Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : EIC 230/2/11

27 April 2009

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 213/2009

European Union (EU)* : Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste Conditions for a Derogation for Plastic Crates and Plastic Pallets

Further to Commercial Information Circulars No. 80/01 of 23 April 2001, the European Commission (the Commission) has recently adopted a Decision allowing plastic crates and plastic pallets packaging to derogate from the heavy metal concentration levels in the Directive on packaging and packaging waste (the Directive). Details are set out in Commission Decision (EC) No. 2009/292/EC (the Decision). The Decision can be accessed through the following link :
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:079:0044:0046:EN:PDF

DETAILS

1.  
2. The Directive specifies that the sum of the concentration levels of heavy metals, i.e. lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium, present in packaging and packaging components should not exceed 100 ppm by weight after 30 June 2001. Under the Decision, the sum of concentration levels of heavy metals in plastic crates and plastic pallets may exceed this limit provided that the crates and pallets are introduced and kept in product loops which are in a closed and controlled chain under the conditions set out in Articles 3-5 of the Decision. These conditions include, inter alia, that such plastic crates and plastic pallets should be identified in a permanent and visible way so that they can be returned to the manufacturers, packers, fillers or authorised representatives for recycling or proper disposal.

ENQUIRIES

3. For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5556.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Peggy LEUNG)

for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* The EU includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.