[autom.vertaling] De Commissie ontruimt Oostenrijks systeem voor de verwijdering van verpakkend afval (en)

The European Commission has granted approval with obligations to a series of contracts concluded by the Austrian ARA System, which operates a country-wide system for the collection and recycling of used packaging. This decision concerns the use of the "green dot" trademark and ensures unrestricted access for competing systems to the collection infrastructure. The Commission has already adopted decisions concerning similar systems in other Member States, thereby improving conditions for competition on the growing recycling markets.

Under a European Union directive of 1994 manufacturers and distributors are required to take back and recycle, free of charge, used sales packaging from consumers. In Austria, like in many other countries, manufacturers and distributors responded by adhering to a comprehensive collection system also known as the "green dot" system. The system takes on the responsibility of collecting, sorting and recycling the packaging waste. Currently ARA is the only relevant provider of this exemption service in Austria. Similar systems operate in other EU member states, e.g. Duales System Deutschland in Germany or Eco Emballages in France.

Altstoffrecycling Austria AG (ARA) grants licences for the use of the "green dot" trademark and charges a fee to manufacturers and distributors of packed goods (totalling €155.5 million in 2002). ARA and a system of dedicated branch recycling companies organise the take back and recycling process for certain packing materials and certain parts of the disposal chain. Independent disposal companies, instructed by the various branch recycling companies, then carry out the actual collection and sorting.

ARA and the recycling branches ARGEV Verpackungsverwertungs-GmbH (ARGEV) and Altpapier-Recycling Organisationsgesellschaft mbH (ARO) notified to the Commission a number of agreements in order to get clearance from Article 81 or an exemption. Agreements of similar nature had already raised competition concerns in other Member States.

The Commission has now cleared all the notified agreements except for those concluded between the ARA system and its collectors/sorters which benefit from an exemption under Article 81(3).

No service, no fee

ARA has agreed that the license partners pay a fee only for the collection and recovery service provided by ARA and not for the use of the "green dot" trademark.

Manufacturers and distributors of packed goods can label their products with the "green dot" even if they use the collection and recovery service of an ARAcompetitor. This is important for all companies who sell their products in Member States where the "green dot" is obligatory. Those companies can bring their products to the Austrian market without having to remove the "green dot" trademark from their packaging.

Limited duration of collecting and sorting contracts

The Commission has granted an exemption as to the collection and sorting contracts of the branch recycling companies ARGEV and ARO with the collector companies. Only one collection and sorting company is assigned a service contract, with minimum term of three years, for each region and material group, thus blocking market access for domestic and foreign recycling companies. However, the 3-year exclusivity can be accepted, to allow the recycling companies to recover the investments necessary to build up the collection infrastructure. ARGEV and ARO also guaranteed to award new contracts via a competitive, transparent and objective procedure after five years, at the latest.

Unrestricted access to collection infrastructure

Finally the Commission attached obligations to its decision. ARGEV may not prevent recycling companies from contracting with competitors of the ARA system on the sharing of containers and other arrangements for the collection and sorting of household packaging waste. Thus the access to the disposal infrastructure is guaranteed. This is of crucial importance for the development of competition on this growing market.