Bill 572.

Summary.

The bill establishes a national framework for used household cooking oil. It covers prevention, separation, storage, collection, transport, drop-off, traceability, treatment, recovery, and final disposal. It applies to households, condominium administrations, and authorized operators, and, for certain support measures, to producers, importers, and distributors of edible oil. It excludes industrial and commercial activities subject to specific regulations, while applying coordination obligations where household oil is collected. It defines the actors, processes, and guiding principles, including shared responsibility, precaution, proximity, public participation, and environmental non-regression.

Households would store used oil in durable, sealed containers without mixing it with other substances or food waste, while preventing spills, odors, pests, and accidents. Administrations and boards of multifamily housing or condominium properties could install containers in common areas, post handling instructions, coordinate collections, and record volumes. Municipalities would establish assisted collection for priority populations. Generators would deliver oil to collection points; local governments would provide at least one permanent point in each district seat, promote neighborhood points, and ensure that their locations are publicized and that oil is collected regularly. Partner collection points could also be established through agreements, along with mobile collection events held quarterly or at the frequency set by regulation. Regulations would specify container requirements; collection points would have equipment and protocols for spills. Different collection and transport arrangements could be approved in rural areas and indigenous regions.

Operators collecting oil from households would register with the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud) and meet technical, health, environmental, and traceability requirements. A paper or digital collection manifest would record the collection point, date, approximate volume, and destination within an auditable system with aggregated open data. The oil would be used exclusively for non-food purposes, including biodiesel, soap, livestock-related uses, candles, and authorized lubricants. Transport and intermediate storage would meet identification, safety, containment, and spill-response requirements. Producers, importers, and distributors would implement at least two measures involving information, voluntary take-back, education, or reverse logistics, as specified by regulation. Local governments and registered legal entities could enter into management and training agreements with targets, indicators, and public reports.

The Ministry of Health would conduct campaigns with the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación), the Ministry of Environment (Ministerio de Ambiente), and local governments. Municipalities could offer recognition, exchanges, or non-tax rate benefits based on collection results. A fund financed by donations, cooperation agreements, and other arrangements would be created for infrastructure, education, innovation, and community projects. The Ministry of Health would be the lead authority; local governments would provide collection points, carry out separate collection, conduct oversight, and report volumes. The bill also provides for coordination with the National Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (Instituto Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillados Nacionales) and the Coordinating Unit of the Panama City and Bay Sanitation Project (Unidad Coordinadora del Proyecto Saneamiento de Ciudad y Bahía de Panamá) to prevent discharges and protect public infrastructure.

The Ministry of Health would maintain a national statistical system with data on volumes, collection points, operators, destinations, and environmental estimates, as well as updated statistics on collection, transport, and recovery. Penalties would take account of severity, impact, intent, and repeat offenses; they could include training or community service, and the competent authorities would regulate them. All proceeds collected would go to the fund. The bill provides for interpretation alongside existing regulations and preservation of environmental standards. It sets an implementation period of no more than 24 months, a deadline of no more than 12 months from promulgation for issuing regulations, and entry into force upon promulgation in the Official Gazette. Its provisions involve the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) and the named entities, together with households, condominium properties, local governments, operators, the edible-oil trade, recycling, and recovery.