Companies have many practical, legal and financial tasks to manage when they are subject to EPR.
The tasks range from waste collection, sorting, recycling, reuse and environmentally sound disposal to reporting, monitoring, information, innovation – and many other tasks besides these.
For a single company, handling this responsibility alone is both time-consuming and costly. That is why many choose to join a PRO.
But what exactly is a PRO, and what do we do for companies? Read on to find out.
A Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) is a private organisation that, against payment, offers individual companies covered by EPR to handle the administrative and practical tasks associated with their producer responsibility.
A PRO may be organised either as a commercial business or as a non-profit. The way PROs are organised may also vary from country to country.
The PROs in the Retur family are organised as non-profit Producer Responsibility Organisations. We are also organised as an association. Our owners are our members – the companies that are part of our PRO.
As a PRO, we act on behalf of our members and handle a range of tasks that help ensure that member companies comply with their EPR obligations to manage the products they place on the market when those products become waste.
Retur’s PROs divide our tasks into 7 main categories:
As a PRO, we organise and finance the collection of the products covered by EPR when they reach the end of their life cycle.
In practice, this means that, on behalf of our member companies, we collect waste from recycling centres and businesses, and we take over the waste that is sorted in Danish households.
As part of the collection task, we must make collection equipment available. This means, for example, that we handle the purchase and setup of containers, collection cages and similar equipment throughout Denmark.
We also negotiate and enter into agreements with municipalities and private waste management companies on the collection and handling of the waste.
Also read: Greenwashing vs greenhushing – how to communicate safely about green progress
The core task for us as a PRO lies in how we handle the waste once it has been collected.
The purpose of EPR is to ensure better use of our existing resources through reuse and recycling.
That is why, on behalf of our members, we ensure that their waste – products and/or packaging – is treated in an environmentally responsible way.
This includes sorting, reuse and recycling of materials, as well as the correct disposal of hazardous substances. The aim is to maximise recycling and reduce environmental impact as much as possible.
On behalf of our members, PROs must ensure that detailed records are kept of the quantities of waste collected, recycled and disposed of.
It is our task to quality-assure and report these data to the authorities in order to document compliance with the legislation and ensure transparency.
We also monitor the waste stream, ensure that treatment processes are transparent, and help ensure that member companies meet their obligations under EPR legislation. This may include control visits and audits, for example at treatment facilities operated by our partners.
Finally, we can provide ESG data to our members, and we also develop and thoroughly test IT systems that help make the reporting task easier for our members.
EPR is based on the polluter-pays principle. This means that the costs associated with managing large quantities of waste are borne by the companies covered by EPR.
As a company, you are therefore obliged to pay the costs that, for example, municipalities may incur when collecting, transporting, treating and administering the management of your company’s waste.
At the same time, the overall aim of EPR is to give companies a financial incentive to design and/or purchase products and packaging solutions that are as sustainable as possible, thereby reducing the overall environmental impact.
EPR is also based on a penalty and reward system. This means that fees are typically based on the quantity and type of products and/or packaging each producer places on the market. The easier your products and packaging are to reuse and/or recycle, the lower the fees you have to pay.
For an individual producer that joins a PRO, the cost of EPR will therefore consist of a combination of statutory eco-modulated fees, collection and treatment costs for the quantity of packaging the producer places on the market, and administration costs, including membership of the PRO.
As a PRO, we collect these fees from our member companies, provide guarantees and make sure that operators and partners are paid. Retur’s PROs also operate on a non-profit basis.
An important part of EPR is informing both producers and consumers about their roles and responsibilities.
As a PRO, we run information campaigns. For example, our PRO Batteriretur was behind the award-winning campaign “F*cker med mit grundvand” featuring Bodil Jørgensen.
We host webinars, events and presentations, participate in conferences, produce guides, write informative texts and speak to the press.
We also provide information about correct waste disposal methods and work with other stakeholders to promote proper waste management.
We also support our members by being able to provide ESG data.
EPR has proven to be an effective tool in the green transition. It is therefore a legal area undergoing rapid development, with new laws and updates to existing EPR legislation being introduced on an ongoing basis.
As a PRO, we make sure our members stay updated on the latest rules and changes.
The Retur family is built on a foundation of almost 20 years of experience in managing EPR. We use that knowledge and experience every day when we help our members translate complex legal texts into concrete actions companies can take to meet their EPR obligations.
We also represent our members when, among other things, we participate in negotiation committees and submit consultation responses to the authorities.
Together with our members, Retur continuously works to develop and identify new opportunities that contribute to the green transition.
Across the organisation, we work to promote innovation in waste management and recycling, and we create value by exploring new methods and innovative technologies that can extend the lifetime of our materials and resources.
This includes, for example, research into new technologies and methods that can improve recycling rates and reduce environmental impact. In Elretur, for example, we have established two reuse facilities that are intended to significantly increase the amount of reused electronics in Denmark in the years ahead.
EPR is a major and important responsibility – and handling the full range of tasks requires an enormous amount of resources, especially if your company has to do it alone.
That is why joining a PRO is a good idea.
By handling the tasks associated with EPR collectively, the PROs in the Retur family lift a significant administrative burden from your company’s shoulders.
At the same time, we create economies of scale for your company and our other members. As one of the most cost-effective and experienced PROs in Europe, we also ensure that you get as much value and impact as possible for your money.
Whether you have one or several EPR obligations, your company can have all your producer responsibilities handled in one place – with us at Retur.
Note: In the summer of 2024, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency wrote to Danish companies covered by the upcoming EPR rules for packaging, stating that membership of a PRO was expected to become a legal requirement from 2025. Read more about what Emballageretur can do for you here.