Regarding the Establishment of the Environmental Agency
The bill concerning the establishment of the Turkish Environment Agency and amendments to certain laws was submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly today.
If this proposal is accepted as is, all activities related to the environment, primarily the establishment and operation of a deposit management system, as well as the improvement and development of the waste management system to increase resource efficiency, will be carried out under the Turkish Environment Agency. The procedures and principles for the tenders for the procurement of goods and services related to the establishment and operation of the deposit management system by the Agency will be determined by the President.
The regulation adds principles aimed at protecting and improving the environment, including promoting zero waste, expanding the use of non-motorized and electric vehicles, and reducing plastic packaging.
In addition, administrative sanctions to be applied in case of non-compliance with the regulations regarding plastic bags, which have recently been implemented in our country, as well as the regulations concerning recycling and deposit systems, will be determined.
The proposal also includes a one-year postponement of the implementation of the deposit management system to compensate for the time lost in studies related to the system due to the Covid-19 pandemic experienced worldwide and in Türkiye in 2020. The guarantees and fees related to the deposit system will be determined by a regulation to be issued by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization.
The procedures and principles for the creation and implementation of the environmental labeling system will be determined by the Ministry. Some phrases in clause "h" of the first paragraph of Article 3 of the Environmental Law have been amended and changed. For example, the phrase "plastic bags and plastic packaging" has been changed to "plastic bags or packaging and single-use materials".
It is proposed that sales points found to be giving away plastic bags for free or in violation of the procedures and principles determined by the Ministry be fined 15.16 TL for every square meter of their enclosed sales area, excluding storage areas; those producing, supplying, and importing plastic bags in violation of the procedures and principles determined by the Ministry be fined 15,000 TL; those who do not comply with the principles determined regarding GEKAP (Environmental Contribution Tax) be fined 1,500 TL; and those who do not establish/document having established a zero-waste management system be fined 20,000 TL.
The proposal includes the following clause: Those who violate the procedures and principles determined by the Ministry regarding deposit-based payment systems will be fined 20,000 TL for placing deposit-based products on the market; those who offer deposit-based products to users/consumers, including sales points, will be fined 15.16 TL for every square meter of their operating area; and sales points that fail to meet the requirements will be fined 100 TL.
The transition to the deposit system has been postponed to January 1, 2022.
If you would like to contribute your opinions and suggestions regarding the draft law we have prepared for submission to the commission, please submit them by October 14, 2020. pagev@pagev.org.tr You can send it to our email address.
Kind regards,
Ertan Güneş
Secretary General
Turkish Plastics Manufacturers Research, Development and Education Foundation
Halkalı Cad. Tez-İş İş Mrk. No:132/1 Kat:4 34295 Sefaköy / İstanbul
Wire.: +90 212 425 13 13 / 3 Lines Fax: +90 212 624 49 26
E-mail: pagev@pagev.org.tr Web: www.pagev.org
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