Austria

Austria connects the obligation to meet packaging EPR with the local presence within the county. However, distance sellers that do supply to end users, have to take over the EPR obligations as well. The obliged parties can choose between a range of collective scheme and can also split their tonnage of obligations between different schemes.

Belgium

Any economic actor who places more than the threshold of packaging onto the market in Belgium has to join one of the two collective schemes that manage the packaging waste on the territory in Belgium. The responsibility between the two schemes is split according to professional and household packaging waste

Bulgaria

Producers and importers of packaging material in Bulgaria can select between different collective schemes and pay a contribution fee based on their sales volume. This avoids the payment of a so-called “product charge” if recovery and recycling targets have not been met by the producer/ importer. Bulgaria applies packaging marking regulations.

Croatia

Packaging compliance in Croatia requires producers/ importers of packaged goods to join a central Government organisation and pay fees according to their sales volume. Croatia applies mandatory packaging labelling regulations.

Cyprus

The collective compliance with the packaging legislation in Cyprus is provided by a monopolistic scheme. Cyprus is the last country that applies a mandatory usage of the Green Dot logo.

Czech Republic

Any economic actor who places more than the threshold of packaging onto the market in the Czech Republic has to join the monopolistic packaging scheme. This ensures a standard rate for packaging contribution fees for all economic actors.

Denmark

Denmark introduces packaging EPR in 2025. Threshold levels apply. Producers and importers will have to register with the central authority and have to join packaging collective schemes.

Estonia

Producers and importers of packaging and packed goods have to join one of the three collective schemes and pay contribution fees according to their volume put onto the market.

Finland

Any producer and importer of packaging and packed goods into Finland can join the monopolistic packaging compliance scheme or ensure meeting the targets individually. Individual compliance is possible by approval directly by the central authority Prikanmaa Centre.

France

France places particular emphasis on reducing packaging waste by promoting reuse. It has introduced regulations that incentivise producers to adopt packaging designs that facilitate reuse and refillable systems. There are mandatory targets for producers around re-used packaging, encouraging them to invest in designing packaging with longer lifecycles and reusability in mind. France’s rollout includes a modulated fee system where packaging producers will pay a reduced EPR fee on re-useable packaging. This approach encourages a shift away from single-use packaging and fosters a circular economy mindset.

Germany

German law mandates that all sellers of packaged goods to final consumers in the country must guarantee the recycling of their product packaging. This involves both enrolling in the dual system and obtaining packaging licenses. The money from acquiring these licenses is used to fund the collection of packaging waste, which is collected separately from residual waste, and the remainder of the money goes to waste facilities funding their recycling efforts of packaging waste.

Greece

Collective compliance in Greece is provided by a quasi-monopolistic scheme. Producers and importers of packed goods pay contribution fees based on their sales volume weight put onto the market. The usage of the Green Dot logo is no longer mandatory.

Hungary

The new EPR legislation in Hungary requires the registration with a central authority and the participation with a central collective scheme. The sales volume reports are transferred to the authority. The contribution fees based on the weight volume reports are payable to the scheme.

Italy

Italy's EPR models a decentralised approach, allowing individual regions to manage their waste management systems within national guidelines. This approach acknowledges the diverse waste management infrastructure across Italy and tailors EPR systems to local contexts. Italy proposes just one central collective scheme.

Ireland

The legislator in the Republic of Ireland applies a threshold to producers/ importers of packaging into the country. Those actors who are obliged to register have to join a monopolistic packaging compliance scheme and report the sales volume weights to this organisation and pay the according contribution fees.

Latvia

Producers/ importers of packaging that exceed the threshold level can choose between three packaging compliance schemes in order to report the sales volume weights to these organisations and pay the according contribution fees.

Lithuania

Any producer and importer of packaging and packed goods into Lithuania can join the monopolistic packaging compliance scheme or ensure meeting the targets individually. Individual compliance require contracts with local waste management companies that need to provide the according waste certificates as a proof for the achieved compliance. Lithuania applies mandatory packaging labelling measures.

Luxembourg

There is only one collective scheme in Luxembourg that producers/ importers of packaged goods can join. Its main focus is household packaging waste.

Malta

Producers/ importers of packaged goods can join the monopolistic compliance scheme or have to demonstrate their individual compliance on the basis of contracts with waste operators. Individual compliance needs approval by the authority. Malta applies mandatory labelling measures on the packaging.

Netherlands

The Netherlands emphasises a collaborative approach involving producers, retailers, and consumers. Although the principle of EPR remains the same, the Netherlands’ regulations encourage producers to form agreements with municipalities and waste management companies to collectively achieve recycling and recovery targets as well as implementing a Deposit Return Scheme as a part of EPR for packaging. This approach fosters cooperation among stakeholders for effective waste management.

Norway

Even though no member of the European Union, Norway still applies the packaging EPR principles that are laid out in the European Packaging Directive. Producers/ Importers of packaged goods can either comply on the basis of individual agreement or join the oligopolistic scheme structure in the country and pay contribution fees to these organisations.

Poland

Producers/ Importers of packaged goods can contract with one of the collective schemes or they can opt for self-compliance or they can report the tonnage placed on the market and pay a “product charge” to the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

Portugal

Producers/ Importers can either join a collective scheme or comply individually or come to a voluntary agreement with the National Waste Authority.

Romania

Producers/ importers may fulfil their recovery and recycling obligations by delegating their obligations to an approved compliance system or through individual compliance with approval by the authorities. The collective scheme landscape is oligopolistic.

Slovakia

The compliance in Slovakia is achieved by joining one of the collective schemes that the country provides.

Slovenia

Packaging compliance can be achieved by joining one of the six collective schemes.

Individual compliance is approved for non-household packaging waste, but obliged producers/ importers must obtain a certificate of registration from the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning

Slovenia applies mandatory marking requirements for packaging.

Spain

The Spanish legislator has expanded the EPR scope and now covers also industrial packaging. Generally speaking, a registration with the central authority is required just as well as a participation in a respective collective scheme for household or industrial packaging waste.

Sweden

In Sweden, the EPR system is strategically geared towards providing incentives for producers to champion environmentally sound packaging. Fees are heavily weighted on packaging's environmental impact, encouraging producers to opt for sustainable materials and innovative designs. This approach drives packaging-related innovations and supports the circular economy model.

Switzerland

There is no packaging EPR regulation in Switzerland.

UK

The United Kingdom will apply packaging EPR and abandon the current PRN system in 2024 (siehe hierzu auch den envenance blog "UK Packaging EPR".