Commission Decision
of 28 August 2001
establishing ecological criteria for the award of the Community eco-label to soil improvers and growing media
(notified under document number C(2001) 2597)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2001/688/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 on a revised Community eco-label award scheme(1), and in particular Articles 3, 4 and 6 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 provides that the eco-label may be awarded to a product possessing characteristics which enable it to contribute significantly to improvements in relation to key environmental aspects.
(2) Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 provides that specific eco-label criteria shall be established according to product groups.
(3) Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 provides that the review of the eco-label criteria as well as of the assessment and verification requirements related to the criteria shall take place in due time before the end of the period of validity of the criteria specified for each product group and shall result in a proposal for prolongation, withdrawal or revision.
(4) By Decision 98/488/EC(2), the Commission established ecological criteria for the award of the Community eco-label to soil improvers, which, according to Article 3 thereof, as amended by Decision 2001/157/EC(3), expire on 30 September 2002.
(5) It is appropriate to revise the definition of the product group and the ecological criteria that were established by Decision 98/488/EC in order to reflect the developments in the market.
(6) It is appropriate to adopt a new Commission Decision establishing the specific ecological criteria for this product group, which will be valid for a period of five years.
(7) It is appropriate that, for a limited period of not more than 12 months, both the new criteria established by this Decision and the criteria previously established by Decision 98/488/EC, are valid concurrently, in order to allow sufficient time for companies that have been awarded the eco-label for their products prior to the adoption of this new Decision to adapt these products to comply with the new criteria.
(8) The measures set out in this Decision have been developed and adopted under the procedures for the setting of eco-label criteria as laid down in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000.
(9) The measures set out in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the committee set up under Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000,
The product group "soil improvers and growing media" (hereinafter referred to as "the product group") shall comprise:
- soil improvers: materials to be added to the soil in situ primarily to maintain or improve its physical properties, and which may improve its chemical and/or biological properties or activity,
- growing media: material, other than soils in situ, in which plants are grown.
The environmental performance of the product group as defined in Article 1 shall be assessed by reference to the specific ecological criteria set out in the Annex.
The product group definition and the criteria for the product group shall be valid for five years from the date on which this Decision takes effect.
The period of validity of the product group definition and the criteria established by Decision 98/488/EC shall be modified to expire 12 months after the date on which this Decision takes effect.
For administrative purposes the code number assigned to the product group shall be "003".
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.