One regulation. Twenty-eight different answers.
Packaging labelling and EPR registers by country: the EU-27 and the UK
Last reviewed · Dataset v2026-10-03 · Reviewed by Pauli Parkkinen, General Manager, Toolcat Oy
One regulation, 28 labelling rulebooks. The PPWR (Regulation (EU) 2025/40, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation) applies directly everywhere. But labelling duties, producer registers, reporting deadlines and deposit schemes stay national. This is the per-market picture, with the citation behind each row. A rule that applies in France does not apply in Finland.
What stays national under the PPWR
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 applies from 12 August 2026 in every Member State without national transposition. So the substance limits, the recyclability rules and the conformity documents are the same everywhere. Extended producer responsibility (EPR: the producer pays for collecting and recycling its packaging) is not. Each Member State runs its own register. You are a producer in your own Member State where you are the first to make the packaging available there. You are also a producer in every other one where you supply end users directly: consumers, or businesses that use the product themselves (Art 3(1)(15), Art 3(1)(23)). Where you are not established, Art 45(3) requires an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility in that Member State.
On-pack sorting and material marking also stays national until the harmonised label under Art 12 applies. Article 70(2) repeals Commission Decision 97/129/EC with effect from 12 August 2028. The Art 12 label starts on that date, or 24 months after its implementing acts enter into force, whichever is later. So the two dates need not coincide.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on EUR-Lex.
| Market | Marking | Who makes the label | Requirement | EPR register | Deposit scheme | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT Austria | NONE | No sorting label | No sorting-label duty; scheme registration & licensing required (VerpackVO 2014); deposit containers carry the Pfandsymbol AND a barcode two separate instruments: scheme duties under Verpackungsverordnung 2014 (BGBl. II 184/2014), deposit marking under Pfandverordnung (BGBl. II 283/2023) §6 |
EDM / scheme licensing per scheme |
live EUR 0.25 |
VerpackVO 2014; Pfandverordnung §6 |
| BE Belgium | NONE | No sorting label | No sorting-label duty; Fost Plus (household) / Valipac (commercial) participation THREE dates/rules: scheme declarations by 28 Feb (Fost Plus/Valipac rules); the statutory information duty to the Interregional Packaging Commission by 31 MARCH (Samenwerkingsakkoord art. 18 §1); the ≥300 kg take-back threshold sits in the Agreement art. 6. Late Fost Plus filing: 1% of the previous declaration's contribution per month (no minimum) — the EUR 100/250 figures are minimum CONTRIBUTIONS, not fine floors |
Fost Plus / Valipac 28 February (scheme declarations); 31 March statutory information duty to the Interregional Packaging Commission (art. 18 §1) |
announced | Samenwerkingsakkoord 4.11.2008 artt. 6, 18; scheme rules |
| BG Bulgaria | MANDATORY | Material codes | THREE marks mandatory: the 97/129/EC code (Annex 2), the recycling mark — Möbius triangle with the number between the arrows and the abbreviation beneath (Annex 3), and the separate-collection mark (Annex 4) placed on the heaviest component or the label (чл. 5(3)); a bare alphanumeric code satisfies only one of the three duties |
— | none | Наредба за опаковките (ПМС 271/2012, posl. izm. ДВ 100/2022), чл. 5 |
| HR Croatia | CONDITIONAL | Conditional | DRS beverages: deposit mark + GTIN per GS1, the same GTIN never shared between one-way and returnable (čl. 17(1)); ALL reusable packaging carries the mandatory Prilog IV reusable-packaging mark (čl. 17(3)); 97/129 codes voluntary but format-bound (čl. 17(5)) non-DRS producers may not use the deposit mark (čl. 17(2)) |
— | live EUR 0.10 |
Pravilnik NN 137/2023, čl. 17 |
| CY Cyprus | VOLUNTARY | No sorting label | Packaging bears appropriate marking; the 97/129/EC codes themselves are optional (Art 11(4)), but stating the deposit fee is MANDATORY wherever a deposit is imposed (Art 11(3)(γ)) the Minister may prescribe forms by order (Art 11(5)) |
— | none | Ν. 32(Ι)/2002, άρθρο 11 |
| CZ Czechia | CONDITIONAL | Conditional | Returnable packaging must carry the returnable symbol; codes customary | — | announced | Act 477/2001 Coll. |
| DK Denmark | NONE | No sorting label | No sorting-label duty; Pant A/B/C marks for deposit containers EPR live from 2025 |
— | live Pant A DKK 1 / B DKK 1.50 / C DKK 3 |
Miljøbeskyttelsesloven |
| EE Estonia | VOLUNTARY | No sorting label | Material codes optional | — | live EUR 0.10 |
Pakendiseadus §23 |
| FI Finland | NONE | Voluntary | No mandatory sorting label; voluntary material code + Finnish stream name recommended bilingual FI/SV consumer info expected for national food distribution; producer-community duties apply (Suomen Pakkaustuottajat, served by Rinki, or Sumi) |
Producer register (ELY → Lupa- ja valvontavirasto 2026) via a producer community — Suomen Pakkaustuottajat Oy, whose reports are filed to Rinki, or Sumi Oy 31 January to the producer community (previous year data); statutory return to Lupa- ja valvontavirasto by end of June (VNA 1029/2021 §19(1)) |
live EUR 0.10-0.40 by container |
Jätelaki 646/2011; VNA 1029/2021 |
| FR France | MANDATORY | The scheme issues it | Triman + Info-tri sorting info on household packaging — EXCLUDING household glass beverage packaging (statutory carve-out) Triman is defined by the State (annexe to R. 541-12-17); the Info-tri is drawn up by the éco-organisme and validated by the ministers — Citeo releases the files against SIRET + proof of adherence; 97/129 codes voluntary; a French mandataire is OPTIONAL (R. 541-174 "peut désigner") — the PPWR requires an EPR authorised representative of every producer under Art 3(1)(15)(c)-(d), whether established in another Member State or in a third country — anyone making packaging available for the first time directly to end users (consumers or professional users), by any selling technique, in a Member State where it is not established (Art 45(3) first sentence); the second sentence of Art 45(3) is a separate option letting a Member State require a representative of producers established in third countries when they first make packaging available on its territory |
SYDEREP (ADEME IDU) per PRO |
none | Art L541-9-3, R. 541-12-17 à R. 541-12-21 Code de l'environnement |
| DE Germany | NONE | No sorting label | No on-pack sorting label. LUCID registration covers ALL filled packaging with no threshold (§9); dual-system participation is narrower — only sales/grouped packaging that typically ends up as waste at private end consumers (§7) material codes optional; German packaging law imposes no Grüner-Punkt or trademark marking duty — any system's mark is optional and contractual; DPG mark for deposit containers |
LUCID VE by 15 May above 80t glass / 50t paper / 30t light packaging |
live at least EUR 0.25 |
VerpackG §§7, 9 |
| GR Greece | CONDITIONAL | Conditional | Packaging BEARS appropriate marking, in the form fixed by ministerial decision on EOAN's recommendation and policed by EOAN (Art 90(1)); only the 97/129/EC codes are voluntary (Art 90(2)); DRS under implementation plastic carrier bags carry their own marking duties (Art 79) |
— | announced | Ν. 4819/2021, άρθρα 90(1)-(2) |
| HU Hungary | CONDITIONAL | Conditional | EPR via MOHU (80/2023); deposit marking under the SEPARATE deposit decree: GTIN + barcode distinct from any pre-2024 GTIN, plus the prescribed mark at minimum size and maximum contrast (450/2023 §6 + Annex 1) 80/2023 contains no on-pack marking duty — cite the right decree for the mark |
— | live HUF 50 (single-use); reusable: deposit set by the producer (450/2023 §4) |
80/2023. Korm. r. (EPR); 450/2023. Korm. r. 6.§ + 1. melléklet (deposit marking) |
| IE Ireland | NONE | No sorting label | No sorting-label duty; Re-turn deposit logo on in-scope containers | — | live EUR 0.15 / 0.25 |
S.I. 599/2021 |
| IT Italy | MANDATORY | You compose it | 97/129/EC alphanumeric code on all packaging; packaging supplied to CONSUMERS also states the collection family (B2B channel: code only) digital channels (App, QR, website) may replace on-pack information COMPLETELY — the pack/point of sale then carries instructions for reaching it; "Verifica le disposizioni del tuo Comune" is the Ministry's own recommended wording in the DM 360/2022 guidelines, not a trade convention; hand-separable components each carry code + collection wording, non-separable ones follow the main body and must NOT carry their own collection line |
Registro nazionale dei produttori (Art 178-ter(8), decree pending) — CONAI/autonomous system operative per CAC declarations |
none | Art 219(5) D.Lgs 152/2006; DM 360/2022 + Linee Guida |
| LV Latvia | VOLUNTARY | No sorting label | Marking optional — but IF the packer marks, the marking must carry BOTH the material-type code (Annex 2) AND the recyclability graphic symbol (Annex 3), clearly visible, legible and durable the conditionality runs on the packer's choice, not on trigger cases |
— | live EUR 0.10 |
MK noteikumi Nr. 140 (2.4.2002), 3.-4. punkts |
| LT Lithuania | VOLUNTARY | No sorting label | Material identification VOLUNTARY since the 2021 amendment ("gali būti ženklinamos"); mandatory duties are elsewhere: deposit packaging must bear the producer-identifying barcode + deposit mark (Art 5(3)) the pre-2021 mandatory wording was repealed by law XIV-287 (29 Apr 2021) |
— | live EUR 0.10 |
Pakuočių įstatymas Nr. IX-517, 5 str. (red. XIV-287/2021) |
| LU Luxembourg | NONE | No sorting label | No sorting-label duty; Valorlux participation customary | — | none | — |
| MT Malta | MANDATORY | Material codes | Material codes required | — | live EUR 0.10 |
S.L. 549.43 |
| NL Netherlands | NONE | No sorting label | No general sorting label; statutory statiegeld WORD marks on in-scope bottles/cans ("Statiegeldfles" / "Statiegeld", min 1.2 mm — producer-printed, not scheme artwork) two different deadlines: Verpact declaration by 1 APRIL (previous year); the statutory >50,000 kg report to the Minister is due BEFORE 1 August (art. 8/8a — 31 July last safe day) |
Verpact 1 April (Verpact declaration, previous year); >50,000 kg statutory report to the Minister BEFORE 1 August (art. 8/8a) |
live EUR 0.15 / 0.25 |
Besluit beheer verpakkingen 2014 artt. 8, 8a, 15; Regeling art. 7 |
| PL Poland | VOLUNTARY | No sorting label | Codes customary; kaucyjny deposit marking phasing in from Oct 2025 | — | live PLN 0.50 (plastic bottles ≤3 l; metal cans ≤1 l); PLN 1.00 reusable glass ≤1.5 l (Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1046) |
Ustawa o gospodarce opakowaniami |
| PT Portugal | CONDITIONAL | Conditional | SIGRE packers must EITHER mark non-reusable primary/secondary packaging with the destination ecoponto (per the official APA/DGAE list) OR make the destination information available by other suitable means (point (a) effective 1 Jan 2025) the ecoponto wording comes from a published official list — use the symbols of the managing entity you contract with |
— | live EUR 0.10 |
DL 152-D/2017 Art 28(5) as amended by DL 24/2024 |
| RO Romania | VOLUNTARY | No sorting label | Material marking voluntary | — | live RON 0.50 |
Law 249/2015; OUG 74/2018 |
| SK Slovakia | VOLUNTARY | No sorting label | Codes customary; DRS "Z" mark mandatory for deposit containers | — | live EUR 0.15 |
Act 79/2015; Act 302/2019 |
| SI Slovenia | VOLUNTARY | No sorting label | Marking voluntary ("lahko označi", since the 208/21 amendment); where the producer marks, the 97/129/EC system is required the original 54/21 text was mandatory — the amendment flipped it |
— | announced | Uredba o embalaži in odpadni embalaži (Ur. l. RS 54/21, 208/21, 44/22, 120/22), 9. člen |
| ES Spain | MANDATORY | You compose it | Household packaging must indicate the disposal container/fraction from 1 Jan 2025; ALL packaging must also state its reusable condition where reusable (RD 1055/2022 Art 13(2), same date) Ecoembes pictograms are convention, the duty is statutory; easily separable materials → container per component, non-separable/composite → ONE indication for the material predominant by weight (RD 1055/2022 Art 13(2)); Catalan variants expected in Catalonia |
Registro de Productores de Producto (RPP) — sección envases, MITECO + SCRAP 31 March |
announced | RD 1055/2022 Art 13 |
| SE Sweden | NONE | No sorting label | No sorting-label duty; pant mark for deposit containers | — | live SEK 2 / 3 |
Förordning 2022:1274 |
| GB United Kingdom | NONE | No sorting label | EPR registration, data reporting and fees (S.I. 2024/1332 — it contains NO on-pack labelling duty); mandatory recycling labelling was dropped from the first pEPR stages (Defra, Sep 2024) with no legal date; DRS for England & NI made by S.I. 2025/67, targeted 2027 OPRL labels remain voluntary scheme marks. Northern Ireland differs: by Article 13(3) of the Windsor Framework the PPWR applies to and in the UK in respect of Northern Ireland in place of Directive 94/62/EC, except — per Commission notice C/2025/946 — Art 23, Arts 29-33, Art 34 and Art 56(1)(b) (unless Northern Ireland takes carrier-bag reduction measures under Art 34(1)), Arts 41-55, Art 56(1)(a), (1)(c) and (6), and Arts 57 and 63; so the PPWR packaging requirements, labelling and conformity rules bind packaging placed on the Northern Ireland market, while its re-use-target, take-away, producer-register, EPR, deposit-return and recycling-target provisions do not |
Report Packaging Data (RPD) per DEFRA cycle |
announced | The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, S.I. 2024/1332; S.I. 2025/67 |
Deposit-scheme scope depends on more than the country. Volume bands, alcohol ceilings, refillable treatment and glass carve-outs all differ. So the app screens a specific container against each scheme, not a whole market.
Three duties hide behind "national labelling".
May you draw a sorting label yourself? That is not a design question but a legal one. And the answer changes at the border. Confuse the three, and a pack ends up non-compliant, or carrying a mark nobody had the right to print.
Composed by the producer
Italy and Spain publish the vocabulary and leave the artwork to you. Italy wants the alphanumeric code on every component, and the collection family on consumer packs. Spain wants the disposal fraction shown. The toolkit generates both, per component, ready for the studio.
Issued against your registration
France's Triman and Info-tri block belongs to a scheme. So does every deposit mark: DPG (Deutsche Pfandsystem GmbH), Palpa, Pant, Statiegeld, Re-turn, "Z", Pfand, REpont. The scheme releases them to registered producers. No tool can generate them, and a printed look-alike is an infringement. The toolkit produces the request instead: who to ask, what to ask for, what to check when the file arrives.
Identification marks only
Bulgaria and Malta require the 97/129/EC code as an identification mark. Bulgaria adds its recycling and separate-collection marks. Lithuania made the code voluntary in 2021. The toolkit already draws the 97/129/EC marks for every component, as one consistent artwork. Recolour them, show or hide the abbreviation band, and export SVG or PNG up to 2048 px.
Composites, wood and textiles have no bin wording in any national vocabulary. The toolkit will not fall back on a stream that might be wrong. It marks those parts "ask your scheme" and says how many are unresolved.
One registration is not a passport.
You are a "producer" in your own Member State where you are the first to make the packaging available there. You are also a producer in every other Member State where you supply end users directly: consumers, or businesses that use the product themselves (Art 3(1)(15), Art 3(1)(23)). Only where your buyer resells the goods in its own Member State is that buyer the producer there instead. For direct-to-consumer sellers that can still mean twenty-seven producer registrations. Each one has its own register, threshold, deadline and fee schedule. Add an EPR authorised representative where you are not established (Art 45(3)).
- Germany asks for two things before you place anything on the market. Register in LUCID: the packaging register run by the Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister. Then join a dual system.
- France requires official Triman and Info-tri artwork from your producer organisation. The toolkit writes the request, including your ADEME (Agence de la transition écologique) identifiant unique.
- Italy requires the alphanumeric code on all packaging, and the collection family on consumer packs. The toolkit generates both.
- Finland has no mandatory sorting label. Producer responsibility follows professional operation instead. Act 1096/2022 removed the million-euro turnover threshold in jätelaki 646/2011 § 48 on 1 January 2024. So turnover no longer decides. The routes are Suomen Pakkaustuottajat, served by Rinki, or Sumi.
Tracked per product, per market
The producer matrix lists every market you have selected for a product. It names the register, shows the deadline and tracks your registration number to completion. You see the gap before an authority finds it.
Never merged
The toolkit stores national rules per country. It cross-checks each one against that country's own primary source. The watch agent that maintains them may never carry one Member State's rule into another.
See which markets your products are actually ready for.
Select target markets on a product. The toolkit then screens labelling, registration and deposit obligations for each one.