Sumi Oy is a non-profit producer responsibility organisation for packaging that manages the statutory producer responsibility obligations on behalf of producers in Finland. On producers’ request, Sumi will establish a subsidiary called Sumi Åland Ab, which will act as producer responsibility organisation for packaging in Åland.
The only option for a company to take care of its producer responsibility is to join a producer responsibility organisation and transfer its producer responsibility obligations to the organisation by means of an agreement. The previous producer responsibility agreements of Åland were terminated at the end of 2023, which means that producer responsibility is currently not being handled. The supervisory authority, Ålands landskapsregering, has afforded producers until 1 July 2024 to establish a producer responsibility organisation.
“We were happy to oblige with the invitation of producers in Åland to assume the responsibility for getting the collection and recycling of packaging in order. We work for producers. Therefore we immediately started to investigate possibilities to solve this matter when producers contacted us and asked for support. It is a matter of honour for us to develop more environmentally friendly solutions for the value chain of packaging and promote increasing the collection and recycling rate as well as the sensible reuse of packaging materials,” says Sumi CEO Mika Surakka.
By joining Sumi Åland, companies transfer their producer responsibilities for packaging to the organisation. The Waste Act defines product packagers and importers of packaged products as producers. Åland features 16 municipalities with which Sumi Åland needs to agree on the implementation of the statutory collection of packaging from residential buildings.
“We want to provide producers with services that are cost efficient and transparent. For us, cooperation with producers is extremely important, which is why we will continue to develop our services and operations on a wide scale, based on conversations with producers,” Surakka explains.
Sumi Åland’s goal is to establish a producer responsibility in Åland by leveraging the parent company’s models and processes. The region is not governed by Finnish laws, but the local waste legislation is very close to that of continental Finland. Sumi is focusing particularly on conducting all aspects of the operations in an open and transparent manner.
After the company has been established, the board of directors will consist of representatives from companies with packaging producer responsibilities in Åland. This arrangement allows the producers to directly influence operational practices and recycling fees. Sumi will strenghten its organisation with a new materials manager, who intends to focus on organising local operations in Åland and assisting local producers.
“We have extensive experience in handling producer responsibility for plastic packaging, which provides a good foundation for operations regarding all packaging. The entire network, including the relevant recycling solutions, is already complete and awaiting permission and start-up,” Surakka concludes.
More information:
Mika Surakka, Managing Director, Sumi Oy
Tel. +358 40 019 7848
mika.surakka@sumi.fi