TFL Vsebine / Pravni letopis

Avtorica v prispevku predstavi problematiko naraščajoče količine odpadne embalaže, katere negativni vplivi na okolje niso omejeni na onesnaževanje, temveč ob odsotnosti učinkovitih sistemov recikliranja pomenijo tudi povečano izkoriščanje primarnih naravnih virov. Pri izkoriščanju naravnih virov je svetovno gospodarstvo vedno bolj omejeno zaradi že večdesetletnega čezmernega izčrpavanja okolja, ki se v okviru linearnega kapitalističnega gospodarskega sistema nadaljuje še danes. Med glavnimi prizadevanji EU je prehod iz linearnega na krožni gospodarski sistem, ki je povezan tudi z uresničevanjem vzpostavljenih ciljev OZN za trajnostni razvoj. Vizijo embalaže v krožnem gospodarstvu je EU že predstavila v strateških aktih iz leta 2015 in 2018, novembra 2022 pa je Evropska komisija objavila predlog Uredbe EU o embalaži in odpadni embalaži, ki bi celovito prenovila regulacijo embalaže in ravnanja z odpadno embalažo v EU. Drugače kot veljavna Direktiva 94/62/ES bi predlagana uredba uredila vsa področja v življenjskem ciklu embalažnega izdelka: dizajniranje embalaže z namenom recikliranja ter tako, da vključuje uporabo recikliranih materialov in prepoved presežne embalaže; podaljšanje uporabnosti embalaže s sistemi ponovne uporabe ali ponovnega polnjenja ter rešitve glede ravnanja z odpadno embalažo, pri čemer ima posebno vlogo institut razširjene odgovornosti proizvajalca embalaže. Avtorica predstavi bistvene rešitve iz predloga, ob koncu pa se ustavi še pri aktualnem vprašanju ustavnosti sistema proizvajalčeve odgovornosti za odpadno embalažo v slovenskem pravnem redu.

In this paper, the author presents the problem of increasing amounts of packaging waste, whose negative impact on the environment is not limited to pollution, but, in the absence of effective recycling systems, also means increased exploitation of primary natural resources. The global economy is limited in its exploitation of natural resources due to the decades- long over-exploitation of the environment, which continues today under the linear capitalist economic system. The EU’s main efforts include the transition from a linear to a circular eco- nomic system, which is also linked to the implementation of the established UN Sustainable Development Goals. The vision of packaging in a circular economy has already been set out in the EU’s 2015 and 2018 Strategy Acts, and in November 2022, the European Commission published a proposal for an EU Regulation on packaging and packaging waste, which would comprehensively overhaul the EU’s regulation of packaging and the management of packaging waste. Unlike the current Directive 94/62/EC, the proposed regulation would address all areas within the life cycle of a packaging product: designing packaging for recycling, to include the use of recycled materials and the prohibition of surplus packaging; extending the shelf life of packaging through reuse or refill systems; and solutions for packaging waste management, with the emphasis on the institute of extended producer responsibility for packaging. The author presents the main solutions contained in the proposal and concludes with a discussion of the current issue of the constitutionality of the producer responsibility system for packaging waste in the Slovenian legal order.

The future of packaging in the European Union's planned circular economy