Bill 544.

Summary.

The bill establishes a framework in the Republic of Panama for reducing plastic waste through prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery and post-consumer management. It would apply to persons that manufacture, import, distribute, market or use covered products, as well as state entities, contractors and concessionaires. The Panama Canal Authority (Autoridad del Canal de Panamá) would retain its special regime under Law 19 of 1997 and issue environmental guidelines for areas it administers; vessels in transit and its direct operations would be subject to Law 276 of 2021. The bill adds technical definitions to those in Law 187 of 2020, including biodegradability, compostability, effective recyclability, traceability and extended producer responsibility.

After the transition, conventional expanded or extruded polystyrene articles for food and beverage service, and articles in direct contact with unprepared food sold at retail, would be prohibited. Biodegradable articles would be excepted if they demonstrate their performance, obtain technical authorization from the Ministry of Commerce and Industries’ standards office (MICI-DGNTI) and, where they contact food, health approval from the Ministry of Health (MINSA); they would also have to be distinguishable by a cream-to-brown color. The bill distinguishes direct-contact food containers from encapsulated materials and technical, industrial or construction packaging. It sets specific rules for durable thermal containers, critical health uses, fishing and collection at origin, and inspections based on documentation and risk.

The forty-eight (48) month transition regime covers technical preparation, use of declared inventories, initial substitution and the gradual phaseout of food-use articles. It permits specified resin imports and industrial conversion operations subject to post-consumer management and reporting. From Month 25 it restricts the import and placing on the market of formed food containers, with an exception for compliant products; from Month 37 it requires direct-contact articles to meet technical specifications and applicable health requirements. The bill calls for a progress report in month 30. It also addresses vessel transit under MARPOL Annex V and the supply of expanded polystyrene food-service products in port areas.

Technical admissibility would rest on minimum statutory requirements, specifications issued by the Directorate for Standards and Industrial Technology and the Panamanian Commission for Industrial and Technical Standards (DGNTI-COPANIT), a list of test methods and conformity evidence. Environmental claims would have to identify the degradation environment, method and result; claims based on oxo-degradation would be excluded. A supplementary technical regime would apply while specifications are issued or revised. Authorization to import additive-treated resin would require a technical file, conformity documents, package identification and acceptance of later inspections; it would not itself authorize sale of the final article or food contact. For the specific subject of polystyrene biodegradability, the proposed definitions would prevail over those of Law 187/2020.

Adding the biodegradation additive at a processing plant would depend on a Declaration of Technical Availability issued by MICI-DGNTI. Before that declaration, controlled pilots could operate; afterward, plants could obtain authorization as operators by documenting dosing, production controls, tests and mass-balance traceability. Final articles would require type testing, proof of conformity and annual surveillance. The Ministry of Commerce and Industries (Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias) would enforce the bill through document checks, selective inspections and institutional coordination. Minor, serious and very serious violations would lead, as applicable, to warnings, fines, seizure, suspension, closure or license disqualification. The bill provides for interim measures, factors for setting penalties, a procedure with defense rights and appeals, publication of sanctions and allocation of fines to purposes connected with the bill. The Consumer Protection and Competition Defense Authority (ACODECO) would apply the penalty regime of Law 45/2007 to misleading environmental claims.

The extended producer responsibility regime would bind producers and importers that first place covered articles on the domestic market. They could comply through an individual plan or an authorized collective system, funded by fees and verifiable equivalent contributions. Distributors and retailers could serve as return points; the construction sector would have rules for returning cutoffs and waste from worksites. End-of-life information, annual reports and traceability would be required. Collective systems would need registration, audits, public reports and governance rules. The Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo) would issue implementing regulations through the Ministry of Commerce and Industries. The bill’s provisions could affect or interest the Panama Canal Authority, DGNTI-COPANIT, MICI-DGNTI, MINSA, ACODECO, municipalities, container and resin producers and importers, food establishments, ports, fishing, health services, waste managers and the construction sector.