Vlad Birău, Director of Recycling Acquisitions: “Elimination of all ambiguities or confusions regarding the use of SIADT, zero priority for the entire recycling industry.

The Administration of the Environmental Fund (AFM) launched more than a month ago the IT system for ensuring traceability of waste (SIATD), in order to monitor and verify transactions with packaging waste in the extended liability system of the producer. According to AFM, the launch of SIATD aims to harmonize the applicable national legislation in the field of packaging waste management with the provisions of European directives, but also to achieve recycling / recovery objectives, which Romania has assumed as a member of the European Union. At this moment, however, there are, for all those involved, a series of ambiguities regarding the use of the application, ambiguities that could call into question the implementation of the application on January 1, 2021. I talked about all this with one of the specialists in the field. , Vlad Birău, Purchasing Director RecicladʻOR.

Do you consider it appropriate to implement such a system in Romania?

At European level, the recycling industry is constantly evolving, with significant budgets being allocated to improving waste management and developing collection and recycling capacities.

In Romania, however, the pace of development of this industry is much slower. A proof in this sense is also the situation published by Eurostat, regarding the performance of packaging recycling at EU level in 2017, a situation that positions Romania somewhere at the bottom of the ranking.

Among the causes underlying this non-performance we can list: the deficient separate collection infrastructure at national level, the reduced involvement of the citizen in the separate collection process and the non-application of specific (and available) economic instruments. Another critical factor that generated the current situation is the lack of a “correct level playing field” on the collector market. Unfair competition between collectors correlated with the lack of traceability of collected waste not only hampered the development process of the recycling industry but also generated significant economic and legal slippage.

A first step in correcting this situation is the launch by the Administration of the Environment Fund of the IT application for waste traceability (SIADT).

This application aims to monitor and verify transactions with packaging waste in the extended liability system of the manufacturer, by Order 1595/2020. The implementation of this packaging waste traceability application will influence the activity of a very large number of economic operators (collectors, recyclers, etc.). At this time, however, there are a number of ambiguities for all involved regarding the use of the application, which could call into question the implementation of the application on January 1, 2021. Consequently, the elimination of all ambiguities or confusions regarding the use of SIADT becomes a zero priority for the entire recycling industry.

Who are the main beneficiaries and what changes could they bring?

The SIADT application will be used by economic operators that carry out activities of collection, sanitation, sorting, treatment of packaging waste; economic operators carrying out recovery / recycling activities and organisations implementing extended producer responsibility (OIREP).

This application will manage, in real time, the information on the traceability of packaging waste from the collecting economic operator to the recovery facility. It should be noted that SIADT refers strictly to packaging waste whose management costs are financed by producers through OIREP.

From the perspective of the Environmental Fund Administration, the implementation of the application will contribute to the transparency and efficient monitoring of the data flow in the integrated management of packaging waste.

From the perspective of OIREPs (as is the case of Reciclad’OR), in addition to the transparency of the data flow at national level, the implementation of SIATD will generate a series of economic implications on the supply chain. It is very difficult to estimate at this time the size of the impact but we will see during the implementation of the application.

If we look closely at the history of the recycling industry we find (if it were still the case) that the biggest impact on the activity of transfer of responsibility was the one generated by legislative changes. Changes in the economic conditions of the packaging recycling market have been the consequence of legislative changes, with the change in the relationship between supply and demand playing only a secondary role.

Coherent legislation requires, first and foremost, the creation of optimal and functional conditions for an efficient and predictable packaging recycling model. And these are the expectations of the market when we talk about the implementation of SIADT.

What are the pros and cons of the app?

Like any computer application, SIADT needs a period of time to implement and test. A brief analysis highlights a number of pluses and minuses of this application:

Among the identified advantages we mention: digitisation of information, verification of all documents in real time and transparency of collaboration between all factors involved.

As disadvantages we identify a number of risks generated by the application, including: making it difficult to deliver packaging waste to final recyclers, if the SIATD application would not work in optimal parameters and providing confidential information on quantities reported by economic operators between OIREPs .

During the remaining testing period until the end of the year we will identify other risks or opportunities generated by the implementation of the application. Based on the dialogue between all those involved, we will also identify solutions to maximize opportunities or reduce risks generated by the implementation of the SIADT application.

Will SIATD facilitate or hinder the activity of OIREP?

Without it, maybe SIATD could improve and facilitate the activity of an OIREP both in relation to the Administration of the Environmental Fund and in relation to the other state authorities. At the risk of repeating myself, the stakes are high, and the SIATD application must come to the aid of all and function as we expected both those involved and the Administration of the Environmental Fund.

Since its establishment, Reciclad’OR has implemented high-performance IT systems at the company level in order to streamline work mechanisms.

These systems have allowed us to strictly monitor the traceability of each type of packaging waste contracted and have provided our partners with an easy and transparent way to view and access the entire circuit.

The efficiency and performance of these systems is also certified by the last control of the Administration of the Environmental Fund, a control that ended on September 16, 2020 and which certifies the fulfilment of all legal obligations that Reciclad’OR has assumed.

Through the expertise we have, we will support all our partners in overcoming all the specific obstacles to the implementation and use of a new application. We are firmly convinced that together with our partners we will successfully manage all the obligations incumbent on us from the implementation of SIADT on January 1, 2021.

This article was taken from the green-report.ro website, https://www.green-report.ro/vlad-birau-director-achizitii-recicladoreliminarea-tuturor-neclaritatiilor-sau-confuziilor-privind-utilizarea-siadt-prioritate-zero-pentru-intreaga-industrie-de-reciclare/.