Packaging - are you covered?
All companies that place packaged products on the market will be responsible for financing and organizing the collection, sorting, and treatment of their packaging waste once the producer responsibility takes effect.
The main rule is that the producer responsibility falls on the company that first makes available packaging or packaged products on the Danish market.
If you are in doubt whether you are covered by producer responsibility, Dansk Producentansvar (DPA), which is the registering authority, can make the final decision.
A Danish established company can initially obtain producer responsibility in 4 different ways:
- If the company has packaging or packaged products produced in its own name or trademark (e.g., private label holder).
- If the company is the first to place generic packaging on the Danish market (e.g., packaging manufacturer).
- If the company imports packaging or packaged products and places them on the Danish market for the first time (e.g., importers and distributors).
- If the company offers packaging or packaged products to micro-enterprises.
A foreign company can only acquire producer responsibility in Denmark in one way:
- If the company sells directly to an end user in Denmark via distance contracts.
See the Danish Environmental Protection Agency's examples of when you as a company may become producer responsible and thus must register and report packaging quantities below:
Examples of companies established in Denmark
Definition of micro-enterprise: Companies with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover of less than 15 million DKK.
As a micro-enterprise, you can only have producer responsibility for packaging or packaged products that you import to the Danish market. If you purchase packaging in Denmark, it is your supplier who holds the responsibility - even if the packaging is produced under your name or trademark.
If you purchase packaging in Denmark
Your supplier has producer responsibility even if the packaging is produced under your name or trademark.
This applies regardless of whether it is sales (primary), grouped (secondary), transport (tertiary), service, or primary production or reusable packaging.
The Environmental Protection Agency's example: The Danish factory takes responsibility for the service packaging when selling to the butchery (micro-enterprise) even though the packaging is produced under the butcher's trademark.
The Danish factory does not take responsibility when selling to the Delicacy supermarket, as this is not a micro-enterprise and produces packaging under its own trademark:
NOTE: If you as a micro-enterprise import packaging or packaged products, you have producer responsibility.
Do you produce in generic packaging?
You have the producer responsibility as a manufacturer in the statutory order.
Environmental Agency's example: Danish packaging factory is responsible for the generic transport packaging (the pink one):
Do you produce packaging under another company's name or trademark established in Denmark?
The other company has the producer responsibility as a manufacturer in the statutory order (unless it is a micro-enterprise - see below for sales to micro-enterprises).
Environmental Agency's example: Danish factory (product manufacturer of hairdryers) is responsible for both the sales packaging (the green one) and the transport packaging (the pink one), as both are produced under their trademark:
NOTE: If you sell packaging to a micro-enterprise in Denmark
You have, as a supplier, the producer responsibility. This applies regardless of whether it is sales (primary), multipack (secondary), transport (tertiary), service, or primary production or reusable packaging.
Environmental Agency's example: Danish factory takes responsibility for the service packaging (the green one) as a manufacturer in the statutory order:
Do you manufacture packaged products under your own name or trademark?
You have the producer responsibility as a manufacturer in the statutory order.
Environmental Agency's example: The dairy is responsible as they manufacture packaged products (milk) under their own name or trademark:
Environmental Agency's example: The jam company is responsible for both the jar, lid, and label, as they manufacture packaged products (jam) under their own name or trademark:
Do you manufacture packaged products on behalf of others under their name or trademark?
They have the producer responsibility as a manufacturer in the statutory order.
Environmental Agency's example: The retailer/company is responsible as they have packaged products (milk) manufactured under their name or trademark:
Do you manufacture packaging or packaged products under your own name or trademark?
You have the producer responsibility as a manufacturer in the statutory order (unless you are a micro-enterprise - see above "You are a micro-enterprise").
Environmental Agency's example: The delicatessen supermarket is responsible for the service packaging (the pink one), as it is produced under their trademark and the delicatessen supermarket is not a micro-enterprise:
Environmental Agency's example: Dansk Detail is responsible, as they have packaged products (milk) produced under their name or trademark:
Do you import packaging or packaged products (without becoming the end user)?
You have producer responsibility as an importer or distributor in the statutory order.
Environmental Agency's example: Danish Hairdresser has producer responsibility for the sales packaging (the green), as they import packaged products, which they do not become the end user of:
Do you become the end user of packaging or packaged products?
Your foreign supplier has producer responsibility (via distance contracts directly to the end user).
Environmental Agency's example: The Chinese factory has producer responsibility for the transport packaging (the green), as Danish Importer turns them into waste:
Examples of companies established outside Denmark
You have the producer responsibility (both household and commercial).
The example from the Environmental Protection Agency: The German factory is responsible for the transport packaging (the pink one) because they make it available directly to Danish Hairdresser, who turns it into waste and is thus the end user of the packaging:
The example from the Environmental Protection Agency: The Chinese factory is responsible for the transport packages (the green ones) because they make them available directly to Danish Importer, who turns them into waste and is thus the end user of the packaging:
Other examples
In connection with the production of packaging under your own name or trademark, you should be aware that you assume responsibility for the entire packaging, see the example from the Environmental Protection Agency:
Specifically for shipping labels:
VANA is in ongoing dialogue with the authorities to expand the Environmental Protection Agency's guidance to also take into account shipping labels, etc.
DPA has provided the following information regarding producer responsibility for labels:
When labels, stickers, labels, tags, or similar are placed on a packaging, they become part of the packaging on which they are placed. Thus, for example, the label is covered by the producer responsibility for packaging.
- For example, self-adhesive shipping labels on transport packaging are included in the producer responsibility for packaging.
As a general principle, it is the first company that makes the label available on the Danish market that has the producer responsibility.
- If a Danish company, for example, applies a self-adhesive shipping label to transport packaging that it sends to another Danish company, the first Danish company will bear the producer responsibility for the self-adhesive shipping label.
There is not necessarily a correlation between the company that has producer responsibility for transport packaging and the company that has producer responsibility for the label.
- If a Danish company, for example, sends transport packaging to another Danish company that applies the self-adhesive shipping label and then forwards the transport packaging to a third Danish company, the first Danish company will have producer responsibility for the transport packaging, and the second Danish company will have producer responsibility for the self-adhesive shipping label.
Manufacturer of generic transport packaging in Denmark
The one who manufactures tape, cardboard boxes, void fill, and stretch film has the producer responsibility as the manufacturer in the regulation, as these are generic packaging.
Environmental Protection Agency's example: Danish factory takes responsibility for the generic transport packaging:
Imports generic transport packaging in Denmark
The one who imports tape, cardboard boxes, void fill, and stretch film has the producer responsibility as the manufacturer in the regulation, as these are generic packaging.
Environmental Protection Agency's example: Danish company takes responsibility for the generic transport packaging:
Particularly about the allocation of responsibility for reusable packaging
There is still a lack of clarification from the authorities regarding the allocation of responsibility and registration of reusable packaging under producer responsibility. You can read more about it here.
Read more on the Environmental Protection Agency's website here (Danish)
More about the producer definition
The manufacturer, importer, or distributor that first makes available packaging or packaged product is the producer, which means that:
- the one who manufactures or has manufactured transport, reusable, primary production, or service packaging or packaged product in their own name or trademark holds the producer responsibility. This means, for example, that if you manufacture or import transport packaging that is resold to businesses that use it, you are responsible, unless you have manufactured the packaging in their name.
- suppliers who offer transport, reusable, primary production, service, sales, or grouped packaging to micro-enterprises (even if they are manufactured in the micro-enterprise's name) hold the producer responsibility. This means, for example, that if you manufacture service packaging for a micro-enterprise, you have the producer responsibility, even if you have manufactured the packaging in the micro-enterprise's name.
- Companies established outside Denmark acquire producer responsibility if they make packaging or filled packaging available via distance selling directly to the end user. This means, for example, that your foreign suppliers may be responsible for transport packaging if you repackage products and make the transport packaging waste.
Producer definition in the statutory order on packaging.
Producer: Any manufacturer, importer, or distributor, who regardless of the sales method used, including by means of distance contracts:
a) is established in Denmark and first makes available transport packaging, reusable packaging, primary production packaging, or service packaging on the Danish market.
b) is established in Denmark and first makes available packaged products or packaging not mentioned in point a on the Danish market.
c) is established in another EU member state or in a third country and via distance contracts first makes available transport packaging, reusable packaging, primary production packaging, service packaging, or packaged products directly to end users on the Danish market.