The Circular Economy Act Working Group appointed by the Ministry of the Environment has published its report (in finnish). It provides the first comprehensive picture of what the reform of the Waste Act and the forthcoming Circular Economy Act may look like. The drafting will proceed in two parts: first, updates will be made to the current Waste Act, and in the next phase the Waste Act will be fully reformed into a Circular Economy Act.
Two phases: a fast-track update to the Waste Act and a full reform
Preparation of the Circular Economy Act will span two parliamentary terms. In the first phase, the focus is on revising provisions of the Waste Act related, among other things, to the collection rate for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and the ongoing EU infringement procedure. A comprehensive reform of extended producer responsibility is, in turn, intended to be carried out in the second phase of legislative drafting during the next parliamentary term.
Extended producer responsibility remains at the core
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) will continue to play a key role in accelerating the circular economy. According to the report, EPR could in the future be fulfilled only by joining a producer organisation. Distributors would be obliged to ensure that a product’s producer is a member of a producer organisation. Subject to certain conditions, this obligation would also be extended to public procurement.
Producer organisations’ primary right to arrange waste management for their products would be strengthened. They would still be responsible for managing historical waste, subject to certain limitations. Preparation for re-use would also continue to be carried out in cooperation with the producer organisation. In return, producer organisations would be required to ensure clearer transparency in the tendering of waste management services.
In addition, producer organisations would be required to convene an annual cooperation group to develop practices related to implementing EPR, in particular to promote re-use and preparation for re-use. A producer established in Finland would still have to fulfil EPR also in the destination countries of distance sales. Foreign distance sellers, in turn, would be required to appoint an authorised representative in Finland.
The EU requires Finland to take effective measures to raise the collection rate
The working group’s report identifies several challenges in the reporting and statistics of WEEE collection. Devices that retain positive value still end up outside producer organisations’ collection systems, and devices exported abroad for re-use or repair often remain outside the statistics. Current methods for calculating the collection rate are also deficient and do not sufficiently take into account the long lifespan of devices.
To increase the collection rate, the report proposes several measures, such as:
- expanding the distributor take-back obligation to cover devices up to 50 cm and 10 kg without a purchase requirement (previously 25 cm)
- more guidance and information for consumers. This would apply to producer organisations and distributors.
- a WEEE return obligation for consumers and businesses
- sanctions for producer organisations if collection-rate targets are not met
- streamlining permit procedures for re-use operators
In addition, the collection, transport and storage of WEEE should be organised so that products do not break unnecessarily. This would promote re-use. Elker has long promoted protective cage collection to advance re-use and to prevent fire and accident risks.
Producer organisations involved in drafting the law
Elker’s producer organisations have actively participated in drafting the law, both in the Circular Economy Act Working Group (via a representative of The Advisory board for Finnish PROs) and in the extended producer responsibility subcommittee established under it. Both have called for legislation that is sensible in terms of impact and for stronger enforcement.
The Advisory board for Finnish PROs has proposed that the flexibility enabled in the Commission’s Omnibus proposals regarding the appointment of an authorised representative should be used nationally. A dissenting opinion has also been issued on the model for penalty payments targeted at producer organisations, because producer organisations alone are not responsible for achieving collection-rate targets and they have no effective means to intervene in free-riding or grey waste streams.
The report also recognises the need to assess the scale of grey collection streams and to develop means to tackle illegal waste shipments, such as exporting WEEE as a product.
Work continues – next steps already in spring 2026
Advocacy work by producer organisations will continue in the next phases of legislative drafting. The Government proposal for updating the Waste Act is intended to be sent for consultation as early as March–April, and it is expected to proceed to Parliament on an accelerated timetable in autumn 2026.
