Producer responsibility in Croatia

The EU Member States decided on the 30th of June to close the accesion negotiations with Croatia. The accession treaty will be signed later this year. Following the ratification procedure in all Member States and Croatia, accession is foreseen for 1 july 2013.

In the six years of negotiations, Croatia adopted and implemented several laws in order to comply with EU legislation. Croatia also adopted legislation in order to comply with the WEEE-, Battery- and Packaging directives. The main features of the Croatian producer responsibility laws are:

  • Producer responsibility is controlled by the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund (EPEEF)
  • Producers and importers of EEE, Batteries or Packaging should register with the EPEEF
  • Producers and importers shall report monthly (WEEE and Batteries) or quarterly (Packaging) the amount put on the market in kg and pay a waste management fee
  • Refund of the waste management fee is possible by registering as a collector with the EPEEF.
  • Approved WEEE-collectors must take back WEEE (of above 30kg) free of charge within 30 days of a request from an end-user.