In February 2021, exactly 15 years have passed since the establishment of the company NATUR-PACK. The history of NATUR-PACK is also the history of extended producer responsibility in Slovakia. The fact that this concept is successful is also proved by the remarkable results of Slovakia in the recycling of certain packaging waste types within the EU countries.
At the time of the company's establishment, the first law on packaging was in force in Slovakia which introduced the obligation to meet the limits of collection and recovery or recycling of packaging waste for so called liable persons. NATUR-PACK was created as an authorized organization established by the liable persons for this purpose. “Many obligations were duplicated during this period. Some liable persons paid fees to both, Recycling fund and authorized organizations. Similarly, cities and municipalities received a contribution for separated waste collection from both resources,” explains NATUR-PACK director Michal Sebíň.
Extended producer responsibility
The year 2010 became an important milestone when still more liable persons was registered in the system as a result of law modification; and NATUR-PACK expanded its activities also to electric and electronic equipment, portable batteries and accumulators. But already in 2016, the law on packaging was repealed and expanded producer responsibility was implemented in Slovakia. M. Sebíň says: “Authorized organizations have ceased their activities and they were replaced by producer responsibility organizations (PRO). However, the most important change arrived with the modified financing of separated waste collection.” Instead of previous contributions to the separate collection, the producers themselves started to cover all expenses of separated collection in Slovakia as in one of the few EU Member States. “I consider it a success story. The producers literally took over the financing of separate collection overnight, which until then had been paid by cities and municipalities in the amount of almost EUR 40 million per year. And this sum increases every year,” added M. Sebíň.
NATUR-PACK has gradually become a PRO which is trusted by the highest number of producers. The company currently represents more than 7 800 producers of packaging and non-packaging products, electric and electronic equipment and portable batteries. Since its establishing, NATUR-PACK on a yearly basis properly reports fulfillment of the obligations on behalf of its clients to MoE, and meets all targets and limits requested by the legislation. The trueness of the reported data was repeatedly verified also by Slovak Environmental Inspection. “I am proud that in 2017 we were the only PRO in which no violation of the law was found. This would certainly not be possible without excellent former and current employees, for whom the separated collection has become profession and also a hobby,” emphasizes M. Sebíň.
Education is important
OZV are also responsible for increasing of the environmental awareness. “We are organizers, creators, co-creators and partners of many unique educational programs and projects. Along our way, we connect the mission of PRO with the mission of other organizations and companies, creating dozens of partnerships, from which many successful educational projects have emerged. This space would not be sufficient to list them all,” added Marek Brinzík, director for public relations.
Legislative improvement will be of key importance
„ NATUR-PACK history is also a history of extended producer responsibility in Slovakia,” says M. Sebíň. The fact that the concept of producer responsibility for waste from manufactured products meets its objectives is proved also by the finding that Slovakia is one of the countries with the highest rate of recycling of packaging plastic waste according to the latest data published by EUROSTAT. “Nevertheless, the world is spinning on and we already know today that we will be facing new ambitious challenges in coming years. We believe that certain unfairness in relation to producers, municipalities and collection companies will be relieved, and instead of testing our own solutions we will embrace the inspiration from countries which already started to cope with the new targets,” explained M. Sebíň.
