The leadership of the Ukrainian Association of Secondary Metals (UAVtormet) appealed to the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Ruslan Strilets, to clarify the legislative inconsistency regarding scrap metal.
Specifically, the clarification of the term scrap in the context of the law "On waste management", was written by Oleksandr Lymar, an expert on waste management at the Ukrainian Institute of the Future, in the UkraineWasteRecycling Facebook community.
It is noted that the law "On scrap" does not correspond to the provisions of the law "On waste management". However, enterprises must start collecting and processing scrap metal from July 8, despite the uncertainty of the term itself.
"The closer the date of entry into force of the law "On Waste Management", the more questions arise regarding its implementation," Lymar said.
He emphasized that the law "On waste management" refers all issues related to metal waste to the specialized law "On scrap metal". The law "On waste management" provided that the Cabinet of Ministers had to prepare and submit within three months from the date of publication of the document for the consideration of the Verkhovna Rada, a proposal to amend the law "On scrap metal" was to be brought into line with these laws.
Lymar noted that proposals were not developed during the year. This means that before the Law "On waste management" comes into force, changes in the Law "On scrap" will not be voted on. After all, they still need to be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada for consideration.
"That's why the following questions arise, what is scrap and does this definition correspond to the term "metal waste"? What changes must be made to the law "On scrap" in order for it to comply with the law "On waste management"?" he emphasized.
In his opinion, bringing the laws into line requires:
- remove the term scrap from the law "On scrap" and replace it with the terms "ferrous and non-ferrous metal waste" and "ferrous and non-ferrous metal scrap";
- remove the term "procurement" and replace it with the term collection in accordance with the law "On waste management";
- to determine the competent authority for issuing permits for activities with waste metals is the Ministry of the Environment, and not the Ministry of Strategic Industries.
"If this is not done by July 8 (and it will not be done), then in Ukraine business entities engaged in the collection of metal waste/scrap metal will have two laws, – Lymar explained. – Here you have a collision. They collect one, but according to which law?”
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that on July 7, 2022, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed the long-awaited law "On waste management". On June 20, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the document in the second reading and in general.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, in April 2023, Oleksandr Lymar, an expert on waste management at the Ukrainian Future Institute, pointed out the confusion in the terms "metal waste" and "scrap metal" in the law "On Waste Management".
