The objective of the component is to facilitate the adoption of EPR as a functional policy tool in Ukraine, consistent with EU rules. This involves transferring knowledge to the Ukrainian context, where municipalities will coordinate with producers’ organisations to implement EPR. This area has been chosen as one part of the EU rules on waste where compliance is feasible in the shorter term, and where municipalities have an important role to play and a significant stake in achieving compliance.
Activities include gathering and analysing other countries’ experiences relevant to Ukraine, establishing organisational structures for Producers Responsibility Organisations (PROs), advising on PRO system selection, outlining municipalities’ roles, and planning collection and coverage. Furthermore, the component will help to set up control mechanisms, draft bye-laws, and review implementation processes.
Resources and capacities for the component include a designated taskforce, end-user focus groups, pilot testing in selected areas, consultancy from experienced countries like Sweden, and the involvement of personnel from Ukrainian ministries, not least MinEnvironment in coordination with SwEPA.
Scheduled to start in 2024, the component aims for completion by 2027. It faces challenges due to its complexity, reliance on legislative and ministerial decisions, and the need to integrate EU EPR regulations into Ukrainian law. In addition, the EU regulations are currently subject to revision, and are hence a “moving target”. Despite these challenges, the programme’s flexible nature and the lack of a strict timeline allow a degree of leeway in implementation.
Component 4
EPR
Support for implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
This component aims to assist partners with the implementation of EPR in Ukraine for packaging waste and WEEE, aligning with EU standards. EPR is a policy approach designed to improve product design, increase reuse and recycling rates, and integrate the environmental costs of products into their market price. Ukraine is currently drafting its own EPR legislation, focusing on packaging and WEEE, amidst evolving EU regulations that include product bans, mandatory deposit return systems, higher recycling targets, and shifting recycling costs to producers.