Jordan’s Ministry of Environment has planned to establish an electronic system, in cooperation with various authorities, to register data of all companies in the packaging sector of the Kingdom.
The Environment Ministry’s Acting Secretary General Dr. Mohammed Al Khashashneh says, “This system aims to collect information and then offer bids to private companies to collect packaging waste that can be recycled in order to achieve the principles of a circular economy.”
Al Khashashneh stressed that the aim of implementing the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programme is to achieve the goal of recycling 50% of the waste by 2034, in addition to what was stated in the Economic Modernisation Vision on working towards a green economy.
He pointed out that “achieving the goals of sorting waste from the source and recycling them comes through the application of this strategy, as otherwise the entrepreneurial projects funded by several parties remain just individual attempts and the desired results may not be achieved.”
The ministry will be holding an international conference to introduce EPR which aims to strengthen the green circular economy system. Besides Jordan, representatives from Belgium, Egypt, Germany, Kenya, Lebanon, and Malaysia will participate in the event. During the two-day conference, the Ministry of Environment will table several issues related to the EPR approach adopted by the participating countries.
The Ministry of Environment issued instructions to implement EPR, published in the Official Gazette in mid-August, in cooperation with public and private sector companies, as an essential requirement to increase recycling of packaging waste and also as a policy tool whereby producers are made significantly responsible for the packaging they place on the market at the end of its life.
The Acting Secretary General stated that the national obligation of the extended product or producer responsibility will be implemented in four stages.
In the first stage, the provisions of the instructions will be optional for all producers and importers, as of the date of publishing of instructions in the Official Gazette, until December 2023.
It will be made compulsory from the beginning of the year 2024 to all producers and importers whose local sales exceed 50 million dinars annually, and for those whose annual market output is 1000 tons.
At the beginning of 2025, the provisions will be made compulsory to importers and producers whose local sales exceed 20 million dinars annually or whose yearly production exceeds 500 tons.
In the fourth and final stage, beginning 2026, the policy will be made compulsory to importers and producers whose local sales exceed five million dinars annually or whose yearly production is over 200 tons.
