Russia: EPR for waste is expected to be implemented in January 2025

Because most of household waste generated in Russia ends up on the landfills, the Russian authorities are now developing updated legislative mechanisms such as extended producer responsibility (ERP) for waste. The EPR policy for waste has been in place in Russia since 2014, however it didn't concern that packaging material that corresponds to 50% of all generated waste. 

Starting from January 1, 2025, all manufacturers and importers of packaging material will be obliged to recycle 100% of the packaging waste. In cases where the recycling rates won’t be met by the manufacturer, a penalty eco-fee will be applied. The eco-fee will be calculated as the difference between the standard and the accumulated volume of recycled waste times two.  For products and containers that are difficult to recycle, the eco-fee rate will be higher. Furthermore, according to the draft law, the recycling of waste will be more controlled. The update EPR for waste implies placing responsibility for package recycling from manufacturers and importers of products (4 millions) to only those manufacturing packages and importing them (2 500 only). This will make it much easier to keep track of how well companies are complying with the update EPR.