A recovery organisation is a legal person whose founders and members are packaging undertakings or the legal person formed by them, the members, partners, or shareholders of which are packaging undertakings. A recovery organisation must have an activity licence.
You are required to apply for an activity licence for operating as a recovery organisation the tasks of which are:
- Collecting packaging and packaging waste on a national level;
- Creating national collection networks;
- Directing of collected reusable packaging into reuse and packaging waste into recovery;
- Ensuring the fulfilling of packaging waste targets, including recovery targets of packaging undertakings that have transferred their obligations thereto in accordance with section 36 of the Packaging Act.
- Informing of the public and consumers about the procedure of and requirements for returning packaging and packaging waste.
The activity licence is valid for an unspecified term and is issued by the Ministry of Climate.
Legal bases
The activities in the area of packaging are regulated by the following:
Requirements to the applicant
To be issued an activity license, you must comply with the following requirements:
- Own agreements with economic operators, confirming the organisation’s capability to nationally fulfil obligations specified in subsection 16 (1), subsection 20 (2) and section 36 of the Packaging act of submitting copies of contracts entered into with operators engaged in collecting, transporting and processing packaging.
- Have an activity plan on the fulfilment of a packaging undertaking obligations specified in subsection 16 (1) and section 24 of the Packaging Act.
The parts of the activity plan are:
- a plan for the national involvement of different regions in the packaging and packaging waste collection system;
- a financial plan indicating the sources of financing, investments in infrastructure and increasing the capacity and capability for the collection of packaging waste, money held for future investments, and fees paid to other parties involved in the collection of packaging waste;
- terms and conditions for purchasing services related to packaging and packaging waste management;
- a strategy for involving other packaging companies in the recovery organisation;
- a model contract to be concluded between the recovery organisation and the packaging undertaking, whereas the contract must include a guarantee that the obligations of the packaging undertaking under section 16 (1) of the Packaging Act will be transferred to the recovery organisation, ensuring compliance with obligations by the recovery organisation, and the reimbursement of costs, including an indication of how the fee payable by the packaging undertaking is calculated;
- a media plan to inform end users and consumers of the possibilities of returning packaging and packaging waste and of the collection and recovery system;
- a member, partner or shareholder of a recovery organisation may not hold more than 25 percent of the voting rights determined by the membership, shares or stocks; neither may a person whose principal activity is waste handling within the meaning of § 13 of the Waste Act have control within the meaning of the Competition Act.
Cross-border activities
In the case that an enterprise is registered in another contracting party to the European Economic Area Agreement but wishes to render services in Estonia, the enterprise must apply for an activity licence on the conditions provided in this guide.
Completing and submitting the application
To acquire an activity license, you must submit a respective application and the following supplementary documents:
- Copy of the Statutes;
- List of members or partners or shareholders;
- Bank balance statement;
- Copy of the activity plan specified in clause 17 (1) 2) of the Packaging Act.
- Ccopies of contracts concluded with packaging collectors, transporters, and processors.
The application can be submitted:
- by entering the Register of Economic Activities (authentication is required)
- digitally signed via e-mail at [email protected]
Payment of the state fee
No state fees are to be paid for applying for a recovery organisation activity license.
Processing of an application
The submitted application is processed within 63 days.
The application shall be processed by the packaging committee, who serves as an advisory body to the Minister of the Environment in accrediting recovery organisations. The Minister of the Environment shall make an accreditation decision within 63 days.
If the application is incomplete, you shall be contacted within 30 days after the submission of the application.
You will be given additional time to complete the application. Until the submission of supplementary data, the processing of the application shall be suspended and the processing period shall extend in accordance with the time spent on issuing the supplementary data.
The activity licence is valid for an unspecified term.
Changing the data of an activity licence
If you wish to amend the activity licence, you must submit a notice regarding the intention of amending economic activity at least 30 days before the planned amendment. The application for the amendment of the activity license shall be processed by the packaging committee, who will make a proposal to the Minister of the Environment in accordance with the procedures of issuing an activity license.
The application for the amendment can be submitted by entering the Register of Economic Activities (authentication is required).
Discontinuation of economic activities
If you wish to terminate the pursuit of economic activities as a recovery organisation, you must submit a notice regarding the termination of economic activities by entering the Register of Economic Activities (authentication is required).
The cessation of economic activities shall also be regarded a situation where you have failed to fulfil the obligation of submitting an annual report within six months after the deadline for fulfilling the obligation has passed.
Revoking of the activity license
An activity licence shall be revoked on the basis of the following grounds:
- You have intentionally submitted incorrect information by an undertaking upon application for an activity licence, which has affected the grant of a licence, provided that if such information had not been submitted, the grant of an activity licence would have been denied;
- You have ceased economic activities;
- You are subject to a relevant prohibition on economic activities imposed by a court judgment or arising from law in a relevant area of activity, except for a prohibition on economic activities imposed pursuant to the General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act.
An activity licence may be revoked on the basis of the following grounds:
- Failure to commence economic activities within two years after issue of the activity licence or failure to pursue economic activities within two years;
- Material violation of an economic activity requirement in the subject of review of the activity licence or a secondary condition of the activity licence;
- A significant damage or danger caused to public order by the activity permitted by the activity licence, which did not exist or was not known at the time of grant of the activity licence and which overrides the interest of the undertaking in continuing the activity and which cannot be eliminated by amendment of the activity licence;
- The arising of a resolutive condition which has been imposed as a secondary condition of the activity licence and which serves as a prerequisite for the validity of the activity licence in the relevant area of activity.
Supervision
The Environmental Board is responsible for supervision of requirements for recovery organisation.
Contact details
Substantive information
Kertu Sapelkov, Ministry of Climate, tel: +372 6262 862, e-mail: [email protected]
Registry information and technical questions
Register of Economic Activities, tel: +372 668 7080, e-mail: [email protected]