Russia 2021: Current EPR status
by Jennifer Brook at 10:23 in Battery, Emerging, Environmental, Packaging, WEEE
Extended Producer Responsibility in Russia is governed by two main bodies: the Russian government, and the Eurasian Economic Union, or EAEU. Member states of the EAEU include Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan, and regulations made by this body affect all affiliated countries. The main EPR system in Russia is set by their government, but other EPR regulations, such as labelling requirements in Russia, have been set by the union within the EAEU, the Eurasian Customs Union. 
The current EPR status in Russia is that producers must either manage their own recycling and waste, or report their waste directly to the government. They must also pay environmental fees on this waste, if they have not met the collection targets. Russia does not use a PRO (Producer Responsibility Organisation) system like other European countries. The main piece of EPR legislation is the Federal Law on Production Waste and Consumption from 1998, which has been amended multiple times. Another key regulation is Decree 284 from 2016, which gives the material categories that producers should report to the government. Some of these categories include cardboard, plastic packaging, household electronic equipment, and batteries.
Another key piece of EPR legislation for Russia is the Technical Regulations from the Customs Union, TR CU 005-2011, published in 2012. Several different versions of this have been released, in 2016, 2020, and again in 2021. It sets out labelling requirements and design guidelines for packaging. This includes lists of required supporting documents for packaging labelling, examples of required symbols on packaging (the Mobius Loop and a symbol for food-contact material), and new definitions for biodegradable packaging, among many other regulations.
The tide is changing in Russia. In March 2021, the Russian government released a draft EPR Roadmap, with deadlines for creating EPR systems with PROs, more similar to European models. This could mean an increase in environmental fees for producers. This draft bill seems to have stalled, however there is still a proposed single-use plastic ban announced by Russian officials, and we expect more change to continue coming to the Russian EPR system.
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