Large online platforms face new waste compliance burdens

Thijs Kelder and Jeroen Schouten of Pinsent Masons were commenting on the PPWR provisions relevant to VLOPs, with the regulation to become applicable on 12 August. VLOPs are online platforms designated as such under the Digital Services Act (DSA) because they reach more than 45 million average monthly active users in the EU. 
“The PPWR seems to have direct implications for VLOP e-commerce platforms who allow third party traders to sell to consumers on their platform. Interestingly, those implications play out through the DSA, rather than through the PPWR’s own enforcement framework”, said Kelder.  

Under article 45(4) of the PPWR, where a VLOP enables consumers to conclude distance contracts with producers, it must obtain two specific pieces of information before allowing those producers to use its services. First, the platform must obtain confirmation that the producer is registered on the relevant ‘national producer register’ for the member state where the consumer is located, including the relevant registration number or numbers. Second, the platform must obtain a self-certification from the producer confirming that it only offers packaging in compliance with the PPWR’s extended producer responsibility obligations.  

The platform must also make its “best efforts” to assess whether the information provided is complete and reliable. Under the regulation, producer registers established by member states are treated as public registers for DSA purposes, meaning platforms are expected to verify trader information against those registers.  

Schouten said: “The PWR essentially expands the DSA’s existing traceability of trader obligations. VLOPs allowing consumers to conclude distance contracts with traders in the EU will need to integrate PWR producer registration checks into their trader onboarding and verification processes as an additional layer on top of the DSA trader traceability obligations under article 30 of the DSA. For producers selling packaging via those platforms, being registered in the relevant national registers will become a prerequisite to selling on the platform.”