Producers Responsibility in a Circular Economy

Abstract

The implementation of sustainable development principles as well as the prioritization of the circular economy as a healthy alternative to economic growth will cause producers to change their vision of production by incorporating concrete and effective environmental protection measures. The European Union, through Directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liability in relation to the prevention and remedying the environmental damage has introduced, since its implementation for the first time on 30 April 2004, the obligation to respect the 'polluter pays' principle, with clear rules for them. The transposition of the Directive became mandatory three years later in 2007 for all member states and European producers were therefore responsible for both the pollution prevention action and the repair of potential environmental damage, as well as for bearing the associated costs of the two types of measures from the financial point of view. Within this research we find the concrete results of the implementation of the Directive, following the evaluations carried out by the European Commission, through the two official reports drawn up in 2010 and 2016, and also the difficulties faced by all Member States, in fact by European producers, in complying with environmental standards regarding waste. At the same time, these issues will be exemplified by reference to Romania's concrete example, as a case study.