Safeguard small business access to the European Single Market through efficient waste management rules

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One of our main goals at eBay is to support and enable Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) who want to grow their business by reaching new markets in the EU and around the world. However, sometimes regulations create barriers to cross border trade. Today, a new EU waste management framework is in the pipeline which would oblige SMEs to go through a multitude of complex registration procedures before completing sales in the EU. These new rules are also known as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

Concretely, companies selling products covered by EPR rules to buyers in other EU countries are, as of the first product sold, liable for EPR obligations in the buyer’s country. This creates a massive administrative burden, multiplied by the number of countries and product categories the seller serves. EPR compliance costs for a small business wanting to access the entire Single Market can amount up to €140,000 and 39 working days every year (source: Ecommerce Europe).

There is an opportunity to simplify and harmonize the EPR framework in the European Union. We need your help to spread the word to policymakers. Make your voice heard by signing our petition below. You can also click here to learn more.

Petition

Safeguard small business access to the European Single Market through efficient waste management rules

We, the undersigned, urge EU policymakers to deliver EU Waste Management (Extended Producer Responsibility) rules that safeguard access to the EU Single Market for all European small businesses while contributing to the objectives of the Green Deal.

The current EU Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework is seriously hampered by the extreme fragmentation of the rules European SMEs must follow when selling products in all 27 EU Member States.[1] 

Waste reduction and management of products reaching the end of their life can be achieved while simultaneously protecting small business access to the Single Market.

To achieve this the following actions need to be taken:

  1. Create an EU one-stop shop for compliance with waste management rules. A single point of registration and declaration will significantly contribute to compliance of waste producers throughout the EU. This could be done either through the business’ home country, or through a dedicated EU portal run by the European Commission. Businesses are already familiar with a one-stop shop system for VAT compliance.
  2. Introduce micro-company exemptions and/or de minimis in volumes of products sold. A threshold and/or a simplified flat fee system would help occasional exporters in growing their business. More importantly, EPR organisations would no longer have to bear the costs to manage these very small waste producers, which are often higher than the fees they owe.
  3. Allow online marketplaces to help their sellers by formally recognising that they are not “producers”. In some cases, small businesses may be willing to delegate their EPR compliance to the online marketplace through which they sell their products in the Single Market. This would allow for a smooth transition whenever a small business starts selling in a new Member State, or in a new EPR category, for the first time. However, since online marketplaces are not “real producers” as they do not have physical access to products, they should benefit from a special regime that lets them declare products to EPR organisations in a simplified manner.

We stand ready to work with lawmakers to ensure that the future Waste Management rules allow European small businesses to continue to benefit from the EU Single Market.

Let’s protect consumers and the environment in a way that enables small and microbusinesses to thrive.

[1] A company that sells just one product covered by EPR rules to a buyer in another EU Member State is already liable for EPR obligations related to that product in the buyer’s Member State. This creates a massive administrative burden, multiplied by the number of Member States and product categories the seller serves. EPR compliance costs for a small business wanting to access the entire Single Market can amount up to €140,000 and 39 working-days every year.

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SAFEGUARD SMALL BUSINESS ACCESS TO THE EUROPEAN SINGLE MARKET THROUGH EFFICIENT WASTE MANAGEMENT RULES 

eBay has always supported small businesses who want to grow their business by reaching new markets within the EU and beyond.  That is why we support the EU ambition of a true Digital Single Market. However, certain regulations create unnecessary obstacles to the EU Single Market. Today, a new EU waste management framework is in the pipeline which would oblige SMEs to go through a multitude of complex registration procedures before completing sales in the EU. These new rules are also known as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

The original objective of this legislation is to make sellers who place a product on the national market for the first time (“producers”) responsible for the end-of-life of that product, as it will eventually turn to waste and will need to be either prepared for reuse, recycled or destroyed.

The EPR obligations generally consist in registering with a Producer Responsibility Organisation (also known as an EPR scheme), reporting volumes of products placed on the market and paying associated “EPR fees” to finance the reuse / recycle / destruction mechanisms. This process must be repeated for each new product category and new EU country in which the seller completes any sale.

What is the problem?

The European Commission is revising its waste management framework. In 2022, it has proposed a new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, as well as a revised Waste Framework Directive. The proposals aim to tackle a problem known as “free-riding” which refers to products placed on the market without having complied with EPR rules. To do so, the proposals create an obligation for online marketplaces to proactively collect proof of EPR compliance from their third-party sellers in every EU country where they “offer” their product, and before they can complete any sale.

However, the Commission does not change the fundamental structure of EPR rules, which remain regulated at national level. This means that a seller wishing to sell a product in the entire EU Single Market would have as many as 27 different registrations to complete before being allowed just to offer and advertise that product to European buyers. 

What are the risks for European SMEs?

If the new proposed rules are adopted, they would affect every small business who wishes to use a marketplace to sell online in Europe.

Concretely, to register and start selling in the EU on a marketplace you would have to provide no less than 27 different EPR registration numbers. More, if you are selling in more than one EPR product category. This means signing a contract with each scheme in charge of managing EPR for that category in that particular national market. Our association Ecommerce Europe has estimated that EPR compliance costs for a small business wanting to access the entire Single Market can amount up to €140,000 and 39 working days every year.

There is an opportunity to simplify and harmonize the EPR framework in the European Union. We need your help to spread the word to policymakers. Make your voice heard by signing our petition.