Government Decision No. 349 regarding packaging and packaging waste management.

This Government Decision regulates the management of packaging and packaging waste in order to prevent or reduce the impact on the environment. The provisions are applicable in compliance with the specific provisions of existing quality standards for packaging regarding the safety, health protection and hygiene of the packaged products, transport requirements or the provisions regarding the management of hazardous waste. All packaging materials introduced on the market are subject to the provisions of this Government Decision, regardless of the material from which they were made and how they are used in economic, commercial activities, in households or in any other activities, as well as all packaging waste that no longer corresponds to the purpose for which it was manufactured, regardless of the way of generation, recovery, storage, recycling or reuse. The principles specific to the packaging waste management activity are: (a) preventing the production of packaging waste; (b) reusing packaging; (c) recycling packaging waste; and (d) other forms of valorization of packaging waste, which lead to the reduction of the quantities removed through final storage. Economic agents are obliged to introduce on the market only packaging where the sum of the concentration levels of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium, present in the packaging or in its components, does not exceed the following values, as follows: (a) 600 parts per million by weight, within a maximum period of 2 years from the entry into force of this Government Decision; (b) 250 parts per million by weight, within a maximum period of 3 years from the entry into force of this Government Decision; (c) 100 parts per million by weight, within a maximum period of 5 years from the entry into force of this Government Decision. Economic agents that make products packed in reusable packaging are obliged to organize a system to ensure the recovery, in order to multiple reuse of packaging, through economic agents that sell these products or through specialized centers for the recovery of these types of packaging. Economic agents that make products packed in reusable packaging are obliged to inform consumers about the recovery system for reusable packaging, in order to ensure multiple reuse.