"the Department" means the Department of the Environment;

"the Director" means the Director General of Fair Trading;

"energy recovery" means the use of combustible packaging waste as a means to generate energy through direct incineration with or without other waste but with recovery of the heat;

"the Order" means the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Northern Ireland) Order 1998;

"organic recycling" means the aerobic (composting) or anaerobic (biomethanization) treatment, under controlled conditions and using micro-organisms, of the biodegradable parts of packaging waste, which produces stabilized organic residues or methane; for the purposes of these regulations landfill shall not be considered a form of organic recycling;

"packaging" means all products made of any materials of any nature to be used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery and presentation of goods, from raw materials to processed goods, from the producer to the user or the consumer, including non-returnable items used for the same purposes but only where the products are - 

(a) sales packaging or primary packaging, that is to say packaging conceived so as to constitute a sales unit to the final user or consumer at the point of purchase;

(b) grouped packaging or secondary packaging, that is to say packaging conceived so as to constitute at the point of purchase a grouping of a certain number of sales units whether the latter is sold as such to the final user or consumer or whether it serves only as a means to replenish the shelves at the point of sale; it can be removed from the product without affecting its characteristics; or

(c) transport packaging or tertiary packaging, that is to say packaging conceived so as to facilitate handling and transport of a number of sales units or grouped packagings in order to prevent physical handling and transport damage; for the purposes of these regulations transport packaging does not include road, rail, ship and air containers;

"packaging materials" means materials used in the manufacture of packaging and includes raw materials and processed materials prior to their conversion into packaging;

(a) in that year and the preceding year he performs the relevant functions of the class of producer specified in column 1 of that Table in relation to that entry;

(b) in the preceding year he made supplies of the materials or products specified in Column 2 of that Table in relation to that entry of a class in Column 3 of that Table in relation to that entry; and

(c) in relation to that year he satisfies the threshold tests as provided by paragraph 3 of that Schedule,

and the other provisions of that Schedule shall also have effect for the purposes of determining whether a person is a producer of any class.

    (3) Where in respect of a year a person is a producer and satisfies the provisions of Columns 1 to 3 of the Table in Schedule 1 in relation to more than one class of producer specified in an entry in Column 4 of that Table, whether or not in relation to the same materials or products specified in Column 2 of that Table, or the same transaction or process, for that year that person belongs to each such class.

    (4) For the purposes of these regulations - 

(a) "relevant year" is the year referred to in paragraph (2), that is to say a year in respect of which a person is a producer; and

(b) "preceding year" is the year immediately preceding a relevant year.

    (5) A person who is a producer in respect of a year has producer responsibility obligations in respect of that year, that is to say he shall - 

(a) be registered as provided in regulation 5 (in these regulations referred to as the "producer registration obligation"); and

(b) for the year 2000 and subsequent years - 


(i) take reasonable steps to recover and recycle packaging waste (in these regulations referred to as the "recovery and recycling obligations") in relation to each of the classes of producer to which the producer belongs, calculated as provided in Schedule 2, and

(ii) furnish a certificate of compliance in respect of his recovery and recycling obligations in accordance with regulation 23 (in these regulations referred to as the "certifying obligation").

(a) the relevant year is the year 1999, the application for registration shall be made on or before 30th September 1999; or

(b) any of the following occurs in a relevant year - 


(i) the application for registration of a scheme of which the applicant was a member is refused,

(ii) the registration of a scheme of which the applicant was a member is cancelled,

(iii) the applicant's membership of a scheme is discontinued,

(iv) the applicant becomes a producer in respect of that year, or

(v) applications made in accordance with paragraph (1) or sub-paragraph (a) are refused,



an application for registration shall be made within 28 days of the occurrence.

    (4) An application for producer registration shall - 

(a) be made in writing;

(b) contain the initial information set out in Part I of Schedule 4;

(c) subject to paragraphs (7) and (8), be accompanied by the further information specified in, and provided on a form corresponding to, the form set out in Part II of Schedule 4;

(d) be accompanied by the fee referred to in regulation 9; and

(e) where the applicant is a partnership, be accompanied by a statement as to which partner is able to accept notices and act on behalf of the partnership as provided in regulation 2(2).

    (5) An application for producer registration shall be granted where - 

(a) the producer has complied with paragraph (4)(a), (b), (d) and (e) and, where applicable, paragraph (8);

(b) the Department is satisfied that the information provided in accordance with paragraph (4)(c), or (8), has been provided in accordance with paragraph (7); and

(c) the producer has given the undertakings referred to in regulation 7, which have been required by the Department,

and shall otherwise be refused.

    (6) Where an application for producer registration is granted - 

(a) the Department shall, within 28 days of it being granted, serve notice on the producer in writing that he is registered with it; and

(b) the producer shall be treated as having been registered from the beginning of the relevant year or, where the producer has applied to be registered for part of a year, from the date specified in the notice, until any cancellation of the producer's registration in accordance with regulation 11.

    (7) The further information shall - 

(a) where the application for registration, or compliance with regulation 8, is in respect of the year 1999, be provided using the producer's reasonable estimates of the information required; and

(b) where the application for registration, or compliance with regulation 8, is in respect of the year 2000 or any subsequent year, the information provided shall be as accurate as reasonably possible.

A is the number of members of the scheme at the date of the application, or the date of compliance with regulation 14, whichever is applicable,

B is an amount calculated by reference to the number of members of the scheme at that date as follows - 

2 to 500 members £600

501 to 1500 members £450

1501 to 3000 members £300

over 3000 members £100, and

F is the fee.

    (3) The fee which is to be paid by an operator of a scheme in compliance with the condition referred to in regulation 13(c) is calculated as follows - 

A is the number of new members of the scheme which are the subject of the notification,

B is the amount referred to in B in paragraph (2) except that it is calculated by reference to the number of members of the scheme at the date of notification to the Department, and

AF is the fee.