Frequently asked questions about single-use plastics (SUP)

The market surveillance in Tukes is based on risk-based monitoring. The market for products covered by the SUP legislation is being mapped and product monitoring has been started with oxo-degradable plastic products.

Products placed on the market before the obligation comes into effect (23 August 2021) may be sold, even if the product is subject to a ban or marking requirement.

The obligation to attach closures on beverage packages will enter into force on 3 July, 2024. Beverage packaging that does not meet the requirement may be encountered on the market later, as products placed on the Finnish market before 3 July, 2024 may be sold out.

The time of placing on the market is important due to the effective dates on SUP legislation. These include the dates of product bans and marking requirements from 23.8.2021 and the product requirement for the tethered caps in SUP beverage containers from 3.7.2024.

According to SUP legislation, placing a product on the market concerns each Member State individually. Therefore, placing on the market means that a product is made available for the first time on the Finnish market. Making available on the market means any supply of a product for distribution, consumption or use on the Finnish market during a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge. Such supply includes any offer for distribution, consumption or use on the Finnish market which could result in actual supply in relation to products already manufactured (e.g. an invitation to purchase, advertising campaigns).

The concept of making available refers to each individual product, not to a type of product, and whether it was manufactured as an individual unit or in a series. The making available of a product supposes an offer or an agreement (written or verbal) between two or more legal or natural persons for the transfer of ownership, possession or any other right concerning the product in question after the stage of manufacture has taken place. The transfer does not necessarily need the physical handover of the product.

The Blue Guide, i.e. the guide on the implementation of EU product rules, can be used to help with interpreting the concept of placing on the market. When reading the Blue Guide, the different definitions of a single term (e.g. placing on the market) in different EU regulations should be kept in mind.

Further Considerations Related to Placing on the Market

As placing on the market according to the SUP legislation is Member State specific, it must be noted that products exported to another Member State are placed on the market for the first time in that Member State. In different Member States, the implementation schedule of the SUP Directive may vary, and the SUP obligations (bans, markings) may have entered into force at various times. The SUP obligations must be verified from each member state’s legislation individually.

If a product imported to Finland from outside the EU has been released for free circulation (a customs procedure), it has been placed on the market.

The economic operator who has a product manufactured and markets it under its name or trademark (brand owner) is considered the party placing the product on the market and is therefore responsible for compliance with the SUP Directive.

It should be noted that a product which has not been manufactured cannot be placed on the market. This means, for example, that a product which has been ordered but not manufactured has not been placed on the market.

Such products can be sold if they have been placed on the market before the obligations are effective. In Finland, the product bans and marking requirements apply to products placed on the market in Finland from 23 August 2021. The product requirement of tethered caps in beverage containers is effective from 3 July 2024.

See also, “When has a product been placed on the market?”.

Products, to which the product ban is applied, may still be available for sale. Products on shop shelves and in its own stock may be sold if they were placed on the market before 23 August 2021.

The product manufacturer has the primary responsibility for affixing markings in accordance the section 9 of the Waste Act (646/2011). The party placing a product on the market (e.g. importer in Finland) and distributor have the secondary responsibility.

The European Commission gave an oral interpretation in the meeting of the Commission's Technical Adaptation Committee (TAC/SUP) related to the implementation of the SUP Directive on 7 September 2022 that a water-based polymer dispersion is plastic. Products treated with polymer dispersion fall within the scope of SUP legislation. The commission has promised to give written justification for its interpretation later.

The question relates to a beverage container that is referred to in Article 6 (1) of the SUP-Directive with the product requirement of attached caps from 3.7.2024.

The SUP beverage container refers to a packaging containing plastic with a capacity of up to three litres, i.e. receptacles used to contain liquid to be drunk as such. For example, beverage bottles including their caps and lids and composite beverage packaging including their caps and lids. The beverage packaging of spirits (over 22 vol%) is not included in the Directive scope.

A beverage package placed on the market means a package that has been filled with a beverage either in industry or at the point of sale and which bears the relevant packaging markings. The packaging entity is considered when placing on the market. In addition to the beverage container, it includes the closure solution and packaging markings/labelling.

The requirements of the SUP Directive mention a cap or lid that is attached to beverage containers. However, in the Commission's SUP Guidelines, other closures that prevent the liquid in the package from leaking and enable the package to be transported are also considered to be within the scope. Sealing of the beverage container may also be included in the closure solution.

A liquid food supplement in a plastic containing beverage package is not in scope of the SUP Directive’s requirement of caps and lids remaining attached to beverage containers during their intended use stage under certain conditions: the food supplement and its packaging must fulfil the requirements set for food supplements, i.e., food supplement notification to the Finnish Food Authority has been submitted, it contains required information (for example, package markings and dosing). Additional information of food supplements is available in the Finnish Food Authority’s website.