According to Decree 57, manufacturers and importers of chemicals including dangerous substances that are not supervised by special regulations have the responsibility to notify the authority for substances over 1 TPA via the environmental authority portal.
The notification of chemicals is also foreseen in Decree 57. The first notification accounts for:
In respect of the notification for mixtures, the Decree establishes the first notification for:
After these notification deadlines, manufacturers and importers have to update the amount of their imported/produced substances every two years with the deadline on August 30th. Authorities already started to develop the Industrial Chemical Program Notification Platform.
SDS/GHS standards are part of Decree 57 and will be gradually implemented and become mandatory:
National Regulation |
|
Status |
In force - transitional period |
Regulation name |
Regulations on the classification, labeling, and notification of chemical substances and mixtures Reglamento de clasificación, etiquetado y notificación de sustancias químicas y mezclas peligrosas - Decreto 57 |
Objective |
Establish the criteria and obligations relating to the classification, labeling, notification, and risk assessment of dangerous substances and mixtures, which must be met by manufacturers and importers in order to protect human health and the environment |
Implementation date |
Notification: · Industrial substances: February 9, 2024 · Non-industrial substances: February 9, 2025 · Industrial Mixtures: February 9, 2027 · Non-industrial mixtures: February 9, 2029 |
Scope |
Hazardous substances and mixtures for industrial and non-industrial uses |
Further substance lists |
Substance classification list will be published on future resolution |
Exemption |
Nuclear substances, pharmaceutical and veterinary products, food products for human and animal consumption, cosmetics, pesticide residues in food, hazardous waste (decree 148/2003), fertilizers (law 3.557/1981), minerals of natural origin, substances intended for research, on transit or warehouse, unintended, used on medicine |
Affected stakeholders |
Manufacturers and importers of ≥ 1 ton per year |
Requirements |
Importers and manufacturers are requested to follow the guidelines of: · Risk assessment (Decree 57 - Title II and III) · Label (Decree 57 - Title IV) · SDS (Decree 57 - Title V) · Notification (Decree 57 - Title VI) |
Non-compliance |
Non-compliance means to not follow or fail to comply with the requirements. Sanctions and penalties will be further established. |
Comments |
Notifiers shall submit information on a biennial basis with the deadline on August 31 (from February 2024) |
SDS / GHS Regulation |
|
Status |
In force - transitional period |
Regulation name |
Regulations on the classification, labeling, and notification of chemical substances and mixtures Reglamento de clasificación, etiquetado y notificación de sustancias químicas y mezclas peligrosas - link |
Implementation date |
Industrial use: · 1 year for substances (February 9, 2022) · 4 years for mixtures (February 9, 2025) Non-industrial use: · 2 years for substances (February 9, 2023) · 6 years for mixtures (February 9, 2027) |
Language |
Spanish |
Comments |
In Chile, the GHS standard and the national chemical regulation will be implemented together. For further information, see the Chile’s GHS webpage. |
Chemical Inventory in Chile
Decree 57 also includes the notification of chemicals. The first notification accounts for:
For the notification for mixtures, the Decree establishes the first notification for:
After these notification deadlines, manufacturers and importers have to update the amount of substances they imported/produced every two years with the deadline on August 30th. Authorities already started to develop the Industrial Chemical Program Notification Platform.
Adoption of GHS
GHS standard will be gradually implemented and become mandatory: for substances of industrial use from February 9, 2022, and for substances of non-industrial use, such as domestic or general consumer goods, from February 9, 2025; for mixtures of industrial use from February 9, 2023, and for mixtures of non-industrial use from February, 9, 2027.
In Chile, the GHS standard and the national chemical regulation will be implemented together. For further information, see the Chile’s GHS webpage.
In Chile, Law 20.920 establishes the basis to develop several areas of importance to the Circular Economy. Through the reduction of the production of waste and the promotion of reuse, recycling, and other forms of recovery, it aims to contribute to the protection of human health and the environment. In addition to its specific measures and its forthcoming implementing legislation, it sets out key principles that inspire it and towards which its development must advance.
Said principles include, among others:
Law 20.920 is complemented by Law 21.368, regulating single-use plastics and plastic bottles, which aims at preventing waste generation by curbing the use of single-use plastic products.
The systems foreseen under both laws will be developed and operated by Chile’s Ministry of the Environment. Supervisory functions will be performed by Chile’s Superintendency of the Environment (Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente). Where envisaged rules affect areas where other ministries are competent, the Ministry of the Environment will chair inter-ministerial committees.
The full name of Law 20.920 is “Law establishing a framework for waste management, extended producer responsibility, and the promotion of recycling”. Being a framework law, it sets general guidelines and provides for the further development of regulations in several areas, including:
The regulations developed for waste management and trade will apply to all waste, irrespective of the product category. On the other hand, the Law establishes some “Priority Products” to which the implementation of EPR will be limited in the beginning.
What products will be covered by EPR?
The Law provides that EPR obligations will apply to what it calls “Priority Products”. In this cases, product-specific regulations will detail waste collection and recovery targets that producers must achieve, together with any related obligations necessary to the achievement of said targets. The product-specific regulations will also detail potential limitations on producer responsibility schemes (such as whether they can be individual or collective) and the roles of distributors, retailers, and industrial consumers (if any).
The six Priority Products established in the law are the ones below:
Priority Product |
Status of the product-specific regulation |
Lubricant oils |
The impact evaluation and public consultation have been held. The next step is the adoption by government of a Decree Proposal. The current deadline for adoption is 13 October 2022. |
Electric and Electronic Equipment (EEE) |
While EEE and Batteries were foreseen to be two separate products under the initial law, the government has decided to merge the EPR system for both, due to EEE products and batteries being closely connected.
The impact evaluation and public consultation have been held. Due to high participation in the public consultation, the adoption of the proposal has been postponed by 6 months after its initial deadline of May 13 2022. |
Batteries |
|
Battery packs |
The development of the product-specific regulation for an EPR system for battery packs has not started yet. |
Packaging |
Decree 12 of 2020 adopted the product-specific EPR system for packaging. |
Tires |
Decree 8 of 2019 adopted the product-specific EPR system for tires. |
In addition to these Priority Products, the law empowers Chilean authorities to adopt EPR systems for other product categories, taking into account the effectiveness of EPR systems for the specific product, its volume, its hazardousness, its recovery potential, and its distribution. Authorities are also enabled to set reporting requirements relative to the quantity of a product placed on the market and waste management activities undertaken by producers. These lighter reporting requirements will apply to newspapers and magazines under the law.
While the development of detailed actions is left to the product-specific regulations. Law 20.920 establishes the general action categories that can accompany collection and recovery targets. These requirements, known as “Associated Obligations” can be set by authorities as a means to attain the targets, rather than as end targets in themselves. Associated Obligations can relate to:
Associated Obligations must be oriented to the achievement of the collection and recovery targets and relate to every product category. Therefore, the details for each Obligation will be set in the product-specific regulations.
What obligations for producers?
Law 20.920 establishes an obligation for producers to ensure that their products are adequately managed once they become waste. This includes the organization and financing of a waste management system, the attainment of collection and recovery targets, and ensure that waste management is only done by operators who are properly registered and authorised. Additionally, producers of priority products will have to be registered and submit information in Chile’s Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (RETC).
When it comes to establishing and financing waste management systems, the law allows for the establishment of individual or collective systems. Individual systems are established and managed by one single producer, whereas collective systems involve two or more producers.
In both cases, systems must be reviewed and authorised by the Ministry of Environment, on the basis of information addressing the system’s waste management strategy, financing, and follow-up and verification mechanisms.
The product-specific regulations can limit the type of possible systems. Both individual and collective systems are possible under the two regulations adopted so far (packaging and tires).
What obligations for other actors?
Although producers are the main focus of the law, product-specific regulations can set obligations for other actors in the economy.
When provided in the product-specific regulation, distributers and retailers will have to set up waste reception and storage systems. These will be financed by the waste management systems established by producers, and will be free of cost to consumers.
The law also addresses waste pickers, which are defined as natural persons using artisanal or semi-industrial waste collection and pre-treatment methods. Waste pickers can be included in waste management systems as long as they are registered in Chile’s Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) and duly certified.
Finally, all consumers must dispose of waste through the established waste management systems. Industrial consumers can recover priority waste products themselves. In those cases, they must inform the Ministry of Environment through Chile’s PRTR.
In addition to Chile’s EPR framework law, Law 21.368, regulating the delivery of single-use plastics and plastic bottles, is another important step towards Circular Economy. It seeks to protect the environment and reduce waste production through three main lines of action:
Limitations on single-use products
The law forbids the handing out of single-use products by food establishments when food is to be consumed on site. This restriction applies to all single-use products, irrespective of the material.
When food is to be consumed off-site, single-use products made from materials other than plastic can be given. Products made from “certified plastic” can also be used. Additionally, the following conditions apply:
Certified plastics
Certified plastics are those that are manufactured using renewable resources (totally or partially) and are biodegradable. They must be certified in accordance with the systems to be set by the Ministry of the Environment, proving that they fulfil the necessary requirements. Said requirements will include, at least, a 20% renewable resources content.
Plastic bottles
The law addresses both disposable and returnable bottles.
Disposable bottles are those that can not be reused. In this case, the law provides for minimum recycled plastic content requirements to be set in its regulations.
Returnable bottles, on the other hand, are those that can be industrially refilled at least five times. All establishments commercially selling bottled drinks will have to offer some products in returnable bottles, and take said bottles back from consumers. The law foresees minimum requirements for the proportion of drinks in returnable bottles offered by supermarkets. These are also to be set in the regulations developing the law, which are still to be adopted.
Although both the requirements for recycled plastic in disposable bottles and for the amount of returnable bottles to be offered in supermarkets are still to be adopted, the law sets some minimums under which the regulations can not go.
Disposable plastic bottles must contain at least 15% recycled plastic by 2025. This will increase to 70% by 2060, with an intermediate target of 50% by 2040.
When it comes to the proportion of returnable bottles, this should be at least 30% three years after the publication of the law (by August 2024).