SUP law - the "plastic directive" and the resulting changes. What should you prepare for as of January 1, 2024?

The start of a new year brings with it significant changes for consumers and businesses in Poland. As of January 1, 2024, new regulations under the SUP Act, a directive on single-use plastic products, went into effect. These changes are an important step towards sustainability and protecting our planet. What specifically do they concern? What is worth knowing? In this article we will discuss in detail the key aspects of the new regulations, including the fee on single-use plastic products.

What is the SUP Law, or the so-called Plastic Directive?

The SUP Law (from Single Use Plastics, or "single use plastics"), also known as the "Plastics Directive," is a European Union regulation that was voted on in 2019. It responds to the growing problem of plastic pollution.

The directive aims not only to promote alternatives to products made of this plastic, but also to ban the use of certain plastic products, such as cutlery, chopsticks (except for medical ones), plates, beverage cups, drink stirrers, expanded polystyrene containers, and balloon sticks. In addition, the SUP directive requires that disposable products be labeled with information about their harmful effects on the environment, as well as requiring manufacturers to cover the cost of disposing of these products and invest in public education.

The national law implementing the SUP Directive is the Law of April 14, 2023, amending the Law on Obligations of Entrepreneurs, Among Others, in the Management of Certain Wastes and the Product Fee. It introduces systemic solutions aimed at reducing the impact of plastic waste on the environment, particularly the water environment, as well as on human health. Among the new obligations are a ban on the marketing of certain types of plastic packaging (as of May 2023) and the collection of fees by businesses for single-use plastic products (as of January 1, 2024), and ensuring the availability of alternative packaging(as of July 1, 2024)

50 pieces of sugarcane salad bowls 710 ml dia 140 mm - a solution for entrepreneurs who do not want to have problems with the SUP Directive's assumptions.

When does the SUP directive come into force?

Poland published a law implementing the changes related to the SUP Directive on May 9, 2023, with most of its provisions already entering into force on May 24 of the same year. Entrepreneurs had one year to adapt to the new regulations. on July 1, 2024, amendments to impose administrative fines for failing to ensure the availability of alternative packaging and for placing beverages on the market in single-use plastic bottles with a capacity of up to three liters, without plastic caps and lids attached to the bottles.

Three regulations became effective on January 1, 2024:

• on product fees for different types of packaging;
• on the fee rates for single-use plastic products that are packaging;
• on the rates of the fee to cover the cost of managing waste generated from single-use plastic products

The purpose of the "plastic directive" - What is the new law supposed to change?

The goal of the "plastic directive," or SUP, is to significantly reduce plastic pollution - especially in the context of the sea and oceans, where a huge part of waste is actually plastic (nearly half of which is single-use products).

The new law seeks to change this through a series of measures:

• banning certain plastic products that are particularly hazardous to the environment (such as cutlery, plates, drink stirrers and expanded polystyrene containers);
• making it mandatory to recycle a certain percentage of PET bottles produced by 2025;
• imposing an obligation on manufacturers to cover the cost of disposing of single-use plastic products;
• financing educational campaigns on the negative environmental impact of these products.

The directive's goal is clear: to reduce plastic waste, promote alternatives to plastic products, and thereby protect the environment, including the water environment and human health.

How to avoid the problems associated with the "plastic directive"? Order 25 pieces of brown corrugated paper cups with dispersion, 250 ml with a diameter of 80 mm, with customers in mind.

What changes are to be expected after January 1, 2024?

After January 1, 2024, as part of the implementation of the SUP directive, a number of changes will come into force, which already have a direct impact on both businesses and consumers.

First and foremost, fees have been introduced for businesses (including retail, wholesale, catering and vending units) to offer single-use plastic products, such as beverage cups and food containers, provided that these are issued to an "end user" and are for direct consumption of a meal. An end user, according to the law, is a person or company that is the last to use the product, with no further resale. Therefore, packages for meals that are yet to be heated/thermally processed should not be subject to the fee.
Importantly, from July 1, 2024, entrepreneurs will have to ensure the availability of alternative packaging (for example, paper cups for hot beverages, wheat bran platters instead of plastic, or reusable packaging.

Disposable plastic products and products made of oxidegradable plastics, such as cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers, balloon-mounted chopsticks, and food and beverage containers made of expanded polystyrene,are also banned. Also important is the obligation to label certain disposable products, such as cups made of plastic or containing plastic, with visible and legible labeling informing about their harmfulness to the environment and improper disposal methods.

Unfortunately, some eco-friendly plastics, such as PLA, have been classified as plastic by the EU, which means they must also be labeled with a so-called "turtle" print, despite their compostability.

The SUP Directive also makes it compulsory, starting as early as January 2024, to inform consumers about the harmful environmental effects of improper handling of plastic waste, encouraging them to behave responsibly and carry out separate collection of this waste.

An excellent alternative to polystyrene packaging: 50 pieces of sugarcane bipartite 1000 ml containers, 25 x 18 x 4 cm series "5".

What is the implementation of the SUP Directive in Poland? Learn about your obligations

What has changed for entrepreneurs after January 1, 2024 in the context of the SUP Directive? Owners of retail and wholesale stores, catering establishments and vending machine operators are required to charge for these single-use plastic containers and ensure the availability of alternative packaging from July 1, 2024. In the case of beverage cups, such a fee is 20 cents per piece, and in the case of containers used for food (such as fast food), it is 25 cents. Of course, those entrepreneurs who offer customers eco-friendly or reusabledishes will not incur any additional fees.

Entrepreneurs will also have to take on fees to cover the cost of collecting waste generated from single-use plastic products they put on the market. These will amount to 10 pennies per kg of food containers, packages and wrappers made of flexible materials containing food intended for direct consumption from the package or wrapper without any further processing, beverage containers with a capacity of up to three liters, beverage cups, including their lids and lids, lightweight plastic shopping bags.

one penny will be added to the price of a piece of tobacco products with filters containing plastic, as well as filters containing plastic sold for use with tobacco products. The same amount will also be added to a piece of wet wipes and balloons.

Entrepreneurs are also responsible for financing the cost of managing waste from disposable products they put on the market. 

What are the risks for entrepreneurs for not complying with the new guidelines?

Failure to comply with the SUP directive's guidelines can have serious consequences for entrepreneurs. They may face hefty financial penalties, ranging from PLN 10,000 to as much as PLN 500,000 (the penalty limit for failure to collect a consumer fee is PLN 20,000). They apply to a variety of violations, including failure to subsidize environmental education campaigns, keeping improper records, failing to collect the required fees for plastic beverage cups or food containers, and misleading consumers by promoting products made of oxidegradable plastics (or simply "plastic" with compounds that accelerate its decomposition) as environmentally friendly.

In the face of new regulations resulting from the SUP directive, we face a challenge, but also an opportunity to change our consumer habits and business models. The new fees on single-use plastic products are aimed not only at reducing plastic waste, but also at promoting reusable alternatives. This change is an important step toward a more sustainable future! It shows that environmental action requires cooperation from both consumers and businesses. Now that these changes have taken effect, it is time for the global and local community to take the necessary steps to adapt to the new reality, with an eye toward a better future for us and our planet.

The organic wholesaler SlowPack is the place where you will find a variety of solutions that are the perfect answer to the changes in the law and that will avoid troublesome fees and record-keeping.

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