Finland transposes the last SUPD measures into national laws

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By amending national legislation (new laws: Decree 1318/2022, Decree 1321/2022 and Decree 1320/2022), Finland implements the remaining SUPD measures regarding the financing of litter clean-up, EPR and producer registrations into national laws.

Regulations on waste management for producers

From 1st January 2023, litter clean-up rules will apply to producers of tobacco and filter products, SUP food packaging, flexible packaging/wrappers, beverage containers under three litres, and light plastic carrier bags. Those producers will be required to finance the municipalities’ organised waste collection, litter clean-up, transport, handling and public awareness costs.

Obligation to contribute for manufacturers of beverage cups and lids

Likewise, producers of beverage cups and lids will also have to contribute starting from 1st January 2024, followed by producers of personal hygiene wet wipes and balloons on 1st January 2025. The litter clean-up costs will be levied additionally to the EPR fees depending on the producer’s share of the municipalities’ costs of managing the clean-up groups.

Start dates for new EPR obligations

New EPR systems are introduced in 2023: tobacco products containing filters (start date 1st January 2023); packaging used to pack food and other products at the point of service (service packaging) and packaging used to pack unprocessed agricultural and horticultural products (farm packaging) (start date 31 December 2023); SUP drinking cups, wet wipes, balloons, and fishing gear containing plastic (start date 1st January 2025). Additional new requirements will come into action, such as the requirement for distance sellers to either join an EPR scheme or appoint an authorised person.

Manufacturer registration obligations

The last law amendment concerns producers’ registration requirements, such as registration deadlines (31st December 2023 for plastic fishing gear, 1st January 2024 for SUP drinking cups, 30th June 2024 for SUP wet wipes and balloons), EPR financing through a self-monitoring plan and the obligation of producers to inform their distributors of the producer’s affiliation to the producer register.