A deposit system for electronic smoking devices with non-rechargeable batteries

Amendments to the Waste Management Law

The draft legislative amendments to the Waste Management Law provide for the introduction of a mandatory uniform deposit system for electronic smoking devices with non-rechargeable batteries, to ensure the separate collection, safe management, recycling, or recovery of these devices and to reduce fire safety and environmental pollution risks associated with lithium-ion batteries, plastic, and metal components. The regulation establishes new definitions and sets out the obligations of manufacturers, sellers, and operators of deposit-refund systems, including the requirement to place a special label on the packaging and a machine-readable identifier on the device. The regulation also provides for the refund of the deposit fee to the end user in non-cash form, and stipulates that the Latvian State Environmental Service shall select the deposit system operator through a competitive bidding process, while the Cabinet of Ministers establishes the detailed procedures for the system’s operation, accounting, reporting, territorial coverage requirements, the amount of the deposit fee, and mutual settlements. The new rules on the deposit-refund system for electronic smoking devices will enter into force on 1 February 2027 in order to provide producers and traders with a transitional period to implement the system.