The packaging compliance glossary
Every term you will meet in EU packaging law, defined plainly and with the one thing most glossaries leave out: whether you actually have to do anything about it.
Glossary sections
- PPWRThe EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, article by article: what it bans, what it requires, and when.5 terms →
- EPRExtended Producer Responsibility itself: who counts as a producer, who you register with, and how fees are set.7 terms →
- MaterialsFormats and materials, from corrugated board to flexible films, and which recycling stream each one lands in.7 terms →
- Registers & countriesWho you actually register with: LUCID and the ZSVR in Germany, Citeo in France, Verpact, NPA, and the schemes outside the EU.10 terms →
- Fees & thresholdsWhat it costs and when it starts: tariffs, eco-modulation, de minimis thresholds, packaging taxes and deposit-return.5 terms →
- Reporting & auditsThe paperwork and its consequences: declarations, volume reports, data requirements, audits, and the penalties for getting them wrong.6 terms →
- E-wasteWEEE and batteries: registration numbers, take-back duties and the equipment categories that pull you in.9 terms →
How to use this glossary
EU packaging law is written for regulators, not for the person packing the parcel. Every entry here starts with the plainest answer we can give, then tells you the part the legal text leaves out: whether it applies to you, from what threshold, and what it costs if it does.
Two frameworks run in parallel and are easy to confuse. Extended Producer Responsibility is the per-country duty to register your packaging and pay for its collection and recycling; it has existed for years and differs in every market. The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation is the newer EU-wide rulebook on how packaging may be designed, documented and labelled. Most sellers owe both, and the two use the same words to mean different things - which is most of why this glossary exists.
Terms are grouped by the question behind them rather than alphabetically: the law you fall under, the material you ship, the equipment or batteries you sell, the paperwork you file, and the rules outside the EU. Every entry says who is obligated and cites the regulation, register or fee schedule it comes from.
Start here
The entries most sellers need first.
What is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and how does it work?Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy principle that shifts the cost and operational burden of end-of-life waste management from municipalities and taxpayers onto the businesses that p...
What is the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR)?The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is the binding European Union law that replaces the packaging directive and applies from 12 August 2026. It sets strict rules on packaging design...
What is the LUCID Packaging Register and how do I get a number?The LUCID Packaging Register is Germany's mandatory public packaging-compliance database, operated by the Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (ZSVR). Registration applies from the first gram - befo...
What are eco-modulated EPR fees and how do they affect my costs?Eco-modulation is a fee mechanism that adjusts Extended Producer Responsibility charges according to the environmental performance of packaging, rewarding recyclable designs and penalising hard-to-...
Why is my marketplace asking for an EPR number?Marketplace gatekeeper liability refers to environmental rules that hold online platforms legally responsible if their third-party sellers skip compliance obligations.
Do I need an authorised representative for packaging EPR in Europe?An authorised representative is a legal entity appointed to act on behalf of a foreign producer in a European country where that producer has no local corporate presence, handling registration, dat...
What is a packaging weight threshold in EPR?A packaging weight threshold is the specific tonnage or kilogram limit set by environmental regulators that dictates when a merchant must officially register, report data, or pay financial tariffs...
What qualifies as household packaging under EPR?Household packaging is any packaging that typically ends up as waste in private residential households, as opposed to commercial or industrial settings.
What is a Producer Responsibility Organisation and do I need one?A Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) is an approved collective body that producers pay to organise the collection, sorting, recycling, and reporting of their packaging waste under national...