the law. The provisions in the existing Albanian Laws cover extensively all aspects of waste management fulfilling and complying with the EU acquis and include also sections on sanctions and penalties. However this legal framework requires further comprehensive and detailed measures and provisions to ensure an effective implementation. Significant progress is made towards transposition of Packaging Waste Directive, which is assessed as fully transposed in 2012 year. Full transposition was achieved with adoption of two transposition instruments (i) the Decision of Council of Ministers "on Packaging and Packaging Waste" (March 2012) and (ii) the Law on Waste Management (September 2011). The Decision of Council of Ministers "on Packaging and Packaging Waste" approves rules concerning the production and trade of packaging aiming to prevent the creation of waste from the package at the source; it sets the rules concerning the management of package packaging waste, specifies the responsible authorities for their management by imposing the "polluter pays "and the" cost recovery principles. The Decision of Council of Ministers "on Packaging and Packaging Waste" applies to all kinds of packaging that are put in the market in Albania and all packaging waste, used or waste from the household sector, agriculture, industry, commercial and public sector services, regardless the type of the packaging material. The Decision of Council of Ministers "on Packaging and Packaging Waste" provides a waste hierarchy, where each stage of this hierarchy contains requirements that must be respected, control mechanisms of compliance with these requirements and appropriate penalties in case of non-compliance with them, thus ensuring the successful implementation of the DCM on Packaging and Packaging Waste and its purpose, which is the successful management of package and packaging waste. Minor progress has been made towards implementation of Packaging Waste Directive but in overall the implementation is in an early stage. According to the MoE, the implementation started in 2012, after the adoption of the Law on Waste and the DCM on Packaging. The chapter on package and packaging waste has already been included in the waste management plan and decision on the use of economic instruments has been adopted. The implementation time plan has been amended with some of dates updated. The establishment of databases, an information system and of the marking system has been foreseen for The date for full implementation has been postponed for The overall plan to obtain full approximation consists of a legal transposition plan which is already undertaken and an implementation plan (including enforcement). 8

9 The milestones of the approximation process are given in the table below (starting in year 0/2011): Overall Approximation Plan Start (month/year) End (month/year) Legal Transposition Completed Completed Including a chapter on packaging and packaging waste in the waste management plans of Directive 75/442/EEC (Art. 14) 00/ /0001 Implementation and Enforcement ongoing Deciding whether to use economic instruments (Art. 15) Completed Completed Deciding measures for recovery and recycling (Art. 6) 01/ /0008 Establishing systems for the return/collection of such waste and its reuse/recovery (Art. 7) 01/ /0005 Ensuring that no packaging is marketed unless it meets certain requirements (Arts. 9 & 11) 01/ /0006 Ensuring that packaging is appropriately identified and marked (Art. 8) 01/ /0002 Establishing databases (Art. 12) 01/ /0002 Establishing a mechanism to provide information for users (Art. 13) 01/ /0002 Attaining targets for recovery and recycling of packaging waste (Art 6) 01/ / Full implementation 01/ /0008 The costs of transposing the Directive fully into the national legislation and implementing it are estimated separately. All costs are estimated in constant 2013 prices. The estimated costs (public expenditure) of transposing the Directive into national legislation are 2,000, while the total estimated costs of implementation for the Package and Packaging Waste Directive are one-off costs of 1,200,000 and on-going recurrent costs of 71,000. The one-off costs comprise a technical assistance project. The major other costs items for implementation will be the salaries of new staff required (mainly additional personnel in the Local Administrative Units/waste utility services). As far as the new personnel are concerned an estimated total of 14 persons will be required for implementing the Directive. 9

10 1. Requirements of EU Legislation 1.1 Background In Europe, in the last decades, the economic development triggered new human consumption patterns resulting in a dramatic increase of waste production. As a consequence the waste was accumulated in (illegal) dump sites, becoming an environmental and public health problem. Only some EU Member States introduced measures on packaging and packaging waste management with a view to reducing their environmental impacts. Serious Internal Market problems arose when cheap secondary materials from countries with recycling schemes that provided funding for collection and recycling appeared on the markets of other Member States where no such schemes were in place. Collection and recycling activities that relied on cost recovery through the sale of secondary raw material were threatened by collapse. For this reason, economic operators and Member States approached the Commission to introduce comprehensive legislation on packaging. In 1992, the Commission came forward with a Proposal for a Council Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste. In order to reduce the environmental impact of packaging and packaging waste and to avoid barriers to trade and competition distortions within the Member States of the European Union, the Directive on Package and Packaging Waste was enacted. This law set ambitious targets in terms of packaging waste recovery and recycling, promoting a reduction in the quantities of waste landfilled. In order to comply with those targets, all Member States have been undertaking investments in selective collection and sorting equipment and infrastructures. The Directive on packaging and packaging waste aims to harmonise national measures in order to prevent or reduce the impact of packaging and packaging waste on the environment and to ensure the functioning of the Internal Market. It contains provisions on the prevention of packaging waste, on the re-use of packaging and on the recovery and recycling of packaging waste. In 2004, the Directive was reviewed to provide criteria clarifying the definition of the term 'packaging' and increase the targets for recovery and recycling of packaging waste. In 2005, the Directive was revised again to allow new Member States transitional periods for attaining the recovery and recycling targets. 1.2 EU Legislation Covered The EU legislation covered in this implementation plan is the "Packaging and Packaging Waste" (the Council Directive No. 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994, as amended by: Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 September 2003; Directive 2004/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004; Directive 2005/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2005; Regulation (EC) No 219/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009; 10

11 Commission Directive 2013/2/EU of 7 February Direct Requirements of Legislation The Packaging and Packaging Waste, Council Directive No. 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994 covers all packaging placed on the European market and all packaging waste, whether it is used or released at industrial, commercial, office, shop, service, household or any other level, regardless of the material used. The legislation sets mandatory recovery and recycling targets that Member States must achieve, the first of which were required to be met in A revised Packaging Directive, 2004/12/EC, was published in The revised Directive further clarified the definition of packaging and sets new minimum recovery and recycling targets, as a percentage of all packaging waste arising from Member States, to be attained by The Directive allows each Member State to set programmes that go beyond the minimum recovery and recycling targets, providing these targets avoid introducing EC market distortions and also comply with the Directive s requirements. The deadline for Member States to transpose the requirements of the Directive into their national laws and regulations was 9 September Packaging must meet certain requirements. For this reason, the Commission encourages the development of European standards. Member States must ensure that packaging placed on the market complies with the essential requirements provided in Annex II of the Directive, which are: to limit the weight and volume of packaging to a minimum in order meet the required level of safety, hygiene and acceptability for consumers; to reduce the content of hazardous substances and materials in the packaging material and its components; to design reusable or recoverable packaging. In order to achieve the scope and the objectives of the Directive Member States should take measures to prevent the formation of packaging waste, and to develop packaging reuse systems reducing their impact on the environment. In addition the Member States must introduce systems for the return and/or collection of used packaging. The targets which were to be attained by the Member States were: by no later than 30 June 2001, between 50 and 65 % by weight of packaging waste to be recovered or incinerated at waste incineration plants with energy recovery; by no later than 31 December 2008, at least 60 % by weight of packaging waste to be recovered or incinerated at waste incineration plants with energy recovery; by no later than 30 June 2001, between 25 and 45 % by weight of the totality of packaging materials contained in packaging waste to be recycled (with a minimum of 15 % by weight for each packaging material); by no later than 31 December 2008, between 55 and 80 % by weight of packaging waste to be recycled; 11

12 no later than 31 December 2008 the following targets for materials contained in packaging waste must be attained: % for glass, paper and board; % for metals; % for plastics and; % for wood. The packaging shall indicate the nature of the materials used for the packaging in order to facilitate identification and classification. The marking must be attached to the actual packaging or on its label. It must be clearly visible and legible. Member States should develop information systems (databases) on packaging and packaging waste so that realization of the targets of this Directive can be monitored. The data they hold must be sent to the Commission in the formats laid down in Annex III of the Directive. The measures provided in the Directive aim at: Contribute to the functioning of the internal market; Limiting the production of packaging waste; promoting recycling; re-usage and other forms of waste recovery; final disposal of packaging waste should be considered as a last resort solution 1.4 Implications The implications of the Directive are: Achievements and results towards the recycling and recovery targets. For all materials other than plastics, most EU member States achieved or surpassed the 1994 Directive s minimum recycling and recovery targets well ahead of the June 2001 deadline. Development of package marking systems and indicators. Article 4 of the 1994 Packaging Directive stipulates that the Commission shall help to promote the prevention of packaging waste formation by encouraging the development of suitable European standards. In 2005, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) approved the revised versions of all five packaging standards. Article 8 of the 1994 Packaging Directive requires a marking and identification system of packaging materials in order to facilitate collection, reuse, and recovery. In January 1997, the European Commission established the identification system (Commission Decision 97/129/EC). A contentious issue in the 2004 revision of the Directive was introduction of a packaging environment indicator (PEI) based on greenhouse gas emissions and waste going to final disposal. Such a PEI could be used as a pass/fail test for entry of new packaging into the EU market. The European Commission recommended further analysis of the PEI idea and further debate among stakeholders before taking action. Incineration/energy recovery. The EU agreed in 2004 when revising the Packaging Directive that incineration in a facility equipped with energy recovery systems may be counted toward achieving recovery targets. The EU hierarchy for waste management, established by the Community Strategy for Waste Management in 1996, is, in order of priority: prevention, recovery (including energy recovery), and disposal (including incineration). 12

13 1.5 Links with other Legislation in this Sector Links with other legislation within this sector: Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives. This Directive repealed Directive 2006/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006 on waste (the codified version of Directive 75/442/EEC as amended), hazardous waste Directive 91/689/EEC, and the Waste Oils Directive 75/439/EEC. It provides for a general framework of waste management requirements and sets the basic waste management definitions for the EU. Batteries Directive (2006/66/EC) introduces substance restrictions, labelling requirements for new batteries and requirements for new electrical equipment to be designed so that batteries can be easily removed. Battery manufacturers and importers of batteries (including batteries which are incorporated into electrical equipment) are also required to register as a 'batteries producer' and manage battery collection, recycling and reporting in every EU Member State where they sell batteries or equipment containing batteries. PCB/PCT Directive (96/59/EC) sets the requirements for an environmentally sound disposal of PCBs and outlines for collection and disposal of equipment. The PCB Directive further mandates that Member States had to dispose of big equipment (equipment with PCB volumes of more than 5 litres) by the end of 2010 at the latest. ELVs Directive (2000/53/EC) introduces specific requirements for the management of end-of-life vehicles, aiming the prevention of waste from vehicles and, in addition, the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of end-of-life vehicles and their components so as to reduce the disposal of waste. The Directive also aims to improve the environmental performance of all economic operators involved in the life-cycle of vehicles and especially the operators directly involved in the treatment of end-of-life vehicles. WEEE Directive (2002/96/EC) introduces new compliance rules for collection, recycling and recovery of on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) equipment, that aim to reduce the amount of WEEE sent for disposal to landfill or incineration by requiring producers to arrange for collection and recycling. The Directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS Directive) (2011/65/EU) is complementary to the WEEE directive and applies to the same categories of products defined by the WEEE directive, with the exception of Category (8) of medical devices and Category (9) of monitoring and control equipment. Shipments of Waste Regulation (EC/1013/2006) is designed to strengthen, simplify and spell out the current control procedures for waste shipments, thus reducing the risk of shipments of uncontrolled waste. It also incorporates into Community legislation the amendments to the waste lists annexed to the Basel Convention and the revision adopted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in The EU secondary packaging legislation includes: Marking and identification: Decision 97/129/EC on the identification system for packaging materials. 13

14 Data and reporting: Directive 91/692/EEC standardizing and rationalizing reports on the implementation of certain Directives relating to the environment; Commission Decision 97/622/EC on decisions relation to Directive 91/692/EEC; Decision 2005/270/EC establishing the formats relating to the database system. Derogation for plastic crates and pallets from the heavy metal concentration limits: Commission Decision 1999/177/EC establishing the conditions for a derogation for plastic crates and plastic pallets in relation to the heavy metal concentration levels; Commission Decision 2009/292/EC establishing the conditions for a derogation for plastic crates and plastic pallets in relation to the heavy metal concentration levels. Derogation for glass packaging from the heavy metal concentration limits: Commission Decision 2001/171/EC establishing the conditions for a derogation for glass packaging in relation to the heavy metal concentration levels (& corrections). Derogation for glass packaging from the heavy metal concentration limits - revision of deadline: Commission Decision 2006/340/EC amending Decision 2001/171/EC for the purpose of prolonging the validity of the conditions for a derogation for glass packaging in relation to the heavy metal concentration levels established in Directive 94/62/EC. EU has also made secondary legislation on harmonised standards for packaging: Commission communication 2005/C 44/13 in the framework of the implementation of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. On 4 th November 2013, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive to reduce the consumption of lightweight plastic bags in the EU aiming at amending the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. Horizontal legislation Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (85/337/EEC), amended by Council Directive 97/11/EC and Directive 2003/35/EC.: Prescribes an EIA for new projects which are judged to have a significant impact on the environment. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive 2001/42/EC: The SEA Directive applies to a wide range of public plans and programmes (e.g. on land use, transport, energy, waste, agriculture, etc). An SEA is mandatory for plans/programmes which are prepared for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy, industry, transport, waste & water management, telecommunications, tourism, town & country planning or land use. Directive 2003/35/EC providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment: Prescribes a procedure to follow to ensure sufficient public participation in certain land development projects affecting the environment. Access to Environmental Information Directive (2003/4/EC) requires environmental information held by public bodies to be made available to the general public on request. Reporting Directive (91/692/EEC): Contains provisions on the transmission of information and reports concerning certain EC directives from Member States to the European Commission. Packaging and Packaging Waste directive contains various reporting requirements Directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage The directive establishes a framework for environmental liability based on the polluter pays principle, with a view to preventing and remedying environmental damage. 14

15 2. Present Situation Transposition Albania has made good progress towards transposition of Packaging Waste Directive, which is assessed as fully transposed in Full transposition was achieved with adoption of two transposition instruments (i) the Decision of Council of Ministers "on Packaging and Packaging Waste" (March 2012) and (ii) the Law on Waste Management (September 2011). The full transposition was achieved on 6 March 2012, just a few months later than originally planned Implementation There is limited progress on the implementation of Package and Packaging Waste Directive. The competent authority designated for performing the duties arising from this Directive is the Ministry of Environment through the Sector of Waste and Accidents in the Directorate of Environment. 2.1 Government Policy The Environment Sector and Cross-Cutting Strategy (ESCCS), which is an integral part of the National Strategy for Development and Integration (NSDI), is considered to be the main government document that outlines the state policy in the field of environment protection. The final purpose of the ESCCS is to fulfil a constitutional obligation towards the citizens, who are entitled to a healthy and ecological environment. Albania s current environmental policy is striving towards the goals set in the Commission Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution and Clean Air For Europe (CAFE), the first of seven Thematic Strategies in the EU's Sixth Environment Action Programme (EAP), "Environment 2010: Our future, Our choice". The main objective of the government is to fulfil the obligations agreed to in the SAA (Article 108) stating that The Parties shall develop and strengthen their co-operation in the vital task of combating environmental degradation, with the view of promoting environmental sustainability. Co-operation will mainly focus on priority areas related to the Community Acquis in the field of environment. The statement covers all issues under the Environmental Acquis, including waste sector. The policy framework regarding waste has made some progress. Main strategic documents covering this sector are the National Strategy for Development and Integration and the National Crosscutting Strategy on Environment that define the medium and long term policy priorities of the Government with respect to environment in general, also including waste. An Inter-ministerial Working Group on Environment (IWG) was established in This group is responsible for the preparation of the Environment Strategy and the follow up of its implementation. The implementation of the strategy hasn't been monitored and no coordination or meeting of IWG has occurred. The National Strategy and National Plan on Waste Management was approved in The Strategy covers the period and is based in four main pillars of the national policy on waste: planning, education, resources and legislation. It is managed on a national, regional and local level. The strategy 15

16 foresees the establishment of the Inter Ministries Committee on Waste and National Waste Advisory Group, but no progress has been marked so far on this issue. The National Strategy and Plan also establishes these main targets: (I) to increase the amount of waste collected by local authorities that is recycled or composted to 25% by 2015; (II) to 55% by 2020; (III) to provide widespread segregated waste collections for paper, cardboard, metal, glass and plastics across Albania; (IV) to stop growth in the amount of municipal waste produced by The strategy envisages that policy indicators will be defined in the near future, but so far no set of indicators has been prepared and published. 2.2 Roles & Responsibilities The national strategy of waste management involves several central, regional and local institutions acting alone, having separated responsibilities and coordinated poorly. Three are the main institutions at central level in the field: The Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Health. The ministries dealing with waste management are the following: The Ministry of Environment (MoE): it is the main institution responsible for defining the government policy with respect to environment, including waste management, and drafting legislation on waste. It leads the policy making process with respect to waste, and it has regulatory functions consisting in issuing environmental permissions with respect to activities impacting environment. It cooperates with central and local bodies to elaborate strategies and policies, and to monitor the processing and disposal of waste. It includes the Sector of "Waste and Accidents", with 3 staff, as part of the Directorate of Environmental. This sector is responsible for drafting the government policy and legislation with respect to waste, but with insufficient capacities to develop the role and responsibilities of the institution and cooperation with other central and local institutions. The Environmental Inspectorate at the MoE is responsible for issuing environmental permits and monitoring economic activities with environmental impact. This structure has low human capacities and logistics. On the other hand, the chance for conflict of interest is reduced because it is the same institution that issues the environmental permit and organizes the monitoring. The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (MoTI) is responsible for infrastructure investments in the waste sector. It is responsible for the project cycle with respect to the construction of regional landfills (project planning, designing, implementation). It also coordinates and monitors the activity of waste dumpsites, use of regional landfills, and incineration plants, as well as defines the technical criteria to study and implement the closing of urban dump sites. It includes the Directorate for Waste within its structure, composed by 5 employees, but with no implementing agency to monitor and follow up capital investments. Though the Ministry of Environment is responsible for drafting environmental policies, the planning of investments in the field of waste, is done by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. However, the coordination is weak, creating noncompliance between policies and implementation. Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Entrepreneurship (MoEDTE) is responsible for development and implements strategies and policies for sustainable economic development, strategic programming and monitoring of public investment for all central institutions in the country, design and implementation of economic policies to protect local businesses from unfair practices of international trade, creating a climate and environment support for entrepreneurship through business promotion and market liberalization, reducing administrative burdens and costs of doing business for the 16

17 elimination of informality and corruption, provision of registration and licensing of economic operators operating in the territory of the Republic of Albania. MoEDTE is further responsible for coordination of work for intersectoral policies and preparation of proposals for the development of national policy on consumer protection and market surveillance, processing and proposal to the Commission for Consumer Protection measures for violations of the collective economic interests of consumers, effective market surveillance to ensure compliance of the products to consumers with legal requirements in relation to them, in order not to risk: health, safety or other aspects of public interest protection, coordination of work for the harmonization of legislation in the area of service delivery and full implementation of the principle of national treatment and nondiscrimination. The Ministry of Health (MoH) is responsible for drafting regulations on health waste and dangerous waste management. Hospitals and health waste generators are responsible for drafting waste management plans according to the national management plan. The waste policy is followed by the "Directorate of Public Health" that does not include experts on waste. Hospitals, as well, have no experts for waste in their structure, except for some technicians maintaining equipment of incinerators. In the MoH, the Public Health Director is also chief- inspector of control and has in its job description tasks related to monitoring activities. The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Water Administration (MoARDWA) has responsibility over the drafting of regulations on agricultural and animal waste (so far not yet drafted). In the Ministry of Agriculture there is no structure or experts on waste that would have the capacities to fulfil responsibilities assigned. The Ministry of Energy and Industry (MoEI) drafts regulations on the management of specific waste (regulations still not approved). The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, drafts the legislation on environmental taxes (partially drafted) and collects incomes from these taxes through customs and fiscal bodies. At regional and local level there are several institutions that are involved in the waste management: - The 12 regional councils (12 regions in Albania) are responsible for approving regional management plans, regional landfills and the management of dump sites of urban waste in regional level. However, the regional councils have no structure or experts on environmental and waste problems. - The local government units (municipalities and communes) are responsible for managing urban waste in their territories, according to the Law On local governance. With regard to waste management, they are required to designate sites for the collection and processing of production waste in accordance with environmental criteria and a developmental plan, organize the dumping of waste and hazardous substances, and the protection of green areas in urban zones and their surroundings, administer management of urban waste, including water treatment plants and solid waste. Local government is in charge of organizing waste removal and contracting the companies doing the cleaning of the cities; draft and approve territory specific regulations on each of the waste management methods following the prototypes approved by the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Health. Municipalities and communes set the tariffs for waste removal in the territory of their jurisdiction and authorize the persons collecting them and organises waste management activities (collection, transport, treatment, and disposal) at local level. 17

18 Local government authorities are responsible for defining waste collection and processing sites, in accordance with the environmental criteria and development plans; for organizing the disposal sites for both waste and hazardous waste; for urban waste and waste water treatment plants. Municipalities have sectors on city cleaning and waste management. In municipalities, waste is dealt by the Directorate of Service which often lack capacities. They are not staffed with environmental qualified specialists or waste experts. 2.3 Other issues related to implementation and enforcement The DCM (Decision of Council of Ministers "on Packaging and Packaging Waste" (March 2012)) embodies the principles of polluter pays" and "cost recovery", thereby defining the entities responsible for packaging and packaging waste. Pursuant to the DCM these principles do apply on; Packaged goods manufacturers, or importers as appropriate, Manufacturers of package, designed to be filled in at the sale points of the product to the consumer, or importer, as appropriate, Packaging operators The responsibilities of the above listed operators consist in; Preventive measures to reduce the production of package. Chapter II of the DCM defines such requirements. These requirements are mandatory to be respected by the manufacturers of the packaging materials and package. Collection and after recycling at the cost of the operator of the packaging and packaging waste pursuant to the objectives of DCM. Chapter III and IV of the DCM provides the related obligations and sets out the controlling instruments, i.e. the detailed annual report that these operators should submit to their respective local government units (LGUs) for the volume of the package in the market and its return designed for recycle and reprocessing. Through this reporting scheme the operators pay the costs for waste management in the event of their failure to fulfil the duties and responsibilities out of the decision, thus enabling the successful application of basic principles of DCM. The cases of violation of the provisions of this decision, if they do not constitute a criminal offense, are subject to the sanctions provided in the Law no , date , On Integrated Waste Management ; the law on integrated waste management transposes the Directive 2008/98/CE of the European Parliament and European Council Waste Framework Directive and other sanctions as provided by the relevant legal provisions. Chapter 8 of the Law on environmental protection describes in detail the responsibility for environmental damage, defining all the necessary instruments for the regulation of these responsibilities. This chapter partly transposes the Directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liability and foresees the obligation of decision makers to adopt sublegal acts related to the specific rules for its implementation. Article 137 (3), of the Code of Administrative Procedures requires the complainant to exhaust all the administrative procedures before going to Court. This means that the person should first seek an administrative review from the relevant public authority and then appeal that decision at a higher body, 18

19 before going to court. Article 48 of the Law no.10431, date On Environmental Protection contains provisions on access to justice and guarantees individuals and organisations the right to bring cases at the court. More specifically: In case of damage, pollution and threat to the environment, the public has the right to: (a) ask the relevant public authorities taking appropriate measures within the deadlines and in accordance with the authority given by the law, (b) lawsuit in court, in accordance with the conditions laid down by the Code of Civil Procedure, against the public authority or natural or legal person that has caused damage to the environment or which threatens to undermine it. The above mentioned legislation ensures that any individual or organisation may start legal proceedings in a court for environment-related cases. Criminal penalties for breaches of environmental law are defined in Chapter IV, of Law No. 7895, dated , The Penal Code of the Republic of Albania as amended, Official Journal: Year 1995, No. 2, page 23; Publication date: , details Crimes against the environment. 2.4 Current Legal Framework The Constitution of the Republic of Albania (1998) approved by the Law No.8417, dated , Constitution of the Republic of Albania, Official Journal, Year 1998, No. 28, Page 1073; publishing date: , as amended, pays special attention to including the environment and its protection. Constitutional provisions emphasize that: The environment and its protection are considered to be fundamental goals of the state; The core requirement of environmental protection is continuous conservation of a healthy and ecologically suitable environment; Environmental protection is a permanent duty at any time and under all circumstance, and related to the life and health of the population; Sustainable development is a fundamental requirement and thus the Constitution guarantees the protection and preservation of the environment for current and future generations; The public has the right to be informed about the state of the environment and state institutions are obliged to inform the public concerning the environment and measures taken for its protection. The waste sector is mainly regulated by the following laws: Law no , date , On Environment protection ; Law no , date , On Integrated Waste Management ; the law on integrated waste management transposes the Directive 2008/98/CE of the European Parliament and European Council On the Waste ; Law Nr.8652, date , On the Organization and functioning of the Local Government. The approximation of the Albanian legislation with that of EU will be completed through the approval of several decisions of Council of Ministers (DCM). The approved DCMs relevant to waste are: DCM no.177, dated On packaging and their waste, which addresses the main issues of this specific implementation plan; 19

20 DCM no.866, dated On batteries, accumulators and their waste that transposes the Batteries Directive (66/2006/EC); DCM no.705, dated On the administration of End of Life Vehicles that transposes the End-of-life Vehicles Directive (2000/53/EC); DCM no.178, dated On incineration of waste ; DCM no. 452, dated On landfill of waste that transposes the Landfill Directive (99/31/EC). The draft DCMs which are in the pipeline of approval are: o o o DCM On waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) that transposes the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (2002/96/EC); DCM On waste segregation (SoW) that will help to ensure further transposition and implementation of the provisions of the Waste Directive; DCM Biodegradable waste (BioW) that will help to ensure further transposition and implementation of the provisions of the Waste Directive. Table 1: Specific comments on the Package and Packaging Directive relevant articles Directive 94/62/EC (P&PW) Albanian Legislation Such a requirement is included in Law no.10463, of On integrated waste management, Chapter II, Article no. 10 According to Art 14 the MS must include in the (4) which provides that the National Integrated Waste waste management plans required pursuant to Art. Management should contain a special chapter for 17 of Dir. 75/442/EEC, a specific chapter on the management of packaging and their waste, by defining management of packaging & packaging waste, precisely and clearly the measures be taken for prevention of including measures taken pursuant to Arts. 4 & 5. generation of packaging waste and measures for packaging reuse systems. Art 7.1 (a) MS must take necessary measures to Chapter XI (1) has addressed this requirement by providing ensure that systems are set up to provide for a that the manufacturers of the packaged goods and the return &/or collection of used packaging &/or package at the place of sale or third parties acting on their packaging waste from the consumer, other final behalf, take measures to fund all costs arising for the user, or from the waste stream in order to channel establishment and functioning of the return and recovery of it to the most appropriate waste management waste package, individually or in cooperation between them, alternatives; within a period of four years from the entry into force of this Decision. Chapter XI (2; 3 and 4) has included the following provisions to Art 7.1(b) reuse or recovery including recycling of meet the requirement of the directive: packaging &/or packaging waste collected in order 1. Household and non-household users shall place the to meet this Directive s objectives. packaging waste in the place indicated for delivery of waste These systems shall be open to the participation of package defined by the entities specified in paragraph 1 above the economic operators of the sectors concerned and / or in places defined by the respective local government and to the participation of the competent public unit based on rules adopted by it. authorities. They shall also apply to imported 2. Entities specified in paragraph 1 above, in order to preserve products under non-discriminatory conditions, the quality of the waste package for reuse or recycling, take including the details arrangements and any tariffs appropriate measures for the transportation of waste package imposed for access to the systems and shall be and in no case allow the transportation of municipal waste designed so as to avoid barriers to trade or mixed. distortions of competition in conformity with the 3. Entities defined in section 1 weight the packaging waste and Treaty. regularly maintain data on the entry in their records created for this purpose. Art 9.1 MS must ensure that [3 years from date of Although the packaging and entry into force of this Dir.], packaging may be packaging waste Chapter VI does not define any time frame, placed on the market only if it complies with all it provides specific requirements for production and essential requirements defined by this Dir., composition of package which should be produced by Albanian including Annex II. standards harmonized with EU standards. Further provisions 20

21 Directive 94/62/EC (P&PW) Art 11.1 MS must ensure that the sum of concentration levels of lead, cadmium, mercury & hexavalent chromium present in packaging or packaging components do not exceed the following: 660 ppm by weight by (date for implementation); 250 ppm by weight by ; 100 ppm by weight by Albanian Legislation clarify the Albanian Standards requirements and compliance. The packaging and packaging waste Chapter VII (1) maintains the same limit values of concentrations, but sets different timeframes for implementation. Art 12.1 MS must take necessary measures to ensure that databases on packaging & packaging The packaging and packaging waste are established, where not already in place, waste Chapter XII (7) assigns NEA to manage and update the on a harmonised basis (in order to contribute to database on package and packaging waste. the monitoring of implementation of this Dir.). Art 12.4 MS must take into account the particular problems of SMEs in providing detailed data MS must require all economic operators involved to provide competent authorities with Same as above reliable data on their sector as required by Art. 12. Chapter XII identifies the stakeholders involved in the subject matter and their respective roles and responsibilities 2.5 Current Implementation Status The implementation of all EU acquis in the waste sector is still at an early stage. Moderate progress in the implementation of the Waste Directive has been reported in 2012 year. A new sector in the MoE has been established responsible for waste policy and legislation. The competent authorities have been designated, the notion of waste has been properly defined, a permitting system has been established for establishments/undertakings carrying out disposal or recovery operations and an inspection and enforcement system exists. Also planning has been made in defining the implementation timetable. The directive is estimated to be fully implemented by Minor progress has been made towards implementation of Packaging Waste Directive but in overall the implementation is in an early stage. According to the MoE, the implementation started in 2012, after the adoption of the Law on Waste and the DCM on Package and Packaging Waste. The chapter on package and packaging waste has already been included in the waste management plan and decision on the use of economic instruments has been adopted. The implementation time plan has been amended with some of dates updated. The establishment of databases, an information system and of the marking system has been foreseen for The date for full implementation has been postponed for Measures for attaining the national recovery and recycling targets The MoE has committed itself towards the following targets: A recovery rate including incineration with energy recovery of 50 % - 65 % by weight of packaging waste is foreseen to be achieved no later than A recycling rate of 25 % - 45 % by weight of the totality of packaging materials contained in packaging waste with a minimum of 15 % by weight for each packaging material is foreseen to be achieved no later than A recovery rate including incineration with energy recovery of 60 % by weight of packaging waste is foreseen to be achieved no later than