AUTHORS:
Carlos Jairo Ramírez Rodríguez, 14, Coordinator of the of Productive Sectors Sustainability Group, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development
ABSTRACT:
In 2018, Colombia established the principle of extended producer responsibility for the reverse management of packaging waste by producers, applying a transition period for the implementation of pilot projects that guarantee the design and development of operational, technical and financial resources for the proper management of waste. Colombia progresses firmly towards the management of waste containers and packaging Aiming to boost the circular economy and green growth, the Ministry has been implementing an environmental management system for waste containers and packaging made from paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and metal, promoting the use of and encouraging innovation and eco-designing of containers and packages that are placed on the market, and applying a transition period to facilitate the incorporation of producers and regulatory authorities for compliance with their obligations. The aforementioned management system is based on Resolution 1407 of 2018 which establishes the obligation of producers (national producers and importers) of goods on the market in containers and packaging, to formulate, implement and maintain updated an Environmental Management Plan for Waste Containers and Packaging, in the framework of the extended producer responsibility, which must be monitored by the National Authority for Environmental Licenses - ANLA. Producers must reincorporate into the production cycle a minimum of 10% by 2021 until gradually reaching 30% in 2030, with respect to the total amount by weight of the containers and packaging placed on the market by the producer. According to the regulatory impact analysis carried out by the Ministry of Environment in 2015, and document CONPES 3874 of 2016, waste containers and packaging represent 15% of the waste generated in Colombia.
Following a review process carried out by the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, through the Directorate of Urban and Sectoral Environmental Affairs, technical guidelines were defined in consultation with producers for the presentation of pilot projects and the requirements for processing companies as established in the Resolution, after which the producers submitted 21 pilot projects within the framework of the extended producer responsibility principle, which were presented prior to December 31, 2019 to the National Authority for Environmental Licenses - ANLA. The support process for the development of pilot projects conceived within the framework of Resolution 1407 of 2018 and which are executed by producers, will enable the standardization of criteria for the presentation of waste management plans for containers and packaging, to establish the requirements that must be met by processing companies to verify the tons that were actually used and create other control mechanisms to ensure proper traceability of information on the flow of materials. Additionally, it will facilitate the construction of a baseline for the tons of containers and packaging materials placed on the market for which the consumption goal, the required registration systems and the establishment of organizational models especially for collective plans for the environmental management of containers and packaging are calculated. The aforementioned technical guidelines will be validated and complemented during the execution of the pilot projects for the management of waste containers and packaging, and with the support of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development these will enable the construction of technical tools to complement and support the producer and the control and monitoring entity to implement on a mandatory basis the reverse management strategy for containers and packaging and guaranteeing their effective implementation as of 2021, when it is expected Compendium on Waste Management 69 that more than 200,000 tons of this waste would be reincorporated into the production cycle, a figure that will continue to increase gradually, based on the goals established in the current regulations.
REFERENCES:
Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development 2019, Resolution 1407 of 2018.
Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, 2015, Regulatory Impact Analysis of the management of containers and packaging.
Department of Nacional Planning, CONPES 3874 of 2016,