The EU Directive on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment (so called SUP Directive) aims to prevent and reduce the impact of plastic waste especially in marine environments, to promote a circular economy, and to harmonise the product regulation in the EU single market.
Certain single-use plastic (SUP) products are prohibited and must not be sold when the stocks run out. Some single-use plastics are subject to marking requirements and other responsibilities. Certain product groups may be subject to several requirements.
Tukes monitors the ban of certain plastic products, marking requirements, and the requirement that caps and lids stay attached to the single-use plastic beverage containers during the products’ intended use stage. This obligation of tethered caps starts from 3 July 2024.
Product Bans
The placing on the market of the following products made wholly or partly of plastic is prohibited in Finland from 23 August 2021:
all products containing oxo-degradable plastic;
following single-use plastic products
cutlery
plates
cotton bud sticks
straws
beverage stirrers
sticks to be attached to and to support balloons
food containers made of expanded polystyrene, i.e., receptacles such as boxes, with or without a cover, used to contain food which:
is intended for immediate consumption,
is typically consumed from the receptacle, and
is ready to be consumed without any further preparation.
beverage containers made of expanded polystyrene, including their caps and lids;
cups for beverages made of expanded polystyrene, including their covers and lids.
If plastic straws and cotton bud sticks are used for medical purposes, they may, under certain specific conditions, be placed on the market as medical devices. More information about legislation on medical devices is available on the website of the Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea.
Marking Requirements
From 23 August 2021, certain products made wholly or partly of plastic which are placed on the market, must carry a visible, clearly legible, and indelible marking affixed to the packaging or product itself. The specific requirements are laid down in the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2151. The product groups are:
sanitary towels (pads), tampons, and tampon applicators;
wet wipes, i.e. pre-wetted personal care and domestic wipes;
tobacco products with filters and filters marketed for use in combination with tobacco products;
beverage cups.
The marking must be placed on the sales and grouped packaging of sanitary towels (pads), tampons and their applicators, and wet wipes. In tobacco products with filters and filters marketed for use in combination with tobacco products, these must bear the marking on the unit packet and outside packaging. Marking is not obligatory for packaging with a surface area of less than 10 cm2.
Beverage cups must bear either a printed, engraved, or embossed marking on the cup.
Sales packaging is the packaging (sales units) in which a product is sold to consumers. Grouped packaging is intended for storing a group of sales units at the point of purchase. For example, a sales unit is a packaging in which ten individual sanitary towels or wet wipes have been packaged. A cardboard packaging in which the sales units of sanitary towels or wet wipes are stored at the point of purchase is a grouped packaging.
Regarding tobacco products with filters, the Tobacco Act (549/2016) is referred to, where:
a unit packet means the smallest individual packaging of a tobacco product, or any other product referred to in this Act that is placed on the market (section 2, subsection 31), for example, a cigarette pack made of paperboard;
outside packaging means any packaging in which tobacco products or other products referred to in this Act are placed on the market and which includes a unit packet or an aggregation of unit packets, for example, a carton of cigarettes. However, the transparent wrappers of unit packets are not regarded as outside packaging (Tobacco Act section 2, subsection 32).
Tukes monitors the markings required for tobacco products in SUP legislation. In Finland, the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health Valvira and municipalities monitor compliance with the Tobacco Act’s provisions on the unit packets of tobacco products.
Who is Responsible for Affixing the Markings?
In Finland, the manufacturer, the party placing a product on the market, or the distributor is responsible for affixing markings. For further information, see “Frequently Asked Questions”.
What Should the Marking be Like?
Each product group has its own marking. As an example, the pictograms of markings for beverage cups are shown. A coloured marking must be printed on cups of beverages that are partly made from plastic. The marking must be printed, engraved, or embossed on beverage cups made wholly from plastic.
Printed marking plastic in product.
Printed marking made of plastic.
Engraved or embossed marking made of plastic.
The marking consists of an image and an information text below the image indicating that there is plastic in the product or that the product is made from plastic. In Finland, the information text must be in Finnish and Swedish.
More detailed marking requirements are laid down in the Implementing Regulation. Requirements that concern, among others, the position, size, design of the marking as well as the font type and size must be addressed in the marking. The requirements for each product group may be checked from the Implementing Regulation.
Product Requirement of Caps and Lids Remaining Attached to Beverage Containers Starting from 3 July 2024
The SUP Directive has a product requirement for the caps and lids to remain attached to the beverage containers during the products’ intended use stage. In Finland, the requirement has been implemented by amendment of the packaging and packaging waste regulation. The requirement is effective from 3 July 2024.
The requirement is applied to single-use plastic or plastic-containing beverage containers of up to three litres with a cap or lid made from plastic. For further information, see “Frequently Asked Questions”.
A harmonized standard of the requirements and test methods to demonstrate the attachment of caps and lids to a beverage container has been given:
beverage containers made of metal or glass with a plastic cap or lid,
metal caps or lids with a plastic seal,
beverage containers intended and used for foods for special medical purposes, as defined in point (g) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council that is in liquid form.
Additional information of foods for special medical purposes is available in the website of the Finnish Food Authority.
The Definition of Plastic
In SUP legislation, plastic means a material consisting of a polymer, as defined in the REACH regulation, to which additives or other substances may have been added, and which can function as a main structural component of final products. Natural polymers that are the result of a polymerisation process that has taken place in nature, and which have not been chemically modified, do not fall within the scope of the SUP Directive.
The SUP legislation is applied to plastics made of modified natural polymers. It also applies to plastics made of bio-based, fossil, or synthetic starting substances. The legislation also covers biodegradable plastics and polymer-based rubber items. However, paints, inks, and adhesives as polymeric materials are not considered to fall under the definition of plastic and are excluded from the scope of SUP legislation.
In general, polymers resulting from industrial processes are defined as modified polymers even if they occured in nature. This means that polymers resulting from biosynthesis through cultivation and fermentation processes in industrial settings, e.g. polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and polylactides (PLA), are considered modified natural polymers.
Polymers which are the result of a polymerisation process occurring in nature and that have been extracted from nature for further processing are considered natural polymers. For example, cellulose and lignin extracted from wood and cereals directly meet the definition of a natural polymer. A chemical comparison between starting substances and end products is used as a criterion. Therefore, viscose regenerated from cellulose is considered a natural polymer and so viscose, lyocell, and cellulosic film are not within the scope of application of the directive. However, cellulose acetate is chemically modified and a plastic due to the chemical modifications taking place during the production process that remain present in the end product.
Concepts related to the definition of plastic are clarified in the Commission guidelines (SUP guidelines) issued in June 2021.
Definition of a Single-Use Plastic Product
An SUP product is a product that is made wholly or partly from plastic and that is not conceived, designed, or placed on the market to accomplish, within its life span, multiple trips, or rotations by being returned to a producer for refill or re-used for the same purpose for which it was conceived.
The disposability of a product can be assessed by examining the product’s expected service life and consumers’ experience in the product’s reusability.
The assessment covers the following:
Is the product intended and designed to be used several times without risk to the integrity of the product?
Do consumers consider the product to be reusable?
Do consumers use the product similarly to a reusable product?
The assessment of disposability is also affected by the product material, its washability and reparability, and whether the product properties enable the multiple use of the product for a single purpose.
For example, the EU Commission’s unofficial interpretations on the SUP legislation includes interpretations on plastic cutlery made in accordance with EN 12875-1-2005 (Mechanical dishwashing resistance of utensils). As they can be washed 25 times in a dishwasher, they can be considered to have been designed for multiple uses without losing their functionality and properties. Typically, consumers also regard this type of cutlery as reusable products.
If an SUP product is a packaging, instructions for assessing its disposability are provided in legislation on packaging and packaging waste (1029/2021). If an SUP product is within the scope of both the SUP legislation and legislation on packaging and packaging waste, the product must comply with requirements laid down in both legislations. If these legislations are in conflict, the SUP legislation is applied.
Single-use plastic products that are not considered to be packaging are only subject to the requirements of the SUP Directive, even though they may have similar uses or characteristics to packaging.
Placing on the Market and Making Available on the Market in the SUP Directive
When the SUP Directive is applied, a product is placed on the market when it is made available for the first time on the market in Finland. This is done by the manufacturer or by an importer of the product.
A product is made available on the market when it is supplied for distribution, consumption or use on the Finnish market during a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge.
If an operator has business operations in another EU Member State, the company must verify the member state’s legislation separately. In the SUP legislation, placing on the market always takes place in the member state in question, unlike in several other laws. For further information, see “Frequently Asked Questions”.
Background of the Legislation
The aim of the Directive (EU) 2019/904 is to prevent and reduce the volume of plastic waste in the environment, particularly in the aquatic environment. Another aim is to promote the transition to a circular economy. The national legislation is based on the Directive.
Plastic accounts for roughly 80 per cent of all beach litter in the EU. The product groups to which the requirements laid down in the legislation are applied have been selected based on an EU study on beach litter. The Ministry of Environment also assigned a study on the composition of Finnish beach litter. The study showed that on Finnish beaches, cigarette butts that are within the scope of the SUP legislation are common.
The goals set in the legislation are being achieved by different measures, such as actions to reduce consumption nationally; by product restrictions, product design and marking requirements; and by extended producer responsibility. The selected measures depend on the product group. Some product groups may have several requirements.
According to the Waste Act (646/2011) Tukes monitors product bans, marking requirements and the requirement of caps and lids remaining attached to beverage containers. Pirkanmaa Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (PIR-ELY) is the national supervisory authority for extended producer responsibility and is responsible for supervising the requirements related to the extended producer responsibility of the Directive.
Frequently asked questions
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.
