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Article 9.1 of EU Directive 94/62 on packaging and packaging waste requires member states to ensure that with effect from 31 December 1997, packaging may be placed on the market only if it complies with all Essential Requirements.

The Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations were introduced in Ireland in 1998 as part of an amendment to the Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations 1997.

The legislation obliges packer/fillers of packaging (or importers or 'own brand' retailers) to ensure that packaging and individual packaging components (part of packaging that can be separated by hand or by using simple physical means) meet certain specified standards.

The Essential Requirements can be summarised as follows:

• packaging weight and volume must be reduced to the minimum necessary for safety, hygiene and consumer acceptance of the packaged product;
• hazardous substances and materials must be minimised as constituents of packaging (Article 11 lays down specific limits on named heavy metals);
• packaging must be suitable for at least one of the following – material recycling, energy recovery or organic recovery;
• if reuse is claimed, packaging must be suitable for that purpose as well as for at least one of the three recovery methods specified.

Local Authorities are responsible for enforcing the Essential Requirements, and they may ask for a report of packaging composition and all relevant technical supporting documentation. Local authorities are empowered to bring a prosecution of a company whose packaging breaches the Essential Requirements. Packaged products could be removed from the marketplace and/or fines imposed.

For a more detailed summary and guide to the Essential Requirements, click here