Focus on… Colombia

Colombia, which has introduced legislation for batteries, packaging and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), is leading the way in terms of extended producer responsibility (EPR) in Latin America. It is one of the countries that has made the most progress with EPR on the South American continent.

For all three waste streams, the compliance option consists of a management plan, which must be presented to the Ministry of Environment, which will then review and approve the plan (or delegate these tasks to another organisation). Each of the laws specifies how the plan should be constructed and sets out other provisions that the producer must comply with.

Every producer who wants to sell their products in Colombia must do so either through an authorized representative or by establishing a branch office in the country. But, despite the fact that the legislation is advanced, some details still need to be properly defined, such as the categories into which WEEE is divided. This and other specifications are already being discussed by the policy makers.