Portugal WEEE inspections tighten and enforcement actions increase
November 6th, 2019
Portugal is the latest EU country to raise the stakes in enforcing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations. Companies selling into Portugal need to take notice of new inspection and enforcement action for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) compliance.
New measures to penalise WEEE non-compliance
Following a 12th September working meeting hosted by the Ministry of Environment and Energy Transition, the Portuguese Government has decided to immediately reinforce its inspection efforts for all stakeholders involved in the management of WEEE. This includes companies (producers) selling electrical and electronic equipment into Portugal.
Attendees to the meeting also agreed to establish a WEEE Action Plan to improve the performance of national WEEE collection and recycling as well as channel more investment in regulatory inspections and compliance audits.
A Monitoring Committee will also be set up to oversee the performance of government- approved WEEE collection and recycling schemes.
The Ministry reiterated that existing environmental legislation allows for fines for the most serious cases of non-compliance of up to EUR 5 million as well as additional penalties such as revocation of operational licenses,
How must I comply as a WEEE producer in Portugal?
If your company sells electrical and electronic products into Portugal, then you must:
- Register as a WEEE producer with the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA)
- Pay for arrangements for WEEE collection and recycling to cover your product sales
- Report quantities of equipment sold into Portugal for each compliance period to the regulatory authorities
How to avoid penalties and ensure your company complies with WEEE (plus Batteries and Packaging) legislation
Your company needs to make sure that compliance gaps are closed to remove exposure to these new tougher enforcement activities and penalties in Portugal.
EC4P has helped many companies, including those selling into Portugal, to protect their global product sales from enforcement by implementing legally robust WEEE (plus Batteries and Packaging) registration, collection, recycling and reporting compliance arrangements. Read case studies here or contact us to find out how we can help you better manage WEEE, Batteries and Packaging compliance across the globe.