For many online retailers, EPR initially feels like complex registrations, unclear reporting requirements and additional costs. Upon closer examination, the benefits of EPR (“Extended Producer Responsibility”) are significant: companies make a direct contribution to ensuring that packaging and products are systematically collected and recycled after use. Step by step, this creates a functioning circular economy and protects the environment and resources in the long term.
According to the European Commission, 40 percent of plastics used in the EU were recently used for packaging. In addition, around half of marine litter comes from packaging. In 2022, an average of 186.5 kg of packaging waste was generated per capita in the EU. These figures highlight that a future-proof structure is needed to help reduce plastic waste.
What does EPR achieve?
EPR creates a system that financially supports collection, sorting and recycling. In practice, this leads to:
- improved infrastructure for collection and recycling,
- incentives for more efficient packaging design,
- greater transparency along supply chains,
- conservation of natural resources,
- less environmental impact and
- more fairness in competition, especially through increasing marketplace obligations that ensure broader enforcement of EPR compliance.
In short, EPR enables a structured and fair approach to waste management while supporting more sustainable economic activity.
What are recycling fees used for?
Recycling fees are used to cover necessary waste management costs. These mainly include:
- separate collection
- transport
- sorting
- treatment and recycling
- provision of tools and reporting systems
- information and prevention initiatives
The goal is therefore not just waste management, but a system that keeps materials in circulation and improves overall sustainability. This is why recycling fees are a key driver for higher recycling quality and continuous investment in improved processes.
What are the specific benefits of EPR in individual countries?
In Belgium, the recycling system Fost Plus reported a recycling rate of 90% across all materials for 2024. This success is partly due to the system’s close cooperation with other European EPR organisations, its continuous development of quality assurance and its monitoring of recycling companies.
In the Netherlands, the recycling system verpact achieved a recycling rate of 76% across all materials in 2024. Concrete monetary incentives also encourage the use of recyclable packaging. As a result, 62% of the plastic packaging reported in 2024 was reusable.
France is one of the most dynamic EPR markets in Europe because the system has been deliberately developed beyond traditional recycling, with different organisations covering different waste streams and fields of innovation. In recent years, reuse and repair projects have been promoted, prevention work has been carried out, and research has been conducted to optimise recyclable packaging. In 2024, the recycling system Citeo reported a recycling rate of 69% across all packaging materials.
These examples make one thing particularly clear: EPR is far more than a financing system for recycling. It also serves as a strategic instrument for actively shaping the circular economy.
How can companies reduce recycling fees?
Nevertheless, recycling fees can quickly become a major cost factor for individual companies. The following measures offer concrete examples to cut costs:
- reduce packaging weight
- switch to mono-material instead of mixed materials
- replace plastics by paper and cardboard
- avoid components that are difficult to separate
- use recycled materials where possible
- implement reusable packaging solutions
Conclusion: The real benefit of EPR
Recycling fees finance the infrastructure that enables a circular economy. For online retailers, this does involve effort and costs, but at the same time the system creates more fairness in competition; a process that new marketplace obligations are likely to accelerate significantly in the future. In addition, better recycling streams and clear incentives for intelligent packaging design are created. Companies that approach the topic strategically and see it as a future-oriented opportunity for our environment and society can combine compliance, business success and sustainability and thus fully leverage the benefits of EPR.
We would be happy to advise you on all EPR-related topics and support you with efficient implementation in order to reduce your workload as much as possible. Here you can find information about our services. Contact us any time if you are interested.
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EPR applies to packaging, electronics, batteries, textiles, furniture and other waste streams. ecosistant is happy to assist you with your EPR compliance in the EU, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom!
FAQ: Frequently asked questions about the benefits of EPR
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EPR, or Extended Producer Responsibility, requires online retailers to register in the countries where they place packaging on the market and to pay recycling fees. The fees paid are used to finance the collection, sorting and recovery of packaging waste. In this way, online retailers can make a real contribution to recycling and the circular economy.
The fees go directly into waste infrastructure: collection, transport, sorting, recycling, as well as information and prevention campaigns. This means they are specifically allocated to funding the circular economy system.
Yes, fees can be reduced through targeted packaging design. Lighter packaging, mono-materials and recyclable materials are rewarded with lower contribution rates in many countries.
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