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It is a strategy developed to integrate the environmental costs associated with goods/products throughout their life cycle into their market value and establishes that the producer/importer of packaging, electrical and electronic equipment and/or batteries and accumulators is responsible, in whole or in part, physically or financially, for the environmental impacts and the generation of waste resulting from the production process and the subsequent use of the respective equipment, as well as for its management when it reaches the end of its life.

The producer/importer must not only promote changes in the design of the product to minimise its impact when it becomes waste, but also ensure its correct treatment. The producer/importer is responsible for organising and financing the recycling of packaging, electrical and electronic equipment and/or used batteries and accumulators resulting from the products he places on the market, and it follows from this obligation that the Producer/Importer must join an integrated system or set up an individual waste management system.

According to Article 3, paragraph q) of Decree-Law No. 152-D/2017 of the 11^th of December, a packager is ‘...anyone who professionally packs or has his products packaged, or imports packaged products and is responsible for placing them on the market'. These agents are responsible for managing the waste generated by the packaging they place on the market. Therefore, if they do not opt for an individual waste management system, all producers/packagers who:

- Package products under their own brand;

- Have other companies package products under their brand;

- Directly import products which they place on the domestic market;

- Produce or directly import service packaging.

In order to fulfil their legal obligation, packagers have to contract with SIGRE Electrão to transfer responsibility for packaging management and annually report all non-reusable packaging for products for which their company is responsible for the initial placing on the domestic market.

Between the 1^st of January and the 31^st of March each year, you must send to APA (at SILiAmb, SILIAMB.APAMBIENTE.PT ) the annual statement of packaging placed on the market during the previous year and the estimate for the current year.

Between the 1^st of January and the 15^th of March, you must report to Electrão the packaging placed on the market during the previous year and the estimate for the current year.

The issuance of Decree-Law 152-D/2017 of the 11^th of December exempts packagers from the obligation to mark primary packaging, with effect from the 1^st of January 2019. Nevertheless, we have created an Electrão packaging marking that can be used free of charge by SIGRE members during 2018 or afterwards if they wish to continue marking their packaging.