Packaging law stipulates that the packaging companies have an obligation to keep records of packaging and to collect and recycle packaging.
A packaging company is a person or entity that, in the course of their business or profession, packages goods, imports or sells packaged goods. According to the law, a packaging report must be submitted by every company that brings packaged goods on the Estonian market for the first time. In addition, a packaging company, unless it is acting solely as a reseller, is obliged to organise the collection and recovery of packaging placed on the market and the resulting packaging waste, in accordance with the targets set by law, and to bear the costs associated with this.
Since 1 January 2023, all packaging companies are required to submit a packaging report, regardless of the amount of packaging. This means that packaging must be accounted for from the moment a company places the first packaged product on the market, no matter how small the quantity.
The recycling obligation applies to all companies, regardless of the quantity – meaning that a company must ensure the packaging it places on the market is recycled, or transfer this obligation to a producer responsibility organisation – an organisation that manages recycling on behalf of companies.
Packaging can be categorised according to its purpose, reuseaility, material and other characteristics.
It is important to classify packaging correctly, as different types of packaging and materials have different requirements for collection recovery.
Packaging is a product made of any material that is used to contain, protect, handle, transport, or present goods throughout their life cycle, from the moment they are produced until they reach the consumer. Single-use packaging used for the same purpose is also considered packaging.
A packaging company may transfer its legal collection and recovery obligations to a producer responsibility organisation by signing a written contract. In this case, producer responsibility organisation will organise the collection and recovery of packaging on behalf of the company. The company can choose the reporting frequency based on the nature of its operations – monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually.
The data must be broken down by packaging type and material and submitted to the Packaging Register.
Arukas Aruandlus guides and supports you throughout the packaging reporting process, so you can focus on your core business.
Our team:
- maps the company’s packaging and categorises the different types,
- carries out on-site visits (e.g. in a warehouse) to perform weighing and to identify packaging types and materials,
- prepares the internal packaging rules,
- prepares the packaging report and submits it to the producer responsibility organisation,
- prepares a weighting report, a description of the working processes and, if necessary, documents for audit.
