Combined with a lack of clarification on a number of key points in a legislative proposal that contains too much bureaucracy and many fees, the critically low registration level has prompted one of Denmark’s most experienced producer responsibility actors to recommend postponing the implementation of EPR until 2026.
Saturday, 31 August marks the first deadline for EPR for packaging, which gives companies that use packaging financial, legal and practical responsibility for the packaging from the moment it is placed on the market until it becomes waste.
Many thousands of companies are covered, and within just a few days they must have registered with Danish Producer Responsibility and reported the quantities of packaging they expect to place on the market in 2024.
Producer responsibility is mandatory by law, and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency has warned that companies may be reported to the police and fined if they fail to register and report. Even so, only around 4,000 have registered just a few days before the deadline. And that is a problem. It is estimated that 1.1 million tonnes of packaging are placed on the market each year, and the cost of managing these packaging volumes is estimated at DKK 2.35 billion per year — a bill that Danish businesses must pay.
To be able to handle both the task and the costs, we naturally need everyone on board — not just a fraction, as is currently the case. The critically low registration level is a concern for the Producer Responsibility Organisation Emballageretur.
“Producer responsibility is structured in such a way that companies are collectively liable, and no matter what, more than one million tonnes of waste must be managed and a billion-kroner bill must be paid. But if you are not registered, you cannot be held accountable. This means that the approximately 4,000 companies that have registered are currently left with the full responsibility — both practical and financial. That is clearly not sustainable,” says Morten Harboe-Jepsen, CEO of Emballageretur.
Emballageretur is a Producer Responsibility Organisation that handles the many tasks associated with producer responsibility on behalf of Danish companies. The Producer Responsibility Organisation also helps companies prepare for the upcoming producer responsibility scheme, and there are several concerns and frustrations that come up again and again when Emballageretur speaks to companies, says Morten Harboe-Jepsen.
“There may be many good explanations for why participation is currently so low, but there has been, and still is, considerable uncertainty about both the legal basis and the actual finances and implementation. Deadlines under producer responsibility have also been postponed several times in the past, and this has probably led a number of companies to wait and see,” says Emballageretur’s CEO.
The draft of the new Environmental Protection Act, which will set the framework for producer responsibility, has just been in consultation, and Emballageretur points in particular to two critical issues in the new draft: more bureaucracy and more fees.
“Producer responsibility is based on a system of penalties and bonuses. Put simply, the easier the packaging is to recycle and the less packaging is used, the cheaper it will be for the company — and vice versa: the harder it is to recycle and the more is used, the more expensive it will be,” says Morten Harboe-Jepsen.
This means that producer responsibility is in itself a major cost for companies. In addition, the new draft legislation proposes expanding the entire administrative setup around producer responsibility, including supervision. This is proposed to be financed through many different and unspecified fees. On top of this come the costs of municipal collection.
“Of the total annual costs, compensation to municipalities for their waste collection is by far the largest item. This compensation amounts to DKK 1.5 billion. Unfortunately, the current legal basis for producer responsibility does not specify how these costs are to be calculated, and it is up to the municipalities themselves to define how this should be done. Previous draft legislation also included a requirement for municipalities to make waste collection more efficient, but this has been removed in the new draft. At the same time, the draft suggests that we will not be given proper insight or appeal options,” says Morten Harboe-Jepsen.
He points out that costs can vary significantly from one municipality to another, and that many municipalities already have a strong focus on streamlining workflows.
“But it is somewhat difficult to understand why more specific requirements are not being set. This is a problem we have pointed out several times, including in a letter to the Minister for the Environment. Potentially, Danish businesses are facing a huge unspecified bill as early as next year. It is simply not fair to companies that there is still no clarity this late in the process,” says Morten Harboe-Jepsen.
Emballageretur is one of the actors involved in the negotiations on the legislation, and the lack of financial frameworks and the heavy bureaucracy are precisely some of the points that the Producer Responsibility Organisation has repeatedly raised as concerns.
They differ from the existing producer responsibility schemes for electronics and batteries, which Emballageretur’s sister organisation Elretur has managed for almost 20 years.
“We already have several well-functioning producer responsibility schemes that the upcoming producer responsibility scheme for packaging could be based on. We therefore find it quite difficult to understand why such heavy bureaucracy, control and supervision suddenly need to be introduced in this area, increasing the complexity of cooperation between the parties involved,” says Morten Harboe-Jepsen.
He fears that the overall objective of producer responsibility will drown in rules and costs.
“The purpose of introducing EPR for packaging is to reduce the amount of packaging, ensure efficient collection and management of packaging waste, and motivate companies to develop better and more environmentally friendly packaging designs. As the draft legislation stands now, the purpose risks being lost in increased bureaucracy, difficult and cumbersome processes between the parties involved, major costs for businesses, more expensive packaging and, as a result, higher prices for consumers.”
Rather than insisting on maintaining the current timetable, Emballageretur recommends postponing the implementation of EPR for packaging until January 2026 and using the extra time to make the necessary adjustments to the legal basis and ensure full participation among the affected companies.
From 1 October 2025, 41,000 companies in Denmark will be covered by EPR for packaging, but already from 1 April and until 31 August this year, companies must register and report what types of packaging they use and how much.
For the individual company, producer responsibility is structured in such a way that the more packaging you use, the higher the fee you must pay. Just as importantly, however, the fee also depends on the type of packaging in question. The easier the packaging is to recycle, the lower the fee. Paper and cardboard will therefore be significantly cheaper than plastic.
Going forward, it will therefore become even more important to reduce the amount of packaging used for both products and transport, simplify packaging design so that it is easier to sort as waste, and use recyclable materials such as paper and cardboard wherever possible.
Contact: Camilla Falkenberg, Head of Press and Communications at Retur, by mobile: +45 43 14 08 94 or email: cf@retur.dk.
Visit: www.emballageretur.dk
Emballageretur is a non-profit Producer Responsibility Organisation that handles EPR for packaging on behalf of companies in Denmark. We do this through responsible and cost-effective management of packaging waste from the point where it is delivered to the recycling centre until it is either reused, recycled into new products or disposed of in an environmentally responsible way.
Emballageretur is part of Retur, a family currently consisting of four Producer Responsibility Organisations: Elretur, Emballageretur, Batteriretur and Tekstilretur. Together, they handle producer responsibility for electronics, packaging, batteries and, in future, textiles. Retur is built on almost 20 years of experience with producer responsibility. As a member of one or more Producer Responsibility Organisations under Retur, companies receive help managing their producer responsibilities in one place, as well as access to the organisation’s combined knowledge, expertise and international network.
Together, Retur is a one-stop shop for producer responsibility, and we work jointly to increase reuse and recycling. We do this to ensure that as many valuable resources as possible are lifted out of the waste stream and returned to the cycle — Retur to the future.