eBay starts petition against new EU Green Deal waste framework demanding SME compliance

A recent online petition by eBay argues that the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rules behind the EU’s revised Waste Framework Directive and the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) will have a negative effect on “every small business who wishes to use a marketplace to sell online in Europe.”

The Waste Framework Directive introduces the “polluter pays principle” and the “extended producer responsibility.” Its foundation is the five-step “waste hierarchy,” establishing an order of preference for managing and disposing of waste.

The recycling responsibilities rules established in the PPWR are set to come into play at the beginning of 2025. 

The eBay petition argues that products covered by EPR rules sold to buyers in other EU countries are liable in the buyer’s country, as per EPR obligations. The US multinational e-commerce company says that this liability presents “a massive administrative burden.”

It calls on EU bodies to “simplify” and “harmonize” the EPR behind its waste legislation in order to protect Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The petition

eBay highlights three steps that the EU should take to “safeguard small business access to the European Single Market through efficient waste management rules.”

• Create an EU one-stop shop for compliance with waste management rules. 
• Introduce micro-company exemptions and/or de minimis in volumes of products sold. 
• Allow online marketplaces to help their sellers by formally recognizing that they are not “producers.”

eBay expects some SMEs to delegate their EPR compliance to the online marketplace where their products are sold in the EU.The first point states that introducing a single point of registration and declaration would improve compliance among waste producers throughout the EU. 

“This could be done either through the business’ home country or through a dedicated EU portal run by the European Commission. Businesses are already familiar with a one-stop shop system for VAT compliance,” says eBay.

According to the second point, a threshold or a simplified flat fee system could help occasional exporters grow their businesses. “More importantly, EPR organizations would no longer have to bear the costs to manage these very small waste producers, which are often higher than the fees they owe.”

Lastly, it argues that in some cases, SMEs could agree to delegate their EPR compliance to the online marketplace through which they sell their products in the Single Market. “This would allow for a smooth transition whenever a small business starts selling in a new member state or in a new EPR category for the first time. 

“However, since online marketplaces are not ‘real producers’ as they do not have physical access to products, they should benefit from a special regime that lets them declare products to EPR organizations in a simplified manner.”