Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes ensure that companies that make products are also responsible for collecting and recycling the waste from those products. The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) oversees compliance with EPR regulations in the Netherlands.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is referred to as uitgebreide producentenverantwoordelijkheid (UPV) in the Netherlands.
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Products that are subject to EPR
The following products fall under EPR schemes which have legal ramifications in the Netherlands:
- Tyres and replacement tyres (in Dutch)
- Cars
- Portable batteries
- Electric and electronic equipment (in Dutch)
- Textiles (in Dutch)
- Packaging (in Dutch)
- Fishing equipment (in Dutch)
The following products are subject to voluntary operational EPR in the Netherlands:
- Paper and cardboard
- Flat, plate and sheet glass
- Consumer mattresses (in Dutch)
The following products are subject to financial EPR in the Netherlands:
- Wet wipes
- Balloons
- Tobacco products with plastic filters and separate filters
EPR is not only about cleaning up waste and using it as a raw material. It is increasingly about making products that last longer, are easier to repair or whose waste is easier to reuse as a raw material for the same product.
Rules for producers
EPR has rules for producers. Producers are companies and private individuals who are the first to sell products that fall under EPR in the Netherlands. EPR requires the producers of those products to collect a certain amount of waste. In most cases, EPR also requires producers to reuse collected waste to make new products.
Producers usually work together as 1 organisation to meet EPR requirements. This is referred to as a producentenorganisatie (Producer Responsibility Organisation, PRO) in the Netherlands. If almost all producers of that product are voluntary members of that organisation, the Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management can decide that each producer must have their EPR duties carried out by that organisation. This is then laid down in an Algemeen Verbindend Verklaring, AVV (Generally Binding Agreement) among the producers.
Producer Responsibility Organisations have various obligations. You can find more information on the Rijkswaterstaat website about the PROs’ obligations for each type of product (in Dutch).
Reporting requirement for producers and importers
Producers or importers who place products on the market in the Netherlands that fall under EPR schemes must report to Rijkswaterstaat (in Dutch). These companies must inform Rijkswaterstaat every year about the quantity of products they have sold and how much waste they have collected. Depending on the product group, they may also be required to indicate, for example, what portion of that collected waste has been used to make new products.
Reporting illegal waste
If you suspect that a producer or importer who markets one or more EPR-covered products in the Netherlands has not registered with Rijkswaterstaat, you can report this using the Melding illegaliteit afval (free riders) online form (in Dutch).