Producer responsibility for packaging
If your company brings packaging into the Swedish market, by law, you are an obligated packaging producer and have a financial responsibility to ensure that the packaging is collected and recycled. The main purpose of producer responsibility is to reduce littering, reduce the amount of waste and to ensure that the waste that does occur is recycled and used for new products.
About the extended producer responsibility (EPR)
Why is there a producer responsibility?
The main purpose of the producer responsibility is to reduce littering, reduce the amount of waste and to ensure that the waste that does occur is recycled and used for new products.
Who is obligated?
Your company has producer responsibility if you:
- Fill or otherwise use a package (to protect, present or facilitate the handling and transport of an item)
- Bring a packaged item to Sweden
- Manufacture a package in Sweden (service packaging)
- Bring a package to Sweden (service packaging)
- From a country other than Sweden, sell a packaged product or a package to an end user in Sweden (this definition takes effect from 1 January 2023)
Do you export to other countries?
Packaging that is exported to other countries (both within and outside the EU), you are not required to report.
What applies for service packaging?
To avoid a situation where all stores, catering services, restaurants, pizzerias, hot dog stands, pastry shops, laundries, growers, berry pickers, egg producers, etc. must become affiliated with us because they provide point-of-sale packaging, Näringslivets Producentansvar charges a fee for those who produce or import the actual packaging.
What does your responsibility entail?
Your obligations
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Collect and recycle
You must ensure that the packaging is collected, removed, recycled or reused in an environmentally friendly manner. You do this by being affiliated to a producer responsibility organisation and paying a packaging fee.
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Report to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
Every year, you are required to report the amount of packaging you have placed on the market, and how the collected volumes were handled, to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). You do this yourself or via a producer responsibility organisation.
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Pay a fee to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
You are required to pay an annual supervisory fee to the the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
We are here for you!
We support you in your producer responsibility
We give you support when reporting packaging volumes and with other questions. We help you with your report to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. We advise and train you in innovative packaging design and climate-smart choices for more recyclable packaging.
Changes in the producer responsibility ordinance
Producer responsibility for packaging is facing major changes. The new producer responsibility ordinance for packaging means, among other things, that:
- The collection responsibility for household packaging transfers from the producers to the municipalities on January 1, 2024.
- All households must have access to curbside collection for their packaging January 1, 2027.
- All producers must be affiliated to an approved producer responsibility organization as of 1 November 2023 and through it finance collection, reception and recycling of all material types from 1 January 2024.
- The producer responsibility organization is responsible for ensuring reporting to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, payment of the municipal collection, receipt of packaging from professional activities and recycling of packaging of all types of materials (paper, plastic, metal, glass and other materials such as textile, porcelain and other) on behalf of the affiliated producers.
The purpose of the new regulation is to increase the recycling of packaging and to reduce the amount of packaging and packaging waste. In the regulation, there are also defined goals for material recycling rates up to and beyond the year 2030, as well as new goals linked to reuse and reduced littering, as well as the amount of recycled plastic in packaging.
Read the ordinance for packaging producer responsibility (In Swedish only)
What you need to do as a producer
While producers currently have a responsibility to contribute to the national targets, the new packaging ordinance clarifies that the only packaging producers may use must be reusable or recyclable. The ordinance also prescribes that as of January 1st, 2024, producers must contract or provide an approved Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO), for example Näringslivets Producentansvar, to manage their packaging.
In short, the new packaging ordinance means that producers have a responsibility to:
- Contribute to the national targets for material recycling rates and packaging waste.
- Only use packaging that can be recycled or reused.
- Contract or provide a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) to manage their packaging.
- Register as a producer with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before their packaging is introduced into the Swedish market.
- Report the quantity of packaging and volumes introduced into the Swedish market.
- Pay for the collection and recycling of their packaging.
Reporting of packaging volumes
Packaging reporting
As an affiliated producer to Näringslivets Producentansvar, we help you with your packaging reporting and submit your report to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. In our customer portal you will find flexible and efficient processes and systems for reporting.
Packaging fees and prices
Fees for 2024
Näringslivets Producentansvar has chosen to be completely transparent. You will find all our packaging fees here on our website.
If you have any questions regarding the fees, you are most welcome to contact us.