EPR-Observ

Packaging waste in the European Union has increased by more than 20 per cent over the past decade. In response, the EU has introduced a range of regulatory measures aimed at reducing packaging waste. The starting point was the 1994 Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD), which established a coordinated, Europe-wide approach to packaging waste management. This later evolved into the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system, under which producers are held financially and operationally responsible for the entire lifecycle of their packaging. To meet these obligations, producers pay EPR fees to Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs), which are responsible for implementing the legal requirements on their behalf.

The objective of the EPR-Observ project is to provide transparency regarding the levels of packaging fees charged by different PROs, to identify differences across European countries, and to analyse how the fees evolve over time. To achieve this, the project team produces biannual reports calculating and comparatively analysing the fees for 17 different packaging solutions made from (bio-)plastics, aluminium, paper, glass, steel, and wood across 27 PROs. In addition, the researchers compare the packaging fees with national recycling rates to explore potential relationships between fee structures and recycling performance.

All reports published to date are available free of charge via the link below, using the search term "Packaging EPR fee in the EU".