The EPR Glossary

Introduced in France in 1975, this principle — whereby “whoever manufactures, distributes or imports a product must take responsibility for its end of life” — is at the origin of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

A regulatory mechanism requiring producers placing goods on the market to take responsibility for managing the entire lifecycle of their products and packaging, through prevention, collection, sorting, recycling or recovery.

ADEME specifies that within EPR streams, the term “producer” refers to the first entity placing goods on the French market — i.e. whoever manufactures, imports or distributes under their brand, for the first time, a product intended for the national market. Resellers are not concerned.

A company that places a product subject to an EPR stream on the market in France or Europe, regardless of its legal form or size.

Overview of EPR schemes and operational rollout dates:

Within each stream, producers form organisations — PROs — accredited by the State and committing to “comply with a specification with collection and recycling objectives”. PROs carry out two fundamental missions: (1) collection and recycling of waste — their core business — setting up selective collection systems, contracting with specialist providers and organising material sorting; (2) collecting eco-contributions from producers and redistributing them within the stream they manage. They are also responsible for raising public awareness of sorting, promoting eco-design and developing recycling.

Authorisation granted by the State to a PRO to operate in a given EPR stream. Valid for a limited period of 5 years, renewable.

Amount paid by the producer placing goods on the market to the PRO to finance the management of waste linked to their products and packaging.

A bonus/penalty mechanism applied to the eco-contribution, based on the environmental characteristics of the product and packaging (recyclability, rate of incorporation of recycled materials, etc.).

Pricing grid defining the amount payable per type of packaging or product. It may be revised annually and varies by stream and level of environmental performance. For a given stream, accredited PROs are entirely entitled to apply different prices.

A mandatory process enabling the transmission of data relating to products and/or packaging placed on the market to the PRO, which determines the amount of the eco-contribution. Declarations may be quarterly, half-yearly or annual, depending on the stream and the size of the declaring company.

All products subject to EPR that the company must declare. Defined by regulatory texts and PROs.

Packaging for products intended for a household (private individual). This packaging is subject to the Household Packaging and Graphic Papers EPR, whose PROs are Citeo, Léko and Adelphe.

Packaging not intended for private individuals, used in B2B channels. These will also be subject to a new EPR stream currently being created, applicable from 1 July 2026.

The basic unit for calculating eco-contributions: corresponds to a finished product sold to an end customer.

Code assigned to each type of material present in packaging, used for EPR declarations.

A mandatory symbol specific to French regulations, indicating that a product is subject to sorting instructions. Applied to packaging and certain products.

This symbol is currently the subject of discussions and challenges, notably at European level, as it may conflict with the harmonised sorting instructions provided for under the forthcoming PPWR. Changes are expected to ensure better compatibility with EU obligations.

The capacity of a product or packaging to be effectively recycled under real-world collection and sorting conditions.

A system enabling citizens to sort their recyclable waste (packaging, paper, etc.) for recovery.

An industrial facility where waste from selective collection is sorted by material prior to recycling.

The practice of reusing a product or packaging without it being transformed. “Reuse” must be distinguished from “recycling”.

All processes by which waste is converted for reuse (material or energy). Includes recycling, but also energy recovery.