Packaging - are you covered?
All businesses that put packaged products on the market will be responsible for financing and organising the collection, sorting, and treatment of their packaging waste once producer responsibility comes into effect.
The main rule is that the producer responsibility falls to the company that first makes packaging or packaged products available on the Danish market.
If you are in doubt about whether you are covered by producer responsibility, it is Dansk Producentansvar (DPA), which as the registering authority can make the final decision.
On this page you can see a review of the Environmental Protection Agency's examples as well as other doubtful cases that VANA has worked to clarify with the authorities. Examples are continuously expanded.
A Danish established company can initially obtain producer responsibility in 4 different ways:
1. If the company produces packaging or packaged products in its own name or trademark (e.g., private label holder).
2. If the company first places generic packaging on the Danish market (e.g., packaging manufacturer).
3. If the company imports packaging or packaged products and places them on the Danish market for the first time (e.g., importers and distributors).
4. If the company offers packaging or packaged products to micro-enterprises.
A foreign company can only obtain producer responsibility in Denmark in one way:
1. If the company sells directly to a end-user in Denmark via distance contracts.
See an overview of the examples from the Environmental Protection Agency on when your company can become producer responsible and thus must register and report packaging quantities, as well as other examples of borderline cases.
Particularly about which company has the producer responsibility for reusable packaging
As it is not necessarily the same company that puts reusable packaging on the market and at the same time is responsible for take-back, and thereby recycling of the packaging in a reuse loop, such as for euro pallets and IBC tanks, there has been a need for examples from the authorities' side.
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency has now provided some written examples of the placement of responsibility when it comes to reusable packaging.
We are still waiting for the guidance on the Danish Environmental Protection Agency's website to be updated with examples of reuse.
More about the producer definition
The manufacturer, importer, or distributor that first makes packaging or packaged products available is the producer, which means that:
- the one who manufactures or has manufactured transport, recycling, primary production or service packaging or packaged products in their own name or trademark holds producer responsibility. This means, for example, that if you manufacture or import transport packaging that is resold to companies that use it, you are responsible unless you have manufactured the packaging in their name.
- suppliers offering transport, recycling, primary production, service, sales, or grouped packaging to micro-enterprises (even if they are made in the micro-enterprise's name) hold producer responsibility. This means, for example, that if you manufacture service packaging for a micro-enterprise, you have producer responsibility, even if you have manufactured the packaging in the micro-enterprise's name.
- Companies established outside of Denmark acquire producer responsibility if they make packaging or packaged products available via by means of distance contracts directly to the end user. This means, for example, that your foreign suppliers can take responsibility for transport packaging if you repack products and turn the transport packaging into waste.
Producer definition in the statutory order on packaging
Producer: Any manufacturer, importer or distributor, 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 product or packaging not mentioned in letter 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 product directly to end users on the Danish market.