The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) has referred Iceland to the EFTA Court for its reported failure to enforce rules to prevent packaging waste, regulate the types of packaging brought to market, and manage operations at landfill sites.
According to ESA, several Icelandic municipalities have yet to adopt regional waste management plans, as mandated by Article 28 of the Waste Framework Directive; nor has the country’s national waste prevention programme been updated to enforce periodic evaluation and any necessary revisions as per Article 29.
Two separate cases have been filed to the EFTA Court concerning Iceland’s partial implementation of European Economic Area (EEA) rules. One seeks to restrict the amount of waste entering landfill and, by imposing operational requirements at landfill sites, protect both the environment and human health.
Since a letter of formal notice and reasoned opinion were sent in August 2022 and February 2023, respectively, the matter has now been escalated to a court referral.
The second case argues that Iceland has fallen short of packaging and packaging waste rules – namely, those that specify which types of packaging can be placed on the EEA market and set out management and prevention measures for packaging waste. These are designed to maintain a level playing field across the region and avoid environmental impacts.
Following a letter of formal notice in March 2022 and a reasoned opinion in May 2022, ESA has now issued a letter of formal notice.
These referrals mark the final stage in ESA’s formal infringement proceedings against Iceland; the EFTA Court will now take up the mantle and rule on the matter.
This development comes after the European Commission launched an infringement procedure against all 27 EU Member States for falling short of legally binding collection and recycling targets, including the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive’s expectation of recycling 55-80% of packaging waste by the end of 2008.
Packaging Europe’s brand director, Tim Sykes, gave us an overview as to why it took the Commission sixteen years to act on this measure – whether it was a conscious attempt to distract from criticisms of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, or whether it signified a much-needed step in legal ambition to tackle pollutive waste.
Subsequent legal action was taken against various Member States, including France for falling short of labelling requirements regarding waste sorting instructions; Greece for failing to report on its preparation for the reuse and recycling of waste materials; and Hungary for neglecting to ensure that waste collected separately for reuse and recycling does not end up in landfill.
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