Compliance requirements in Sweden

WEEE requirements

Batteries requirements

Packaging requirements

WEEE requirements

Registration timescale

20 September 2006

Registration agency

Environmental Protection Agency

Regulations in English Regulations in Swedish

Batteries requirements

Registration timescale

1 January 2009

Registration Agency

Environmental Protection Agency

Registration, collection and recycling obligations for batteries producers

The Regulations do not differentiate between collective and individual systems. Therefore, the operational requirements for individual systems are the same as those for collective systems. As a result, the most practicable option for compliance for both industrial and portable batteries is likely to be to join a local compliance scheme in Sweden.

Producers are exempt from the take-back (but not the reporting obligation) if in a calendar year, they put on the market:

• <1 kg of batteries containing mercury
• <2 kg of batteries containing cadmium
• <250 kg of lead batteries of which each is heavier than 3 kg
• <100 kg of lead batteries of which each is lighter than 3kg
• <50 kg of batteries not mentioned above

Packaging requirements

Producers must inform the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of:

• results of their collection, recovery, reuse and recycling activities; and
• details on packaging produced, imported, or sold in Sweden.

Companies have the option of individual compliance. If they do so, they have to fulfill their producer responsibility and report directly to the authorities.

The basic principles of the Swedish collection and recycling system include:

• no return of used packaging to the retailer (except for deposit-bearing beverage containers);
• cost-effective and co-ordinated collection by producers (the producer is only responsible for used and sorted packaging handed over to producers' recycling centers);
• no subsidies -- producers cover all collection and recycling costs, and pass these costs on to customers;
• retailers to check that packer/fillers and importers fulfil their producer responsibility;
• producers to collect and report the necessary statistics

Thresholds

The law covers all producers of packaged products. There are no thresholds for companies who only handle small quantities of packaging.

For further information, please contact Aidan Turnbull
Head of WEEE, RoHS & EcoDesign on +44 (0)1225 748420