Short answer: PPWR creates an EU-wide framework, but packaging EPR is fulfilled territory by territory. The producer must be identified for each Member State where packaging is first made available or unpacked without the business being the end user.
PPWR manufacturer and EPR producer are different roles
The manufacturer is responsible for packaging conformity. The producer in Article 3(15) carries the relevant EPR obligations in a Member State. “Producer” here is a defined legal role, not a general description of the company that physically makes the packaging. Do not reuse a manufacturer map as an EPR registration map without applying the separate producer test.
How to identify the producer
Run the producer test separately for each Member State, transaction and relevant packaging category. The result depends on where the business is established, whether it first makes packaging or packaged products available in that territory, whether the supply is direct to an end user, and whether special rules for service, transport or primary-production packaging apply. A brand owner, importer, distributor or packaging manufacturer may be the producer in a particular route, but the commercial label alone does not decide it.
One legal entity may therefore be the PPWR manufacturer for conformity and also the EPR producer in some countries, while another entity holds the producer role in other routes. Record the conclusion country by country, together with the facts and legal basis used.
The four-part country assessment
- Role: identify the producer for the transaction and packaging category.
- Registration: confirm the competent national register and responsible entity.
- Financing: determine whether an individual or collective producer-responsibility arrangement is required.
- Reporting: classify packaging, collect weights and submit data on the national timetable.
Cross-border sales
A producer covered by Article 3(15)(c) or (d) must appoint an authorised representative for EPR in each Member State where it first makes packaging or packaged products available, other than the Member State where it is established. Marketplaces and fulfilment providers also receive specific verification information under Article 45.
Start with three country guides
Information needed for a country map
- Legal entities and establishment countries.
- Sales routes and customers by Member State.
- Packaging category and intended waste stream.
- Who owns, imports, commissions and first supplies the packaged product.
- Packaging weights by material and country.
- Existing registration numbers, schemes and authorised representatives.