Single-Use
Plastics etc. (Restrictions) (Jersey) Law 2021
A LAW to prohibit the supply and
importation of certain single-use or non-recyclable items and to set a price
for the supply of reusable carrier bags, and for connected purposes.[1]
Commencement [see
endnotes]
1 Interpretation
(1) In
this Law –
“Agent of the Impôts” is
to be construed in accordance with Article 4 of the Customs and Excise
(Jersey) Law 1999;
“authorised officer” means
a person authorised, by the Minister, the Agent of the Impôts or the Chief
Inspector, to carry out the functions of an authorised officer under this Law;
“Chief Inspector” is to be
construed in accordance with Article 2 of the Weights and Measures
(Jersey) Law 1967;
“gsm” means grammes per
square metre;
“import” has the same
meaning as given by Article 1(1) of the Customs and Excise
(Jersey) Law 1999;
“micron” means one
thousandth (0.001) of a millimetre;
“Minister” means the
Minister for Infrastructure;
“prohibited item” has the
meaning given in Article 2(1);
“restricted
item” has the meaning given in Article 3(1);
“single-use
vape” means a vape that is not designed or not intended for 1 or more of the
following –
(a) to be reused;
(b) to be refilled with the
substance that is intended to be vaporised or aerosolised, whether by refilling
or replacing a container in the vape;
(c) to have its battery
recharged; or
(d) to have a coil that can
be replaced by an individual in the normal course of use;
“supply” –
(a) means –
(i) selling, hiring out or lending an item,
(ii) entering into a hire
purchase agreement to provide an item,
(iii) providing an item in
exchange for anything of value other than money,
(iv) providing an item in, or
in connection with, the performance of a statutory function, or
(v) giving an item as a prize or gift;
(b) includes any offer, agreement,
exposure or possession of an item for the purposes of supply; and
(c) excludes anything that
is –
(i) done only for the purpose of waste
management, and
(ii) approved by the
Minister;
“trader” means a person
acting for purposes relating to that person’s commercial activity, including
for charitable purposes whether acting in person or through another person
acting in the trader’s name or on the trader’s behalf;
“vape” –
(a) means a device that
vaporises or aerosolises substances for inhalation through a mouthpiece; but
(b) excludes a device that is
a medical device, as defined in Regulation 1 of the Protection of Children
(Nicotine Inhaling Products) (Jersey) Regulations 2016, unless the
device is intended to enable inhalation of nicotine;
“writing” includes writing
in an electronic form.[2]
(2) For
the purposes of this Law an item is made of recyclable material if the item consists,
in a recyclable form, only of material of a specified description and does not
consist of, or contain, any additional material which cannot be recycled.
2 Trader
must not supply certain single-use or non-recyclable items[3]
(1) A
trader must not supply an item of a type and description specified in paragraph 1
of the Schedule (a “prohibited item”), regardless of whether –
(a) the supply takes place in
person or electronically; or
(b) a charge is made in
relation to the supply.[4]
(2) [5]
(3) [6]
(4) If
the Minister, the Chief Inspector or an authorised
officer reasonably suspects that a trader is acting in breach of paragraph (1),
the Chief Inspector or authorised officer may give a notice to the trader requiring
them to stop supplying items of the type and description specified in the
notice.[7]
(5) Before
giving the notice, the Chief Inspector or authorised officer must, if
practicable, give the trader a reasonable opportunity to express their views or
to voluntarily comply with the requirement in the notice.[8]
(6) The
notice must –
(a) contain or be accompanied
by the following information –
(i) the requirement in paragraph (4),
(ii) details of the alleged
breach,
(iii) the type of item supplied
and, if necessary, a description of the item sufficient to identify it,
(iv) a statement that an
appeal may be made against the notice under Article 9, and
(v) any other information that the Minister
considers necessary;
(b) be given in writing; and
(c) be delivered to the
trader’s registered or administrative office or, if the address of that office
cannot be determined, to a person who controls or manages the place where the
item was supplied.[9]
(7) A
person who intentionally and without reasonable excuse fails to comply with a
notice under paragraph (4) commits an offence and is liable to a fine of
level 2 on the standard scale.
(8) See Article 15A(a) for the power to
make an Order to suspend or disapply this Article in relation to specified
types of prohibited items or in specified circumstances.[10]
2A Individual must not supply
single-use vapes[11]
(1) An individual must not supply a single-use
vape, regardless of whether –
(a) the supply takes place in
person or electronically; or
(b) a charge is made in
relation to the supply.
(2) If the Minister, the Chief Inspector or an
authorised officer reasonably suspects that an individual is acting in breach
of paragraph (1), the Chief Inspector or authorised officer may give a
notice to the individual requiring them to stop supplying items specified in
the notice.
(3) Before giving the notice, the Chief
Inspector or authorised officer must, if practicable, give the individual a
reasonable opportunity to express their views or to voluntarily comply with the
requirement in the notice.
(4) The notice must –
(a) contain or be accompanied
by the following information –
(i) the requirement in paragraph (2),
(ii) details of the alleged
breach,
(iii) the type of item supplied
and, if necessary, a description of the item sufficient to identify it,
(iv) a statement that an
appeal may be made against the notice under Article 9, and
(v) any other information that the Minister
considers necessary;
(b) be given in writing; and
(c) be delivered to the individual’s
usual or last known address.
(5) An individual who intentionally and without
reasonable excuse fails to comply with a notice given under paragraph (2) commits
an offence and is liable to a fine of level 2 on the standard scale.
3 Price of certain restricted items
(1) A trader must not supply an item of a type
and description specified in the table in paragraph 2 of the Schedule (a
“restricted item”), except for a price at or above that specified in the table.[12]
(2) If the Minister, the Chief Inspector or an
authorised officer reasonably suspects that a trader is acting in breach of
paragraph (1), the Chief Inspector or authorised officer may give a notice
to the trader requiring them to stop supplying items of the type and
description specified in the notice at a price below that specified in
paragraph 2 of the Schedule.[13]
(3) Before giving the notice, the Chief
Inspector or authorised officer must, if practicable, give the trader a
reasonable opportunity to express their views or to voluntarily comply with the
requirement in the notice.[14]
(4) The notice must –
(a) contain or be accompanied
by the following information –
(i) the requirement in paragraph (2),
(ii) details of the alleged
breach,
(iii) the type of item supplied
and, if necessary, a description of the item sufficient to identify it,
(iv) a statement that an
appeal may be made against the notice under Article 9, and
(v) any other information that the Minister
considers necessary;
(b) be given in writing; and
(c) be delivered to the trader’s
registered or administrative office or, if the address of that office cannot be
determined, to a person who controls or manages the place where the item was
supplied.[15]
(5) A person who intentionally and without
reasonable excuse fails to comply with a notice under paragraph (2) commits
an offence and is liable to a fine of level 2 on the standard scale.
(6) For the purposes of this Article and
paragraph 2 of the Schedule, “price” means the selling price as defined in
Regulation 1 of the Price Indicators (Jersey) Regulations 2008.
4 Trader must not import certain
single-use or non-recyclable items[16]
(1) A trader must not import a prohibited item.[17]
(2) If the Agent of the Impôts, the Chief
Inspector or an authorised officer reasonably suspects that a trader is acting
in breach of paragraph (1), the Agent, Chief Inspector or authorised officer
may give a notice to the trader requiring them to stop importing items of the
type and description specified in the notice.[18]
(3) Before giving the notice, the Agent, Chief
Inspector or authorised officer must, if practicable, give the trader a
reasonable opportunity to express their views or to voluntarily comply with the
requirement in the notice.[19]
(4) The notice must –
(a) contain or be accompanied
by the following information –
(i) the requirement in paragraph (2),
(ii) details of the alleged
breach,
(iii) the type of item imported,
and if necessary a description of the item sufficient to identify it,
(iv) a statement that an
appeal may be made against the notice under Article 9, and
(v) any other information that the Minister
considers necessary;
(b) be given in writing; and
(c) be delivered to the
trader’s registered or administrative office or, if the address of that office
cannot be determined, to a person who controls or manages the place to which
the item was imported.[20]
(5) A person who intentionally and without
reasonable excuse fails to comply with a notice under paragraph (2) commits
an offence and is liable to a fine of level 2 on the standard scale.
(6) See Article 15A(a) for the power to
make an Order to suspend or disapply this Article in relation to specified
types of prohibited items or in specified circumstances.[21]
(7) Also see Articles 19, 32, 33 and
Part 8 (powers of arrest, search, seizure and liability to forfeiture) of
the Customs and Excise (Jersey)
Law 1999.[22]
4A Individual must not import
single-use vapes[23]
(1) An individual must not import a single-use
vape.
(2) If the Agent of the Impôts, the Chief
Inspector or an authorised officer reasonably suspects that an individual is
acting in breach of paragraph (1), the Agent, Chief Inspector or
authorised officer may give a notice to the individual requiring them to stop
importing items specified in the notice.
(3) Before giving the notice, the Agent, Chief
Inspector or authorised officer must, if practicable, give the individual a
reasonable opportunity to express their views or to voluntarily comply with the
requirement in the notice.
(4) The notice must –
(a) contain or be accompanied
by the following information –
(i) the requirement in paragraph (2),
(ii) details of the alleged
breach,
(iii) the type of item
imported, and if necessary a description of the item sufficient to identify it,
(iv) a statement that an
appeal may be made against the notice under Article 9, and
(v) any other information that the Minister
considers necessary;
(b) be given in writing; and
(c) be delivered to the
individual’s usual or last known address.
(5) An individual who intentionally and without
reasonable excuse fails to comply with a notice given under paragraph (2)
commits an offence and is liable to a fine of level 2 on the standard
scale.
(6) Also see Articles 19, 32, 33 and
Part 8 (powers of arrest, search, seizure and liability to forfeiture) of
the Customs and Excise (Jersey)
Law 1999.
5 Powers of authorised officers
(1) An authorised officer may, for the purpose
of determining a trader’s or individual’s compliance with this Law –
(a) enter into an agreement
to be supplied with an item; or
(b) purchase an item.[24]
(2) [25]
(3) An authorised officer may enter any premises, other than premises
used only as a private dwelling, at all reasonable hours, for the purpose of determining
a trader’s or individual’s compliance with this Law.[26]
(4) If required to do so, an authorised officer
exercising the power conferred by paragraph (3) must produce evidence of their
authority.
(5) The power conferred by paragraph (3)
includes –
(a) power to inspect any
item; and
(b) the same powers of
seizure, access and copying, and retention, as are conferred on a police
officer by Articles 21 to 24 (except Article 24(3)) of the Police Procedures and Criminal Evidence (Jersey)
Law 2003, and in the application of those provisions for the purposes of
this Law –
(i) for a reference to a police officer, there
is substituted a reference to an authorised officer,
(ii) for the references in
Article 23(3) to the Force or the Honorary Police, there are substituted
references to the Chief Inspector, and
(iii) for the reference in
Article 24(5) to the police, there is substituted a reference to the Chief
Inspector.
(6) A person who intentionally obstructs an
authorised officer acting in execution of powers conferred by this Article commits
an offence and is liable to a fine of level 3 on the standard scale.
6 Power to disclose information
(1) This Article applies to the Agent of the
Impôts, the Chief Inspector and the Minister.
(2) Each person to whom this Article applies
may, for the purpose of facilitating the exercise of a function under this Law
by any other such person, authorise disclosure to one or more of those persons of
any information obtained in relation to the importation or suspected
importation of prohibited items.
(3) The information may be disclosed –
(a) in such manner as the
person authorising the disclosure may direct; and
(b) whether or not the
disclosure is requested by or on behalf of the person to whom the disclosure is
made.
7 Defence of due diligence[27]
(1) In a prosecution against a person for an
offence under Article 2, 2A, 3, 4 or 4A, the person may prove that they
have a defence.
(2) The defence is –
(a) that the person’s conduct
was because of –
(i) a mistake,
(ii) an accident,
(iii) their reliance on
information from an unrelated person,
(iv) the conduct of an
unrelated person, or
(v) another cause beyond their control; and
(b) that the person took all
reasonable precautions, and exercised all due diligence, to avoid their
conduct, including in respect of a related person.
(3) The person must comply with
paragraph (4) before they may rely on the defence about –
(a) reliance on information
from an unrelated person; or
(b) the conduct of an
unrelated person.
(4) The person must –
(a) at least 7 clear days
before the start of the day of the hearing, give notice in writing to the
Attorney General with all the information they have that helps identify the
unrelated person; or
(b) have leave of the Magistrate’s
Court.[28]
(5) In this Article, “related person” means
another person who is under a person’s direction or control.
8 Forfeiture
(1) The Minister may apply to the Royal Court
(the “Court”) for an order for the forfeiture of any items on the grounds that
an offence has been committed under this Law in respect of those items.[29]
(2) The Minister must serve a copy of the
application on any person appearing to the Minister to be the owner of, or
otherwise to have an interest in, the items, together with a notice advising
the person of his or her rights under paragraph (3).
(3) Any person on whom notice is served under
paragraph (2) and any other person claiming to be the owner of, or
otherwise to have an interest in, the items is entitled to appear at the
hearing of the application and make representation as to why the items should
not be forfeited.
(4) The Court may infer for the purposes of
this Article that an offence has been committed in relation to any items if it
is satisfied that an offence has been committed in relation to items that are
representative of those items, whether by reason of being of the same design or
part of the same consignment or batch or otherwise.[30]
(5) If it is satisfied
that an offence has been committed under this Law, the Court may order the
items in question to be forfeited.[31]
(6) If any items are forfeited under this
Article, the Court must order their destruction or disposal in accordance with
any directions it may give, including by releasing them to such person and upon
such terms as the Court may specify.
(7) Also see Articles 19, 32, 33 and
Part 8 (powers of arrest, search, seizure and liability to forfeiture) of
the Customs and Excise (Jersey)
Law 1999.[32]
9 Appeals
(1) A person on whom a notice is served under Article 2,
2A, 3, 4 or 4A, and any person having an interest in the items in respect of
which the notice is served, may appeal to the Royal Court within one month
of service of the notice on the grounds that service of the notice on that
person, or any requirement in the notice, was unreasonable.[33]
(2) Where an appeal is made under this Article
the Royal Court may direct that the notice that is the subject of the appeal
ceases to have effect until the appeal is determined.
(3) On hearing the appeal the Royal Court
may –
(a) uphold, dismiss or vary
the notice; and
(b) make such order as to the
costs of the appeal as it thinks fit.
(4) Rules of Court under the Royal Court (Jersey) Law 1948 may make further provision
as to the conduct of an appeal under this Article.
10 Orders to enforce this Law
(1) The Attorney General may apply to the Royal
Court for an injunction (including an interim injunction) or other order,
against any person who appears to the Attorney General to be responsible for a
contravention of a prohibition or restriction in this Law.
(2) The Royal Court, on an application under
this Article, may grant an injunction or other order, on such terms as it
thinks fit, to secure compliance with this Law.
11 Undertakings
(1) This Article applies where it appears to
the Chief Inspector that a person has engaged, is engaging or is likely to engage
in conduct which would, if proved, constitute an offence under this Law.
(2) Where this Article applies, the Chief
Inspector may accept an undertaking from the person that the person will not,
as the case may require –
(a) continue or repeat the
conduct;
(b) engage in such conduct in the course of the person’s business or another business;
or
(c) consent to or connive in
the carrying out of such conduct by a body corporate with which the person is
connected.
(3) Having accepted an undertaking under this
Article, the Chief Inspector –
(a) may notify the Attorney
General of the terms of the undertaking and the identity of the person who gave
it; and
(b) may accept a further
undertaking from the person to publish the undertaking, or may arrange for
publication in accordance with Article 12.
(4) A person is “connected” with a body
corporate for the purposes of paragraph (2) if the person is –
(a) a director, manager,
secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or a person purporting
to act in such a capacity; or
(b) a person who is an
associate of the body corporate or has a controlling interest in the body
corporate.
12 Publication of
undertakings, etc.
(1) The Chief Inspector may arrange for the
publication, in such form and manner as he or she considers appropriate, of
details of –
(a) an undertaking given to
that officer by or on behalf of any person as to compliance with this Law;
(b) an application made by
the Attorney General for an injunction or other order for the purposes of
enforcing this Law; and
(c) an undertaking given to,
or injunction or other order made by, the Royal Court in proceedings on such an
application.
(2) The Chief Inspector may arrange for the
dissemination, in such form and manner as he or she thinks fit, of information
and advice concerning the operation of this Law.
13 Liability of officers
etc.
(1) Where an offence committed by an entity
listed in paragraph (2) is proved to have been committed with the consent
or connivance of any person specified in the case of that entity in
paragraph (3), the person specified is also guilty of the offence and
liable in the same manner as the entity to the penalty provided for that
offence.
(2) The entities mentioned in
paragraph (1) are –
(a) a limited liability
partnership;
(b) a separate limited
partnership;
(c) an incorporated limited
partnership or other body corporate.
(3) The persons to whom liability for an
offence may attach in accordance with paragraph (1) are –
(a) in the case of a limited
liability partnership, a person who is a partner of the partnership;
(b) in the case of a separate
limited partnership or an incorporated limited partnership –
(i) a general partner, or
(ii) a limited partner who is
participating in the management of the partnership;
(c) in the case of a body
corporate other than an incorporated limited partnership, a director, manager,
secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate; or
(d) any person purporting to
act in any capacity described in sub-paragraphs (a) to (c).
(4) Where the affairs of a body corporate are
managed by its members, paragraphs (1) to (3) apply in relation to acts
and defaults of a member in connection with the member’s functions of
management as if the member were a director of the body corporate.
14 Guidance
(1) The Minister may issue guidance as to the
application of this Law.[34]
(2) The Minister must publish any guidance
issued under this Article, by such means as the Minister reasonably considers
will draw the guidance to the attention of those who may be affected by this
Law.
15 Regulations[35]
(1) The States may, by Regulations, amend the
Schedule, including to add or remove categories of single-use
or non-recyclable items to which this Law applies.
(2) Regulations under paragraph (1)
(“amendment Regulations”) may make amendments to other enactments (other than
the Human Rights (Jersey)
Law 2000) that are a consequence of those amendment Regulations coming into
force.
15A Orders[36]
The Minister may by Order –
(a) suspend or disapply
Article 2 (trader must not supply certain
single-use or non-recyclable items) or 4 (trader must not import certain
single-use or non-recyclable items) in relation to –
(i) specified types and descriptions of prohibited
items, excluding single-use vapes,
(ii) the supply of prohibited
items, excluding single-use vapes, in specified circumstances or for specified
purposes;
(b) amend the price specified
for a restricted item in the table in paragraph 2 of the Schedule.
15B Transitional provision[37]
(1) This Article provides for the transition
that occurs when the Single-Use Plastics etc. (Restrictions) (Jersey) Amendment
Law 2025 comes into force.
(2) Despite Articles 2 and 2A, a person
may supply a single-use vape that was in Jersey immediately before the
commencement of this Article.
(3) The States may by Regulations amend this
Article, except this paragraph.
(4) This Article is deleted 6 months after
it comes into force.
16 Citation and commencement
This Law may be cited as the Single-Use
Plastics etc. (Restrictions) (Jersey) Law 2021 and comes into force –
(a) if the day on which this
Law is registered falls before the end of the period of 12 months
beginning with the day on which this Law is adopted by the States, immediately
after the end of that period; or
(b) if the day on which this
Law is registered falls after the end of the period mentioned in sub-paragraph
(a), 7 days after that day.