Article 2 — Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply: (1) plastic pellets means a mass of polymer-containing material, regardless of its shape, form, or size, that is produced for moulding in plastic product manufacturing operations, irrespective of its actual use; (2) spill means a one-off or prolonged escape of plastic pellets within an installation’s boundaries or within road vehicles, rail wagons, or inland waterway vessels transporting plastic pellets from primary containment; (3) loss means a one-off or prolonged escape of plastic pellets to the environment at any stage of the supply chain, either from the installation’s boundary or from road vehicles, rail wagons, inland waterway vessels or seagoing vessels leaving or calling at a port of a Member State, transporting plastic pellets; (4) installation means any premises, structure, location, site or place within which one or more economic activities involving the handling of plastic pellets are carried out; (5) economic operator means any natural or legal person who operates or controls in whole or in part the installation, or, where this is provided for in national law, to whom decisive economic power over the technical functioning of the installation has been delegated; (6) EU carrier means any natural or legal person established in a Member State, engaged in the transport of plastic pellets as part of its economic activity by using road vehicles, rail wagons or inland waterway vessels; (7) non-EU carrier means any natural or legal person established in a third country, engaged in the transport of plastic pellets as part of its economic activity in the Union by using road vehicles, rail wagons or inland waterway vessels; (8) shipper means any natural or legal person by whom or in whose name or on whose behalf a contract of carriage of goods has been concluded with any natural or legal person engaged in the transport of plastic pellets as part of its economic activity by using seagoing vessels; (9) operator means the owner or manager of a seagoing vessel; (10) agent means any person mandated or authorised to supply information on behalf of the operator; (11) micro-, small or medium-sized enterprise means a micro-, small or medium-sized enterprise within the meaning of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC; (12) large enterprise means an enterprise that is not a micro-, small or medium-sized enterprise; (13) competent authority means an authority or a body designated by a Member State to carry out its obligations under this Regulation; (14) authorised representative means a natural or legal person established in the Union who has been designated by a written mandate from a non-EU carrier pursuant to Article 4, to act on its behalf in relation to specific tasks with regard to the obligations laid down in Article 3(2) and (3), Article 5(6), third subparagraph, and Article 15(1); (15) certifier means any of the following natural or legal persons: (a) a conformity assessment body as defined in Article 2, point (13), of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council; (b) a natural or legal person which has obtained a license to carry out verification and validation in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009; (16) conformity assessment means the process demonstrating whether an installation fulfils the applicable rules of this Regulation and of the delegated acts adopted on the basis thereof; (17) permit means a written authorisation, issued by the relevant competent authority, to operate an installation.