JOHN CARLOS I

KING OF SPAIN

To all who present it and understand it.

Sabed: That the General Courts have approved and I come to sanction the following Law:

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Packaging waste accounts for a considerable amount of the total waste generated by what, in order to meet the commitment given in the fifth Community action programme on the environment and development The European Union has adopted Directive 94 /62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December on packaging and packaging waste.

This Directive aims to harmonise the rules on the management of packaging and packaging waste from different Member States in order to prevent or reduce their impact on the environment and to avoid obstacles. trade between the various Member States of the European Union. It includes within its scope all the packaging placed on the Community market and hierarchises the different options for waste management, considering as priorities, until the technical and scientific advances on the processes of Waste disposal does not give any other advice, measures designed to prevent its generation, followed by those designed to encourage reuse, recycling or recovery to prevent or reduce the disposal of waste. wastes.

It also sets targets for recycling and recovery to be met by the Member States within five years of the incorporation of the rule into national law and imposes on those Member States the obligation to establish measures, open to the participation of all the affected social and economic sectors, of the return, collection and recovery of packaging waste and used packaging, in order to address them to the most appropriate management alternatives.

This law incorporates the substantive rules of the said community provision, that is, those that according to the Spanish law must come covered by the principle of reserve of law, leaving for further development Those other than for their most contingent or adjective nature should not be subject to such reservation.

The Law is structured in seven chapters, dedicated the first three, respectively, to the provisions of general application, to fix certain principles of action of the public administrations in order to promote the prevention and the reuse of packaging and the setting of the recycling and recovery targets provided for in that Directive, while setting out intermediate recycling targets to be met within 30 months.

In order to achieve these objectives, in addition to imposing on packaging manufacturers the obligation to use material from packaging waste in their manufacturing processes, unless otherwise stated in law, Chapter IV regulates two different procedures: firstly, it is generally established that the various agents involved in the marketing chain of a packaged product (packers, importers, wholesalers and (retailers) must charge their customers, up to the final consumer, an amount for each product object of transaction and return identical sum of money for the return of the empty container. Second, the abovementioned agents may be exempted from the obligations arising from the general procedure when they participate in an integrated system for the management of waste packaging and packaging waste, which ensures their periodic collection and the compliance with the targets for recycling and recovery. The authorisation of these systems, which will be formalised by voluntary agreements between these agents, will be granted by the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities.

The remaining chapters regulate, respectively, the requirements for packaging, the information to be provided to the Autonomous Communities, the programming and the economic instruments and the sanctioning regime.

By its content, this standard, through which the Directi is incorporated into the Spanish legal order is 94 /62/EC, has the consideration of basic legislation on general planning of economic activity and on protection of the environment, in accordance with the provisions of Article 149.1.13. and 23. of the Constitution.

The legal status is determined by the incidence of certain measures contained in this rule in the general scheme for the collection and treatment of urban solid waste, established in Law 42/1975 of 19 November. the imposition on producers of packaging and raw materials for their production of the waste packaging and packaging waste used and, finally, on the establishment of a specific sanctioning regime.

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 1. Object and scope of application.

1. This Act aims to prevent and reduce the impact on the environment of packaging and the management of packaging waste throughout its life cycle.

In order to achieve the above objectives, measures aimed at preventing the production of packaging waste and, secondly, the reuse of packaging, recycling and other waste are laid down as the first priority. forms of recovery of packaging waste in order to prevent or reduce its disposal.

2. All packaging and packaging waste placed on the market and generated, respectively, in the territory of the State are within the scope of this Law.

3. The provisions of this Law shall be without prejudice to the special provisions relating to safety, health protection and hygiene of packaged products, medicinal products, transport and hazardous waste.

Article 2. Definitions.

For the purposes of the provisions of this Law:

1. Packaging: any product made of materials of any kind and used to contain, protect, manipulate, distribute and present goods, from raw materials to finished goods, at any stage of the manufacturing chain, distribution and consumption. All disposable articles used for the same purpose shall also be considered packaging. This concept includes only sales or primary packaging, collective or secondary packaging, and transport or tertiary packaging.

Industrial or commercial packaging is considered to be of exclusive use and consumption in the industries, shops, services or agricultural and livestock farms and therefore not susceptible to use and consumption Ordinary addresses in particular addresses.

2. Packaging waste: any packaging or packaging material of which the holder is disposed of or which has an obligation to divest under the provisions in force.

3. Packaging waste management: the collection, classification, transport, storage, recovery and disposal of packaging waste, including the monitoring of these operations and the places of unloading after their disposal closure.

4. Prevention: reduction, in particular through the development of non-polluting products and techniques, of the quantity and the impact on the environment of:

Materials and substances used in packaging and present in packaging waste.

Packaging and packaging waste in the production process, and in marketing, distribution, utilization and disposal.

5. Reuse: any operation in which the package designed and designed to carry out a minimum number of circuits, rotations or uses throughout its life cycle, is filled or reused for the same purpose for which it was designed, with or without aid of auxiliary products present on the market which permit the filling of the package itself. Such packaging shall be considered as waste when it is no longer reused.

6. Recycling: the transformation of packaging waste, within a production process, for its initial purpose or for other purposes, including composting and biomethane, but not energy recovery.

For these purposes, landfill burial shall not be considered to be composting or biomethane.

7. Recovery: any procedure allowing the use of the resources contained in packaging waste, including incineration with energy recovery, without endangering human health and without using methods which may cause damage to the environment. In any event, the procedure set out in Annex II B to Commission Decision 96 /350/EC of 24 May and those appearing on a list which, if appropriate, is approved by Royal Decree, shall be included in this concept.

8. Energy recovery: the use of combustible packaging waste to generate energy by direct incineration with or without other waste, but with heat recovery.

9. Disposal: any procedure directed, either to the storage or controlled discharge of packaging waste or to its destruction, in whole or in part, by incineration or other methods which do not involve recovery of energy, without endangering the human health and without using methods which could cause harm to the environment. In any event, the procedures set out in Annex II A to Commission Decision 96 /350/EC of 24 May, as well as those appearing on a list which, if appropriate, are approved by Royal Decree, shall be included in this concept.

10. Economic agents:

Manufacturers and importers, or acquirers in other Member States of the European Union, of raw materials for the manufacture of packaging, as well as valorizers and recyclers.

Packaging manufacturers, packers, and merchants or distributors.

Recovery of waste from used packaging and packaging.

Consumers and users.

The public administrations referred to in Article 2 of Law 30/1992, of 26 November, of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure.

11. Packaging manufacturers: the economic operators involved in the manufacture of packaging as well as the import or purchase in other Member States of the European Union, of empty containers already manufactured.

12. Packers: the economic operators involved in the packaging of products as well as the import or purchase in other Member States of the European Union of packaged products, for placing on the market.

13. Traders or distributors: economic operators engaged in the distribution, wholesale or retail, of packaging or packaged products.

In turn, within the concept of merchants, it is distinguished:

(a) Packaging dealers or distributors: those carrying out transactions with empty containers.

(b) Dealers or distributors of packaged products: those who place packaged goods on the market, in any of the marketing stages of the products.

14. Recovery of waste packaging and packaging waste: economic operators involved in the collection, sorting, storage, packaging and marketing of packaging waste for reuse, recycling and other forms of packaging recovery.

CHAPTER II

Principles of action on prevention, reuse and recycling

Article 3. Prevention.

Within their respective fields of competence, the General Administration of the State and the Autonomous Communities, after consultation with economic operators, shall take appropriate measures, in particular with regard to design and process for the manufacture of packaging, in order to minimise and prevent the production of packaging waste at source. The measures to be taken may include research and development actions aimed at promoting prevention.

Article 4. Promotion of reuse and recycling.

Public administrations will be able to establish those measures of an economic, financial or fiscal nature that are necessary, in order to promote the reuse and recycling of the packaging, without damaging the environment. environment.

CHAPTER III

Reduction, recycling and recovery goals

Article 5. Targets for reduction, recycling and recovery.

Before 30 June 2001, the following targets for reduction, recycling and recovery must be met at the level of the entire State:

(a) At least 50 per 100 shall be valorised, and 65 per 100 at most, by weight, of all the packaging waste generated.

(b) Within the framework of the previous overall objective, 25 per 100 at least, and 45 per 100 at most, by weight, of all packaging materials that are part of all the packaging waste generated, shall be recycled, with a minimum of 15 per 100 by weight of each packaging material.

As an intermediate objective as mentioned in the previous paragraph, before the end of thirty-six months after the entry into force of this Law, a minimum of 15 per 100 by weight of all the materials of the packaging that is part of all the packaging waste generated, with a minimum of 10 per 100 by weight for each type of packaging material.

c) It shall be reduced, at least 10 per 100 by weight of all the packaging waste generated.

CHAPTER IV

Deposit, Return and Return System and Integrated Packaging and Packaging Waste Management Systems

Section 1. Deposit, Return and Return System

Article 6. Obligations.

1. Packers and traders of packaged products or, where it is not possible to identify the above, those responsible for the first placing on the market of the packaged products, shall be obliged to:

Charge your customers, to the final consumer, an individual amount for each package that is the subject of a transaction. This amount shall not be considered as a price nor shall be subject, therefore, to any taxation.

Accept the return or return of packaging waste and used containers whose type, format or mark they place on the market, returning the same amount that has been paid in accordance with the provisions of the previous paragraph.

Notwithstanding the above paragraph, packers shall only be obliged to accept the return and return of the packaging of those products placed by them on the market.

Also, traders will only be obliged to accept the return and return of the packaging waste and used packaging from the products they would have distributed if they had been awarded or accredited in a way that can be clearly identified.

2. The final holder of the waste packaging and packaging waste, in accordance with the provisions of the previous paragraph, shall deliver them in the manner specified in Article 12.

3. The individual quantities referred to in paragraph 1 shall be fixed by the Ministry of the Environment, in sufficient amount to ensure the return of the packaging and packaging waste used, after consultation of the Autonomous Communities and the Ministries responsible for the matter.

4. The packaging to which this Article applies shall be distinguished from those other packages which have been placed under one of the integrated waste management systems of used packaging and packaging in Section 2. The Ministry of the Environment shall approve the legend or symbol with which it must be identified in all the national territory.

5. The provisions of this Article shall also apply to packaging marketed by automatic vending machines and by mail.

Section 2. Integrated packaging waste management systems for used packaging and packaging

Article 7. Nature.

1. The economic operators referred to in Article 6 (1) may be exempted from the obligations laid down in that Article, when they participate in an integrated system for the management of waste packaging and packaging waste products derived from such products. they are marketed.

These integrated management systems shall ensure, in their field of application, that the targets for recycling and recovery are met, in the percentages and deadlines set out in Article 5.

2. Integrated management systems shall aim at the periodic collection of used packaging and packaging waste, at the consumer's address or in close proximity, to be established by agreements between economic operators. they operate in the sectors concerned, with the exception of consumers and users and public administrations, and must be authorised by the competent authority of each of the Autonomous Communities in which they are located territorially, prior hearing of consumers and users.

The Autonomous Communities shall communicate to the Ministry of the Environment the authorizations they have granted.

3. Packages included in an integrated management system must be identified by means of supporting symbols, which are identical throughout the territorial scope of the system, without prejudice to the powers of the Autonomous Communities in their respective countries. territorial areas.

4. It may be laid down that certain packaged products may be exempted from the exemption provided for in paragraph 1 where their chemical composition or the material which they contain do not present a hazard or toxicity that commits the recycling or disposal of the different constituent residual fractions of municipal waste or poses a risk to the health of persons or the environment.

Article 8. Authorization.

1. The authorisation of integrated waste management systems for packaging and used packaging shall contain at least the following determinations, which must have been demonstrated by the economic operators in their application for authorisation:

Identification and domicile of the entity, which shall have its own legal personality and constitute non-profit, to which the management of the system is assigned;

Identification and domicile of the person or entity to whom the receipt of the packaging waste and the used packaging of the local entities is assigned, as well as those entrusted to them for the reuse of the waste. used packaging or the recycling or recovery of packaging waste, in the case of being different from that referred to in the previous paragraph;

Identification of the economic operators belonging to the integrated management system and the way in which other economic operators who wish to do so may join the system in the future;

Delimitation of the territorial scope of the integrated management system;

Predicted rates of recycling, other forms of recovery and reduction of the waste of packaging generated and mechanisms for checking compliance with these percentages and the operation of the integrated system of management;

Identification of the accrediting token of system integration;

Identification of the nature of the matter of the packaging waste and used packaging to which the system applies;

Mechanisms for financing the integrated management and guarantee system provided;

Data collection and information provision procedure to the Authorizing Administration.

2. The authorisations of the integrated management systems shall be temporary and shall be granted for a period of five years, and may be renewed in succession for the same period of time.

These authorizations may not be transmitted to third parties.

3. The maximum time limit for responding to applications for authorisation of integrated management systems shall be six months.

4. In no case shall it be understood as having been acquired by act alleged authorisations or powers which contravene the provisions of this Law. The authorisation may also not be invoked to exclude or reduce the liability of the holder in the exercise of his activity.

Any changes in the determinations required for the authorisation before the end of this period shall be notified to the competent authority.

Article 9. Participation of local entities.

1. The involvement of local authorities in integrated waste management systems for packaging and used packaging shall be carried out by means of the signature of collaboration agreements between the entities and the entity to which the management of the waste is assigned. system.

In line with what is established in these collaboration agreements, local entities will undertake to perform the selective collection of the waste packaging and packaging waste included in the integrated management system. in the case of the case, and their transport to the separation and sorting centres or, where appropriate, directly to the centres for recycling or recovery.

In the centres referred to in the preceding paragraph, the integrated management system shall take care of all waste packaging and packaging used, separated by materials, and shall deliver them in the form specified in Article 12.

2. Local entities that do not participate in an integrated management system shall agree with the Autonomous Community that they belong to a procedure to enable compliance with regard to the packaging waste generated in their field. the objectives of recycling, recovery and reduction referred to in Article 5. The Autonomous Communities shall communicate to the Ministry of the Environment the conventions which they have concluded with the local authorities.

3. The participation of local authorities in integrated waste management systems for packaging and used packaging shall be carried out through the Autonomous Communities to which they belong, when the latter have approved management plans for urban solid waste, which will not reach the local authorities ' own decision to participate or not in the integrated management system in question. In this case, the Autonomous Communities must ensure that the funds received from the integrated management system are intended, at least, to cover the additional costs which, in each case, will have to be borne by the local authorities, according to (a) as set out in Article 10 (2).

Article 10. Funding.

1. The integrated management systems shall be financed by means of the packers of an amount for each packaged product placed for the first time on the domestic market, agreed, on the basis of the different types of packaging, by the entity to be assigned the management of the system, with the economic agents participating in it.

This amount, identical throughout the territorial scope of the integrated system in question, will not be considered as priced nor subject to any taxation and your credit will entitle you to the use in the symbol's packaging accrediting of the integrated system.

2. Integrated waste management and packaging waste management systems shall finance the difference in cost between the ordinary system for the collection, transport and treatment of urban solid waste and waste in a controlled landfill, established in Law 42/1975 of 19 November 1975 and the management system governed by this Section, including between the costs incurred by the latter, the amount of the depreciation and the financial burden of the investment required to be made in mobile material and infrastructure.

For these purposes, integrated management systems will have to compensate the local authorities involved in them for the additional costs which, in each case, they have to bear in accordance with the provisions of the previous paragraph, in the terms set forth in the corresponding colabo ration agreement.

When it is the Autonomous Communities that perform the actions referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 9 (1), it shall be those Administrations which shall be compensated in the terms indicated in this Article. paragraph.

3. The authorisation of integrated waste management systems for packaging and used packaging shall be subject to the provision of a security, bank or other guarantee, in sufficient amount, in the judgment of the Authorising Administration, for respond to the fulfilment of the obligations of economic content which, in the face of public administrations, are derived from the performance of integrated management systems.

Article 11. Monitoring and monitoring by public administrations and by consumers and users.

The Autonomous Communities will ensure the participation of local authorities and consumers and users in the monitoring and control of the degree of compliance with the objectives to be achieved and the obligations assumed by the integrated management systems, without prejudice to other forms of participation deemed appropriate.

The General Administration of the State will also be able to participate in the monitoring of the objectives and obligations of the integrated management systems.

Section 3. Common Standards on the Delivery of Recovered Packaging and Used Packaging Waste

Article 12. Delivery of packaging waste and used packaging.

The final holder of the waste packaging and packaging waste, in accordance with Article 6 (2) (2), the third subparagraph of Article 9 (1) and the first provision, must deliver them to the appropriate material separation conditions to an economic operator for reuse, to a retriever, to a recycler or to an authorised valorizer.

If the above economic operators, by reason of the materials used, do not take care of the waste of packaging and used packaging, they may be delivered to manufacturers and importers or acquired in other States. Member States of the European Union of packaging and raw materials for the manufacture of packaging, who shall be obliged to take charge of packaging, at market price, in terms of their regulations.

CHAPTER V

Requirements for packaging

Article 13. Requirements for packaging and safety conditions.

1. (a) The sum of the levels of concentration of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexevalent chromium present in the packages or their components shall not exceed:

600 ppm by weight before 1 July 1998.

250 ppm by weight before 1 July 1999.

100 ppm by weight before 1 July 2001.

(b) The concentration levels referred to in the previous paragraph shall not apply to the fully manufactured containers made of transparent glass with lead oxide.

Packaging shall be presumed to conform to the above requirements when complying with the harmonised Community standards which, where appropriate, have been dictated by the European Union, or in the national rules laid down for that purpose.

2. Waste packaging and used packaging returned or collected must be stored, disposed and handled in such a way as to ensure the protection of the environment, public health and hygiene and the safety of consumers.

Article 14. Marking and identification system.

1. Without prejudice to the rules on labelling and marking laid down in other specific provisions, the packaging shall be marked in accordance with the provisions laid down in Community legislation.

In any case, the packages must bear the corresponding marking either on the packaging itself or on the label. Such marking shall be clearly visible and easily legible and shall have adequate persistence and durability, even after the packaging is opened.

2. From a year from the date of entry into force of this standard, the placing on the market of packages labelled or labelled with the "non-returnable" or other similar content shall be prohibited.

CHAPTER VI

Information systems, programming, and economic instruments

Article 15. Information to public administrations.

Economic operators shall provide the Autonomous Communities with the information necessary to verify the extent to which the objectives referred to in Article 5 are met, in respect of the operations they carry out. This information will be available to users in accordance with the provisions of Law 38/1995 of 12 December on the right of access to information in the field of the environment.

Article 16. Information to economic operators, and in particular to consumers and environmental users and organisations.

Before 1 July 1998, the competent public authorities will take the necessary measures to ensure that economic operators, and in particular consumers, users of packaging and non-governmental organisations, whose object is the defense of the environment, receive the necessary information about:

The general characteristics and content of integrated waste management systems for used packaging and packaging waste regulated in Section 2. of Chapter IV and of the system of deposit, return and return regulated in the article 6, as well as the differences between these systems;

Integrated waste management and packaging waste management systems that have been authorized;

Your contribution to the reuse of packaging and recycling and recovery;

The meaning of the markings on the packaging, as they exist on the market;

The contents of the National Packaging Waste and Used Packaging Program.

Article 17. National Packaging Waste And Used Packaging Program.

Within a maximum of one year from the entry into force of this Law, the Government, on a proposal from the Ministry of the Environment, will approve a National Program of Waste of Packaging And Used Packaging, integrating the programs drawn up by the Autonomous Communities. The National Program will be included in the National Urban Waste Management Plan and will be valid for the entire national territory.

For these purposes, the waste management plans of the Autonomous Communities and, where appropriate, those of the local entities in accordance with the legislation of the respective Autonomous Communities shall contain specific determinations on the management of packaging and packaging waste.

In the National Program of Waste of Packaging And Used Packaging measures will be established to allow the participation of the General Administration of the State, the Autonomous Communities and the local entities, as well as the consumers and users, in the monitoring of their implementation and the fulfilment of their objectives.

Article 18. Economic instruments.

1. Public administrations may, in the field of their respective powers, adopt measures to promote the achievement of the objectives set out in this Law.

2. Instruments or other economic measures, including, where appropriate, fiscal instruments, may be established where some packaging material fails to achieve the minimum target of 15 per 100 recycling set for each packaging material in the Article 5 (b)

b).

CHAPTER VII

Sanctioning Regime

Article 19. Classification of violations.

1. The following are considered to be very serious:

(a) The placing on the domestic market of packaged products without being covered by the deposit, return and return system, or any of the integrated waste management systems of used packaging and packaging, or the misuse of the accrediting symbols that identify the participation in the same, in the terms set out in this Law and in its implementing rules.

(b) Non-compliance by packers and traders of any of the obligations laid down in Article 6 of this Standard, where they do not participate in any of the integrated packaging and packaging waste management systems used.

(c) Failure to comply with some of the obligations laid down in paragraph 1 of the first provision, where the exceptions provided for therein apply.

(d) Failure to comply, where appropriate, by the economic operators referred to in the second paragraph of Article 12 of the obligation to take over the waste packaging and packaging used, in the words expressed in that Article.

e) The placing on the domestic market of containers with a higher concentration of heavy metals than the government determines.

(f) Failure to comply with the security conditions laid down in Article 13 (2), where the protection of the environment, public health and hygiene or the safety of consumers is seriously disturbed.

g) The transmission to third parties of the authorisations granted by the Autonomous Communities to any of the integrated waste management systems of used packaging and packaging.

h) The commission, in one year, of more than two serious infractions, when it has been declared by firm resolution.

i) Failure by operators to comply with the obligation to supply information as referred to in Article 15 or the distortion thereof.

2. The following shall be considered as serious infringements:

(a) The placing on the domestic market of packaging that does not comply with the requirements to be determined by the Government in accordance with Article 13 (1).

(b) The placing on the domestic market of packaging with non-compliance with the marking obligations laid down in Article 14 (1).

(c) The placing on the domestic market of packages labelled or marked with the "non-returnable" legend or other similar content.

(d) Failure to comply with the security conditions laid down in Article 13 (2), where the protection of the environment, public health and hygiene or the safety of consumers is not seriously disturbed.

(e) Failure to comply with the obligation laid down in paragraph 2 of the first provision, where the exceptions provided for in this provision apply.

(f) The commission of any of the offences referred to in paragraph 1 where, because of their limited amount or intensity, they do not merit the consideration of being qualified as very serious infringements.

g) The commission, in one year, of more than two minor infractions, when it has been declared by firm resolution.

3. Minor infractions shall be considered as follows:

(a) The referral to the public authorities of the information referred to in Article 15 outside the time limits to be determined by regulation.

(b) The commission of any of the offences referred to in paragraph 2, where, for their limited amount or intensity, they do not merit the consideration of being qualified as serious infringements.

(c) Failure to comply with any other prescription provided for in this Law, where it does not have to be considered as a very serious or serious infringement, in accordance with the foregoing paragraphs.

4. In the case of integrated waste management systems for used packaging and packaging, the entity with its own legal personality shall be responsible for the management of the integrated system.

Article 20. Penalties.

1. The infringements set out in the previous Article may result in the imposition of the following fines, taking into account the circumstances of the person responsible, their degree of fault, reiteration, participation and benefit obtained:

a) Very serious infractions: fine from 10,000,001 to 100,000,000 pesetas.

b) Serious infractions: fine from 1,000,001 to 10,000,000 pesetas.

c) Minor infractions: fine of up to 1,000,000 pesetas.

2. Irrespective of whether they may be the subject of a penalty, the competent bodies may agree to the imposition of periodic penalty payments in accordance with Article 99 of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992. Public administrations and the Common Administrative Procedure, after the deadlines set out in the relevant order have elapsed. The amount of each of the fines shall not exceed 20 per 100 of the fine fixed for the offence committed.

3. In the cases of infringements referred to in points (a), (e) and (f) of paragraph 1; and in points (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph 2 of the preceding Article, the body exercising the power of sanction may also agree, as an ancillary sanction, on the confiscation of the goods, in which case they shall determine the final destination to be given. Where the confiscation of the goods is not possible, it may be replaced by the payment of the amount of its value.

In the case of application as set out in the preceding paragraph, the costs arising from the confiscation operations of the goods shall be taken into account by the offender.

4. The Government may, by means of Royal Decree, update the amount of the penalties laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article, in accordance with the annual change in the consumer price index.

Article 21. Sanctioning competition.

The exercise of the sanctioning power provided for in this chapter corresponds to the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities.

Article 22. Advertisement of the sanctions.

The body that exercises the sanctioning authority may agree to the publication, through the means it deems appropriate, of the sanctions imposed by the commission of serious and very serious infractions, once these have been acquired on an administrative basis or, where appropriate, jurisdictional, as well as the names, surnames or names or social reasons of the natural or legal persons responsible and the nature and nature of the infringements.

Additional disposition first. Derogations from the application of the obligations laid down in Article 6 or, where appropriate, in Section 2 of Chapter IV.

1. They shall be excluded from the scope of Article 6 or, where appropriate, in Section 2 of Chapter IV, industrial or commercial packaging, unless the persons responsible for placing them on the market decide to submit to it. voluntary form. Where such packaging is to be considered as waste, its holders shall be obliged to deliver them in accordance with Article 12.

2. They shall also be excluded from the scope of Article 6 or, where appropriate, in Section 2 of Chapter IV, the reusable packaging to which the provisions laid down in the Orders of 31 December 1976 and of the 16 July 1979, as amended by orders of 30 November 1981, on the basis of the compulsory guarantees for packaging and packaging for the sales of beer and soft drinks and packaged drinking water, respectively.

Equally, non-industrial or commercial non-reusable packaging, for which packers and traders establish their own systems of deposit, return and return, are excluded, subject to the authorization of the Communities. Stand-alone in which these systems are deployed.

However, when the containers referred to in the previous two paragraphs lose the condition of reusable and therefore become packaging waste, the packers will be obliged to deliver them according to the set out in Article 12.

3. In any event, the economic operators to which the provisions laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2 apply shall provide the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities with information in their possession, in accordance with the provisions laid down in the Article 15.

4. The Government may provide that certain packages, by their special characteristics of size, composition or design, are excluded from the scope of Article 6 or, where appropriate, in Section 2 of Chapter IV, provided that compliance with the reduction, recycling and recovery targets set out in Article 5 (1) of this Law is sufficiently ensured.

Additional provision second. Foral organs of the Historical Territories, Island Cabildos of the Canary Islands and Island Councils of the Balearic Islands.

In the area of the Autonomous Communities of the Basque Country, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, the powers conferred by the Autonomous Communities on this Law may be exercised by the foral organs of their territories. Historical, by the Cabildos and by the Island Councils, respectively, in accordance with the provisions of the corresponding Statutes of Autonomy and, where appropriate, in the legislation of each Autonomous Community.

Additional provision third. Promotion of the priority objectives in public procurement.

Public administrations shall take the necessary measures to promote the order of priorities referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 of Article 1 and promote the use of reusable and recyclable materials in the procurement of public works and supplies.

Similarly, in order to achieve the objectives set out in that provision, to determine the actual cost of managing packaging waste and used packaging and, in general, for the implementation of the measures laid down In this Law, public administrations will be able to conclude, in the field of their competences, collaboration agreements with the other interested economic agents.

Additional provision fourth. Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla.

Integrated packaging and packaging waste management systems should finance the shipment of packaging and packaging waste used from the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands and from Ceuta and Melilla to the peninsula, if not possible treatment in these places, so that the transfer takes place at zero cost.

The shipment, for the same purposes and for the same purposes, of the packaging waste that is received from the system of deposit, return and return, will be cost by means of aid financed by the General Administration of the State.

Additional provision fifth. Joint committee.

A Joint Committee is set up, the composition of which will be determined by regulation, which will be composed of representatives of the General Administration of the State, the Autonomous Communities, the local authorities, through the Association of State-wide Municipalities with the highest implementation, of the associations of consumers and users of greater representativeness at the State level, of the industrial and commercial sectors affected and of technical and scientific experts on matter.

the purpose of this Joint Committee is to analyse the possibilities for reducing the consumption of more consumer packaging, as well as to examine the possibility of applying to the European Commission for authorisation to revise the recycling and recovery as set out in Article 5.

Additional provision sixth. Entry into force of the obligations laid down in Chapter IV.

The obligations laid down in Chapter IV shall in no case be required before 1 January 1998.

Single repeal provision.

As of the date of entry into force of this Law, the Royal Decree 319/1991, of 8 March, which sets out the actions on the production, marketing, employment, recycling and filling of containers destined for contain liquid foods.

Final disposition first. Basic character.

This law has the character of basic legislation on general planning of economic activity and on environmental protection, in accordance with the provisions of article 149.1.13. and 23. of the Constitution.

Final disposition second. Development authorization.

1. The Government is authorised to make the necessary arrangements for the implementation and development of the provisions of this Law and, in particular, for:

Review the recycling and recovery targets set out in Article 5 of this standard in order to adapt them to the amendments that are introduced by the Community legislation.

Review upwards, in order to achieve a high level of environmental protection and after consultation with the Autonomous Communities, economic operators and the Joint Committee set up in the fifth additional provision, the objectives minimum and maximum recycling and recovery as referred to in Article 5, provided that no distortions of the internal market are caused and that the European Commission's prior authorisation and appropriate recycling and/or recycling capacities are available; and recovery.

Review the levels of heavy metal concentration in the packaging set out in Article 13.1

Determine, according to what the European Commission sets:

(a) The conditions under which the above concentration levels will not be applied to recycled materials and product circuits in a closed and controlled chain;

(b) The types of packaging to which the requirement that the sum of the levels of concentration of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexevalent chromium does not exceed 100 ppm by weight before 1 July 2001 is not applied.

To determine the specific requirements for the manufacture and composition of packaging in accordance with Annex II to Directive 94/62 of 20 December on packaging and packaging waste.

2. According to the Ministry of the Environment, in accordance with what, if necessary, will be decided by the European Commission, the measures will be established to resolve the difficulties that may arise in the application of this Law.

3. The Ministries of the Environment and Public Health and Consumer Affairs will carry out an assessment of the harmful and dangerous additives used in the manufacture of packaging, with a view to establishing, two years after the entry into force of this Law, a calendar for replacement by other alternative substances.

4. With regard to the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as packaging material, the Government, within one year of the entry into force of this Law, will propose, in the light of economic and social agents, appropriate measures on the basis of conclusions of the technical study to be drawn up by a recognised Commission of experts.

Final disposition third. Entry into force.

This Law will enter into force on the day following its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Therefore,

I command all Spaniards, individuals and authorities, to keep and keep this Law.

Madrid, April 24, 1997.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The President of the Government,

JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR LÓPEZ

ATTACHED

Specific requirements for packaging manufacturing and composition

Packaging shall be manufactured in such a way that its volume and weight is the appropriate minimum to maintain the level of safety, hygiene and acceptance required for the packaging product and the consumer.

Packaging must be designed, manufactured and marketed in such a way that it can be reused or valued, including recycling, and that its impact on the environment is reduced to a minimum when waste is disposed of. packaging or debris remaining from the packaging waste management activities.

Packaging shall be manufactured in such a way that the presence of harmful substances and other hazardous substances and materials in the packaging material and in any of its components has been reduced to a minimum presence in emissions, ash or leaching waters generated by the incineration or landfill of the packaging or waste remaining after packaging waste management operations.