Extended responsibility of producers of filters for tobacco products

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Under the Law of 9 June 2022 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment and the Law of 21 March 2012 on waste, as amended, tobacco products with filters and filters marketed for use in combination with tobacco products (hereinafter referred to as 'tobacco product filters') are subject to the principle of extended producer responsibility.

Who is concerned?

Products concerned

The term 'tobacco products' means all products for the purposes of smoking, sniffing, sucking or chewing, inasmuch as they are, even partly, made of tobacco.

Tobacco product filters are subject to the principle of extended responsibility and include, for example, plastic and single-use filters which:

  • form part of a cigarette or cigar;
  • are separate;
  • form part of an electronic device used to heat tobacco.

An electronic cigarette or vaping product is not a single-use product and does not contain tobacco. Consequently, such products are not subject to the principle of extended producer responsibility, even if they contain a plastic filter.

Producers concerned

All producers of tobacco product filters are subject to extended producer responsibility and are required to fulfil a series of obligations with regard to the waste processing of tobacco product filters.

A tobacco product filter producer may be a natural or a legal person:

  • established in Luxembourg who, in a professional capacity, manufactures, fills or directly sells tobacco products with filters in Luxembourg;
  • who is the first recipient, in a professional capacity, of products imported into Luxembourg by a natural or legal person, whether or not the latter person is established in Luxembourg;
  • established outside Luxembourg who, in a professional capacity, sells products in Luxembourg directly to households or to users other than households.

How to proceed

Extended producer responsibility

All tobacco product filter producers, being subject to extended producer responsibility, are required to:

  • cover the costs of cleaning up litter resulting from those products, as well as the transportation and subsequent treatment of such litter;
  • cover the costs for the collection, transportation and subsequent treatment of those products that have become waste and which are disposed of in public collection systems, including the infrastructure and operational costs;
  • cover the costs of awareness-raising measures concerning the inappropriate disposal of waste deriving from such products and its impact on the environment, the marine environment and the sewer system;
  • each year reduce by 10 % the amounts released of those products that have become waste.

Choice between individual or collective assumption of obligations

A tobacco product filter producer may delegate to an approved body all of the obligations deriving from the statutory provisions or itself assume all those obligations.

Thus, a tobacco product filter producer has the option of:

  • applying for an individual accreditation; or
  • becoming a member of an accredited organisation.

Individual system

A tobacco product filter producer may itself assume its waste processing obligations, by applying to the Environment Agency (Administration de l'environnement) for an individual accreditation.

The application for individual accreditation must be made online on the website of the Environment Agency.

Producers who have obtained an individual accreditation are required to submit an annual report to the Environment Agency. That annual report must be lodged by no later than 30 April in each year, via the e-RA online platform.

If you have any questions, please send an email to: sup@aev.etat.lu.

Collective system

A tobacco product filter producer may opt to become a member of an accredited organisation which will assume all of its obligations.

At the present time, VALORLUX ASBL is the sole body accredited by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity to assume the obligations incumbent upon tobacco product filter producers.

For further information, please contact VALORLUX by e-mail at: service.marketing@valorlux.lu or by telephone on (+352) 37 00 06 – 1.

Who to contact

Valorlux asbl

Environment Agency

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Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity

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