CONSULTATION BRIEF ON THE DRAFT LEGAL NOTICE ON OUT OF COURT SETTLEMENT FOR PRODUCERS OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

1. SCOPE OF DRAFT REGULATIONS

Subsidiary Legislation 549.89 – Waste Management (Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations stipulates that producers of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) are required to register with the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) and to fulfil all their obligations under the said Regulations, including the attainment of the collection targets and recovery/recycling targets as well as to provide for the financing of the collection, treatment, recovery and environmentally sound disposal of WEEE.

Producers who act in contravention of any of the offences referred to in regulation 26 of the abovementioned Regulations may be prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of the Act (Cap. 549). Alternatively, pursuant to Article 83 of the Act, the Authority may enter into an agreement in writing with these producers, in lieu of prosecution.

The draft Legal Notice, aims to prescribe the rules for out of court settlement for those producers of EEE who have acted or act against the provisions of S.L. 549.89 – Waste Management (Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations.

2. PROPOSED MECHANISM OF OUT OF COURT SETTLEMENT FOR EEE PRODUCERS


Part I of the draft Legal Notice (Regulation 3)

In lieu of prosecution, the Authority may enter into an agreement in writing with producers of EEE who prior to 1 September 2015 failed to apply for registration or renewal with the Authority and/or failed to fulfil other obligations emanating under the WEEE Regulations (S.L. 549.89), provided that they pay a penalty prescribed by the Authority by not later than 28th February 2019 and further provided that:-

  • By the end of December 2015, such producer applied for registration/renewal; and
  • By the end of December 2015, such producer set up systems or financed systems for the collection of WEEE resulting from products of EEE placed on the market during the period of noncompliance.


Part II of the draft Legal Notice (Regulation 4)

In lieu of prosecution, the Authority may enter into an agreement in writing with producers of EEE who after 1 January 2016 fail to apply for registration or renewal with the Authority, provided that:-

  • Such producers pay the sum of €750 per tonne of EEE placed on the market until the producer applies for registration/renewal; and
  • Upon entering into agreement with the Authority, such producers would have applied for registration/renewal with the Authority.
3. COMMENTS

The draft ‘Out of Court Settlement for Producers of Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations’, may be viewed on:-
https://era.org.mt/en/Pages/Active-Public-Consultations.aspx

The Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change and the Environment and Resources Authority welcomes any feedback on the proposed amendments.

You may wish to submit any comments by 6 February 2017 on the following email addresses: [email protected] or [email protected].

The Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change and the Environment and Resources Authority shall take into consideration your concerns and comments.

Abbozz Legali għal ftehim barra l-Qorti għall-Produtturi ta EEE_MT
Draft LN Out of Court Settlement for Producers of EEE_EN