FantasticSearch

1. Member States shall ensure that systems and infrastructures are set up to provide for the return and separate collection of all packaging waste from the end users, in order to ensure that it is treated in accordance with Articles 4, 10 and 13 of Directive 2008/98/EC, and to facilitate its preparation for re-use and high-quality recycling. Packaging that complies with design for recycling criteria as established in delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 6(4) of this Regulation shall be collected for recycling. Incineration and landfill of such packaging shall be prohibited, with the exception of waste resulting from subsequent treatment operations of separately collected packaging waste for which recycling is not feasible or does not deliver the best environmental outcome.

2. In order to facilitate high-quality recycling, Member States shall ensure that systems and infrastructures for comprehensive collection and sorting are in place to facilitate recycling and to ensure that plastic feedstock is available for recycling. Such systems and infrastructures may provide priority access to recycled materials for use in applications where the distinct quality of the recycled material is preserved or recovered in such a way that it can be recycled further and used in the same way and for a similar application with minimal loss of quantity, quality or function.

3. Member States may derogate from the return and separate waste collection obligation in paragraph 1 of this Article for certain formats of waste, provided that collecting fractions of packaging waste together, or collecting packaging waste or fractions of such packaging waste together with other waste does not affect the capacity of such packaging or fractions of packaging waste to undergo preparing for re-use, recycling or other recovery operations in accordance with Articles 4 and 13 of Directive 2008/98/EC and generates output from those operations which is of comparable quality to that achieved through separate collection.

4. Member States may ensure that packaging waste that is not collected separately is sorted prior to disposal or energy recovery operations to remove packaging designed for recycling.

5. The systems and infrastructures referred to in paragraph 1 shall:

(a) be open to the participation of the economic operators of the sectors concerned, the competent public authorities and third parties carrying out waste management on their behalf;

(b) cover the whole territory of the Member State and all packaging waste from all types of packaging and activities, and take into account population size, expected volume and composition of packaging waste, as well as accessibility and proximity to end users; they shall include the separate collection in public spaces, business premises and residential areas, and shall be of sufficient capacity;

(c) be open to imported products under non-discriminatory conditions, in particular with regard to the detailed arrangements and any tariffs imposed for access, and be designed so as to avoid barriers to trade or distortions of competition.

6. Member States may provide for public waste management systems to participate in the organisation of the systems referred to in paragraph 1.

7. Member States shall take measures to promote recycling of packaging waste which meets the quality standards for the use of recycled materials in relevant sectors.