Producer responsibility for packaging
Companies subject to producer responsibility for packaging must register in the national producer register. Once registered, they must submit an annual report on the quantities of packaging placed on the Danish market. Further information on the rules for producer responsibility, who is covered, and how to register is available below.
Registration deadline
Companies that begin operations or intend to place products covered by producer responsibility on the Danish market must register no later than 14 days before doing so.
Registration is complete once the registration fee has been paid and proof of registration has been issued.
How to register
If you are subject to the rules, you must register in the national producer register. Click the Register company button at the top of the page. You can also register for additional producer responsibility categories through the same process.
Below is an overview of the information and practical details to consider when registering.
Refer to the guide to registration for detailed instructions.
The addition of new packaging categories means that all packaging is now subject to producer responsibility.
PACKAGING. As of 1 January 2025, several new packaging categories are subject to producer responsibility. These categories include:
- Ceramics
- Cork
- Porcelain
- Textiles
- Other
The addition of these new categories means that all packaging is subject to producer responsibility. If your company has producer responsibility for any of these new packaging types, you are required to register in the national producer register.
If you are already registered, you need to add the new relevant categories to your registration.
Registration
What should I do if my company is not yet registered?
Established companies that place packaging on the Danish market can still register in the producer register, even if they have missed the original deadline. Registration can be completed at any time via our website. During the process, you will be asked to provide various details, including the quantities of packaging you expect to place on the Danish market this year. The sooner you register, the lower the risk of an inquiry from the supervisory authorities.
Go to registrationWhat is packaging?
Packaging refers to all products made from any material intended for the containment, protection, handling, delivery, or presentation of goods from the producer to the user or consumer.
All disposable products used for the same purpose are also considered packaging.
Similar rules across product areas
The mechanisms are fundamentally the same for all product groups covered by producer responsibility, both in Denmark and across the EU. The packaging sector therefore follows the same principles for national registration and reporting obligations, including requirements for financing schemes and achieving specified environmental targets.
Making available is a key element of the producer responsibility system.
Packaging under own brand
If you are not a micro-enterprise and have packaging manufactured under your own name or brand, you will generally have producer responsibility for that packaging. This may include having your logo printed on the packaging. You hold producer responsibility because you commissioned the production of the packaging. In this situation, it does not matter who placed the packaging on the Danish market.
Please note that different rules apply to micro-enterprises (see below).
The presence of other brands on the packaging, such as the manufacturer’s logo, is irrelevant.
Special for micro-enterprises
The legislation on producer responsibility for packaging introduces specific exemptions for micro-enterprises, defined in Denmark as businesses with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover of no more than DKK 15 million. However, this does not mean that micro-enterprises are automatically exempt from the producer responsibility rules.
If a micro-enterprise has packaging manufactured under its own name and brand by a Danish subcontractor, the micro-enterprise does not hold producer responsibility.
Conversely, if the micro-enterprise imports packaging from abroad, it assumes producer responsibility because it is the first to make the packaging available on the Danish market.
Guide to registration
To log in to the producer responsibility register, you must use MitID Erhverv, as on the rest of virk.dk. Your company’s MitID Erhverv administrator must grant you the necessary access rights to access DPA’s registers. For companies based outside of Denmark, this responsibility rests with the authorized representative.
Contact your MitID administrator and refer to this guideline:
MitID Erhverv for DPA-registers (Packaging)
If your company is established in Denmark, your CVR number (not the SE number) works as your unique identification and registration number. When you start the registration, the system will first transfer your information from CVR.
Therefore, make sure that your company information is up-to-date.
You must enter the contact person and any other mandatory information that is not listed in the CVR register. This may include your website address, membership of a collective compliance scheme, and similar details.
You must also specify the type of packaging and the packaging materials for which you are registering.
Membership in one or more collective schemes is mandatory for fulfilling your producer responsibility for packaging.
A collective scheme is a company that performs tasks on behalf of producers participating in the scheme. In practice, the producer joins the collective scheme, which then handles responsibilities such as reporting data to the producer responsibility register on the producer’s behalf. If you wish to join a collective scheme, you can select one or more during the registration process.
When registering your company, you must indicate the amount of packaging you have made available for each packaging category. This means you need to keep records of the quantities of packaging you place on the market. The first time you register a category, you must provide the expected quantities for the current year.
If your packaging consists of multiple material types that cannot easily be separated (composite packaging), you must select the material type that makes up the majority of the packaging and report the entire weight under that category.
See more under ‘Packaging terms’ below or try our category selector
Packaging terms for registration
How to manage packaging after use and when it has become waste. The different packaging material categories must be broken down on three waste types in the producer register. See Ordinary packaging, Hazardous packaging, and Packaging in residual waste.
Packaging must be reported under these materials:
- Aluminium
- Glass
- Ferrous metal
- Food and beverage cartons
- Cardboard
- Paper
- Plastic (Including Expanded polystyren (EPS))
- Wood
- Ceramics
- Cork
- Porcelain
- Textiles
- Other
*Food and beverage cartons must always be registered and reported regardless of material
Other materials than the above is not subject to producer responsibility in Denmark.
Packaging that – when it reaches its end of life – is expected to be sorted into material categories in view of recycling and recovery.
”Total packaging” is a term used in connection with the de minimis threshold for packaging. This special option arises, if you put less than 8 tonnes of packaging on the market a year. In this case you are below the statutory de minimis threshold. By registering or reporting your packaging quantities as “Total packaging” you do not need to break down the quantity on the different categories.
Packaging that cannot be recycled due to the state of the material (e.g. packaging for foodstuffs and composites) but that is not hazardous. Packaging in residual waste will normally be incinerated in a waste-to-energy facility and thereby be recovered.
Packaging where the material is contaminated due to the product it contained. Management of the packaging must therefore be carried out according to the guidelines for hazardous waste and dangerous substances. Waste may, for instance, be harmful to human health, harmful to the environment, highly inflammable, corrosive, or toxic.
Reusable packaging is packaging designed for being refilled or reused for the same purpose for which it was conceived. Producers of reusable packaging have to register in the producer register no later than 1 February 2025.
It is not mandatory for producers of reusable packaging to be member of a collective scheme.
Also called budgeted quantities. When your company registers for the first time you must state the quantities of packaging that you expect to make available on the Danish market in the current year. In DPA we use the expected quantities placed on the market to calculate how large a quantity of packaging waste each company is responsible to manage either in practice through our allocation system or financially through a handling fee.
Environmental targets
All areas covered by producer responsibility are subject to collection targets for used products and materials in each member state. Of the quantities collected, there are minimum requirements for recycling and recovery for each material group, expressed as a percentage by weight. These recycling and recovery targets apply both at the member state level and to each business or compliance scheme subject to producer responsibility.
Percentage targets for recycling of packaging materials
| Material | Baseline targets (weight%) | Current targets (weight%) - from 2025 | Upcoming targets (weight%) - from 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All packaging | 55 | 65 | 70 |
| Plastics | 25 | 50 | 55 |
| Wood | 15 | 25 | 30 |
| Metal (ferrous) | 50 (incl. Al) | 70 | 80 |
| Aluminum (non-ferrous) | - | 50 | 60 |
| Glass | 60 | 70 | 75 |
| Cardboard | 60 | 75 | 85 |
| Paper | 60 | 75 | 85 |
Source: EUROSTAT and Packaging-directive 2018/852 |
Shortcuts
About registration
Companies already covered can register from April 1, 2024. However, companies with reusable packaging can only register from December 31, 2024
Marking of packaging
See marking requirements and codes to be used for packaging products
Packaging - legislation
See the statutory basis for producer responsibility for packaging
Single-use plastic
See packaging that is also single-use plastic
Packaging products
See regulations and characteristics for different types of packaging
Check packaging
Take the test to see if your packaging is covered
Find your packaging category
If you are covered, find your category