Are you a producer or importer of packaging material? And do you bring more than 50,000 kilograms of packaging material onto the Dutch market? Or do remove more than 50,000 kilograms of packaging material after importing goods? Then you must pay a packaging waste management fee to the Packaging Waste Fund (Afvalfonds Verpakkingen). This also applies if you have a company in another country and sell directly (online) to Dutch consumers.
Contribution rate
The contribution rate depends on the material and the type of packaging (retail, collection or shipping packaging). You pay a one-off fee for reusable packages. You can check if you have to pay a fee for your product in the Packaging Waste Fund’s packaging catalogue.
Report annually
If you have to pay the packaging waste management fee, you must report the quantity of packaging annually. To do so, you must first register with the Packaging Waste Fund.
Indirect export of packaging
Do you export packaging on which the waste management contribution was paid earlier in the chain? You can request a refund of the contribution for indirect export (in Dutch). You can do so in your annual report. This is also possible for foreign entrepreneurs.
Extended producer responsibility
Recycling and waste management are priority topics for the EU. The coming years there will be a shift towards extended producer responsibility and recycling of waste. You can find more information on these ambitions on the Rijkswaterstaat Environment website.