1. What does the Rulebook on the management of waste from electrical and electronic products regulate?
Under the principle of extended producer responsibility, all importers, distributors and manufacturers of e-equipment (electrical and electronic equipment) are obliged to provide proper reporting on products placed/sold on the territory of FBiH and to handle the equipment at the end of its life cycle, unless they transfer this obligation to the company ZEOS eko-sistem d.o.o.
The Rulebook on the management of waste from electrical and electronic products regulates:
- the manner and procedure for registering the placing of electrical and electronic products on the market,
- the establishment of a system for the take-back, collection and treatment of waste from electrical and electronic products and the operation of that system.
2. I don't have electrical and electronic waste, why should I pay a fee?
The fee is paid for electrical and electronic products that are placed/sold for the first time on the market of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The fee is used for the collection and disposal of e-waste currently on the market, education and investment in infrastructure for the separate collection of e-waste.
3. What is electrical and electronic equipment?
Electrical and electronic equipment are products whose proper operation depends on electric current or electromagnetic fields, as well as products intended for the generation, transmission and measurement of current and fields if they are classified into one of the classes or subclasses listed below, and are used at voltages not exceeding 1000 V for alternating current and 1500 V for direct current.
See the detailed list of all devices covered by the Rulebook here.
4. Who are the System Obligors according to the Rulebook on the management of waste from electrical and electronic products?
The System Obligors for the management and disposal of e-waste are all manufacturers, importers and distributors of electrical and electronic equipment who place equipment on the market of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the first time. Distributors who place equipment on the market for the first time are obliged to join the e-waste management and disposal system. For other equipment they sell, they are obliged to obtain proof from the manufacturers and importers that their electrical and electronic equipment has been included in the system. Otherwise, they are responsible for including that equipment in the system themselves and paying a fee for it.*
* ZEOS eko-sistem suggests that Distributors require a Certificate of inclusion in the system from their suppliers of electrical and electronic equipment, in cases where they are distributors of equipment, and not manufacturers and importers.
5. What is meant by the term "placing on the market for the first time"?
Placing on the market for the first time means the first sale of produced or imported equipment on the FBiH market to other users and/or if the equipment is produced or imported in FBiH, and the manufacturer or importer is also the end user of that equipment.
6. What are the obligations of System Obligors according to the Rulebook on the management of waste from electrical and electronic products?
The manufacturer, distributor and importer is obliged to send a report on the quantity, mass and type of equipment placed on the market to the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism of BiH and the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund. The report is filled out electronically through the application on the website www.zeos.ba.
All manufacturers and importers are obliged to pay the general fee to the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund. The fee is paid on a semi-annual basis upon issuance of the Decision.
Manufacturers and importers who have not transferred their obligations to the operator ZEOS eko-sistem d.o.o. are obliged, in addition to the general fee, to pay the fee for the management of waste equipment to the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund.
All manufacturers, importers and distributors who have not paid the fee for placed products since the date the Rulebook entered into force are obliged to prepare reports and pay retroactively to the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund, for all years for which the fee was not paid, except for the current year in which they transferred their obligation to the operator ZEOS eko-sistem d.o.o.
7. Why should I transfer my obligation to the operator if I pay both the general fee and the management fee to the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund, what is the difference?
All importers, distributors and manufacturers are obliged to pay the general fee; however, those who transfer their obligation to the operator ZEOS eko-sistem d.o.o. pay lower waste management fees, have a free disposal service (treatment and recycling) for their electrical and electronic waste, gain access to the electronic application for reporting the placement of electrical and electronic equipment on the FBiH market, receive all necessary legal support and documentation, and have no stress regarding the fulfillment of their obligation. There is also the possibility of cooperation and joint marketing activities for the purpose of raising awareness and e-waste collection actions. Clients receive all the aforementioned benefits for free.
8. Who is the System Operator?
The System Operator is a legal entity to which manufacturers, importers and distributors have transferred the obligation of managing and disposing of waste equipment, i.e. concluded a contract on the transfer of the obligation of managing waste equipment to ZEOS eko-sistem d.o.o. In addition to the disposal of electrical and electronic waste, reporting on products placed on the FBiH market and the payment of a lower fee for such products is also carried out through the operator.
The primary goal of the system operator is to fulfill the legal conditions prescribed by the Rulebook.
9. What are the penalties in case of non-compliance with the provisions of the Rulebook on the management of waste from electrical and electronic products?
Penal provisions will be applied in accordance with Articles 52 and 53 of the Law on Waste Management and other special regulations.
10. In what manner will supervision over the application of the Rulebook on the management of waste from electrical and electronic products be carried out?
Supervision over waste management activities and the fulfillment of the conditions from the permit, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Waste Management and the regulations adopted on the basis of it, will be carried out by environmental protection inspectors and market and tourism-catering inspectors, at the federal level by the federal inspector and at the cantonal level by the cantonal inspector.
