The information on this page is under development, and more information will be added continuously.
The producer responsibility for single-use plastic is not the same as the producer responsibility for packaging. The producer responsibility for single-use plastic concerns 8 distinct product categories and is also referred to as a responsibility for cleanup in Denmark, as it pertains to waste discarded in public areas and in public waste bins. On this page you will find answers to the most common questions.
If a company is unsure whether its products are covered, they can contact Danish Producer Responsibility who can conduct a scoping and make a decision on whether the company is a producer.
‘producer’ means:
(a) any natural or legal person established in Denmark that professionally manufactures, fills or imports, irrespective of the selling technique used, including by means of distance contracts as defined in point (7) of Article 2 of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (21), and places on the market of Denmark single-use plastic products, filled single-use plastic products, or
(b) any natural or legal person established in one Member State or in a third country that professionally sells in Denmark directly to private households or to users other than private households, by means of distance contracts as defined in point (7) of Article 2 of Directive 2011/83/EU, single-use plastic products, filled single-use plastic products.
A company that according to the directive on extended producer responsibility for certain single-use plastic products is a producer of products covered by producer responsibility, must register in Danish Producer Responsibility's digital producer register. Registration must take place no later than December 17, 2024, or 14 days before marketing begins if it starts after January 1, 2025. The company must then report marketed quantities for the preceding quarter to Danish Producer Responsibility. The reporting periods runs from the 1st to the 10th of April, July, October, and January. The first report must be made in the period from 1st to 10th April 2025, where marketed quantities from the period January 1 to March 31, 2025, are reported. All companies that market the covered single-use plastic products must pay a fee to the Environmental Protection Agency each quarter, which covers the costs of cleaning and the Environmental Protection Agency's administration of the producer responsibility. The size of the fee depends on the product category and marketed quantities. The company will also have to pay an annual administration fee to Danish Producer Responsibility.
Products from eight different product categories are covered if they contain plastic. There is no lower limit for how much plastic a product must contain to be covered. This means that, for example, composite packaging, as well as paper cups and paper food containers with an inner plastic liner are also covered. The 8 product categories according to the Single Use Plastic Directive are: • Food containers • Beverage containers, including bottles • Cups for beverages • Packets and wrappers • Lightweight plastic carrier bags • Wet wipes • Balloons • Filters for tobacco products.
Which products are covered?
Food containers, i.e. receptacles such as boxes, with or without a cover, used to contain food which:
(a) is intended for immediate consumption, either on-the-spot or take-away,
(b) is typically consumed from the receptacle, and
(c) is ready to be consumed without any further preparation, such as cooking, boiling or heating, including food containers used for fast food or other meal ready for immediate consumption, except beverage containers, plates and packets and wrappers containing food.’
Article 12: ‘In order to determine whether a food container is to be considered as a single-use plastic product for the purposes of this Directive, in addition to the criteria listed in the Annex as regards food containers, its tendency to become litter, due to its volume or size, in particular single-serve portions, shall play a decisive role.’
Who is responsible?
The producer responsibility for food containers also applies to empty containers and will therefore usually fall upon the manufacturer or importer.
Which products are covered?
‘Beverage containers with a capacity of up to three litres, i.e. receptacles used to contain liquid, such as beverage bottles including their caps and lids and composite beverage packaging including their caps and lids, but not:
(a) glass or metal beverage containers that have caps and lids made from plastic,
(b) beverage containers intended and used for food for special medical purposes as defined in point (g) of Article 2[(2)] of Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council that is in liquid form.’
Bottles covered by the Danish Deposit Return System are regulated by the Statutory Order on Deposits. These drink bottles should therefore not be reported to Danish Producer Responsibility. If beverage containers or bottles of glass or metal have plastic caps or lids, the caps and lids are not covered since the container or bottle is not covered.
Who is responsible?
The company that manufactures or the importer that imports and for the first time makes the product available on the Danish market.
Which products are covered?
All cups for beverages that contain plastic, including caps and lids for these, are covered by producer responsibility. Reusable drinking cups are exempt. Cups for beverages are typically round, usually bowl-shaped drinking vessels with or without a cover or a lid, sold empty or containing beverages.
Who is responsible?
Producer responsibility for drinking cups is independent of any content and will, therefore, usually fall to the manufacturer or importer.
Which products are covered?
Packets and wrappers are made from flexible material containing food that is intended for immediate consumption from the packet or wrapper without any further preparation. They have a size of up to 3 liters. The design of packaging indicates that the foodstuff contained is intended for immediate consumption after purchasing. For example, a packet or wrapper can be easily opened by tearing, cutting, or pulling it apart.
Who is responsible?
Producer responsibility will usually fall to the filler, since they must contain food before they are covered by the producer responsibility. However, a company, which imports filled packets and wrappers, and makes it available for the first time on the Danish market, will also be covered.
Which products are covered?
Lightweight plastic carrier bags are plastic carrier bags with a wall thickness of less than 50 microns, which are supplied or distributed to the consumer at the point of sale. This includes very lightweight plastic carrier bags (those with a wall thickness below 15 microns). The general term ‘plastic carrier bags’ is defined in point (1b) of Article 3 of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive: ‘ “plastic carrier bags” shall mean carrier bags, with or without handle, made of plastic, which are supplied to consumers at the point of sale of goods or products’.
Who is responsible?
Producer responsibility for lightweight plastic carrier bags is independent of any content and will, therefore, usually fall to the manufacturer or importer.
Which products are covered?
Wet wipes are pre-wetted personal care and domestic wipes, whereas industrial wet wipes should be excluded.
Personal care wet wipe is intended to be used for hygiene purposes. These include cleansing and caring of skin of both human adults and babies e.g. baby wipes, cosmetic/make-up removal wipes, intimate care wipes, etc.
A domestic use wet wipe is intended to be used in domestic premises. These include wet wipes used for household cleaning purposes e.g. wipes used to clean kitchen and bathroom surfaces, wet wipes used to clean personal vehicles, spectacle cleaning wipes, etc.
Who is responsible?
Producer responsibility for wet wipes will usually fall to the manufacturer or importer.
Which products are covered?
Balloons, except balloons for industrial or other professional uses and applications that are not distributed to consumers. Balloon typically refers to a non-porous bag of light material that is intended to be inflated with air or gas.
Who is responsible?
Producer responsibility for balloons is independent of any content and will, therefore, usually fall to the manufacturer or importer.
Which products are covered?
Tobacco products with filters and filters marketed for use in combination with tobacco products are covered.
The main product specific criteria to determine whether a tobacco product with filter, or a filter marketed for use in combination with a tobacco product falls within the product scope of the Directive, are:
- Product is a tobacco product (as defined in point (4) of Article 2 of Directive 2014/40/EU) and product contains a filter: e.g. a cigarette or cigar;
- Product is a separate filter for use with tobacco products: e.g. a filter tip or mini filter.
Who is responsible?
Producer responsibility for tobacco products with filters or filters marketed for use in combination with tobacco products is independent of whether there is tobacco in connection with the filter when it is sold or not, and therefore producer responsibility will usually fall to the manufacturer or importer.
Producer responsibility means that companies that market covered single-use plastic products are designated as producers and after December 31, 2024, will have to pay for part of the costs that municipalities, the Nature Agency, and the Road Directorate have when they collect discarded waste and empty public waste bins. Thus, it is a financial producer responsibility, where companies covered by the producer responsibility do not get the responsibility for handling the waste. They only have to pay for the cleanup and waste management done by the municipalities and the state of single-use plastic products discarded in public areas.
Type of single-use plastic product | Fee (2025) | Unit |
Wet wipes | 0,0024 DKK | Per piece |
Balloons | 0,0140 DKK | Per piece |
Filters for tobacco products | 0,0220 DKK | Per piece |
Food containers | 3,83 DKK | Per kg |
Packets and wrappers | 3,70 DKK | Per kg |
Beverage containers | 0,61 DKK | Per kg |
Cups for beverages | 8,26 DKK | Per kg |
Lightweight plastic carrier bags | 2,33 DKK | Per kg |
The fees are adjusted annually per January 1 based on the economic forecast for Denmark. The fee must balance over 4 years, i.e. if too much is paid in one year, the fee will subsequently be proportionally reduced. If too little is paid in one year, the fee will subsequently be proportionally increased. Each product category hast its own fee rate and must therefore, balance economically independently of the other product categories.
It costs 1000 kroner per producer to register for 1 producer responsibility. If the producer is already registered in the producer register and covered by producer responsibility in another area (cars, batteries, electronics, packaging, etc.), instead a one-time fee of 500 kr is paid.
Companies covered by producer responsibility must report themselves or choose an authorized representative who can report on their behalf, e.g. through a producer responsibility organisation.
Companies covered by a producer responsibility can manage their producer responsibility through producer responsibility organisation, but there is no requirement for membership of a producer responsibility.
Placing on the market is when a product is made available for the first time on the Danish market. Making available on the market is when a product is supplied for distribution, consumption or use on the Danish market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge.
From January 1, 2025, both producer responsibility for packaging and producer responsibility for certain single-use plastic products will be introduced. Some single-use plastic products will be covered by both producer responsibilities. As the producer responsibility for certain single-use plastic products is based on the Directive on single-use plastics and the producer responsibility for packaging are based on the waste framework directive (and eventually the packaging regulation), the producer definition for the two producer responsibilities is not the same. This means that the producer responsibility for a product may fall to one producer in the producer responsibility for single-use plastic products, but on another producer in the producer responsibility for packaging. The differences are due to, among other things, the fact that the criteria for micro-enterprises and trademarks can influence which companies have producer responsibility for packaging, while these criteria do not apply to the producer responsibility for single-use plastic products.
If a covered company ceases to exist or to market products covered by the directive, the termination must be registered with Danish Producer Responsibility (DPA). The company termination must be registered no later than one month after the producer or importer has ceased to market covered products. Danish Producer Responsibility confirms termination within 7 days after changed registration (to both the company and any previous representative).
A physical or legal person, established in Denmark, and selling products covered by the producer responsibility for single-use plastic in another EU member state, where the physical or legal person is not established, must appoint a representative in the respective member state who is responsible for fulfilling the obligations incumbent on the physical or legal person under the current member state's scheme for producer responsibility for single-use plastic products according to the directive. Appointment must be made by written power of attorney.
The Environmental Protection Agency supervises compliance with the directive on extended producer responsibility for certain single-use plastic products. Decisions made by Danish Producer Responsibility can be appealed to the Environmental Protection Agency. The deadline for appeal is 4 weeks from the day the decision is announced. The appeal must be in writing. The rules of the Administration Act apply to the cases in which a decision pursuant to the executive order is made by Danish Producer Responsibility.
Link to the Directive on Extended Producer Responsibility for Certain Single-Use Plastic Products here.
Link to the Danish Executive order: https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2024/1750
Link to the Commission's guidelines for single-use plastic products in accordance with Europe Directive - 2019/904 - EN - SUP Directive - EUR-Lex (europa.eu) here
Danish Producer Responsibility can provide specific guidance on whether a product is covered by producer responsibility and it has the authority to make a decision on whether a product and a company are covered by producer responsibility for certain single-use plastic products. Contact information can be found on DPA's website here.
Other questions can be addressed to the Environmental Protection Agency, via email: mst@mst.dk
Please write that it concerns producer responsibility for single-use plastic.
Please note that the Environmental Protection Agency cannot make decisions on whether a product is covered, as the Environmental Protection Agency is the appeal authority for the decisions made by Danish Producer Responsibility.
Municipalities should collect and clean up discarded single-use products as before. Thus, there are no new rules regarding municipal waste collection and organization thereof. The change means that producers of certain single-use plastic products has to pay the municipalities' costs for:
The share of municipal collection of discarded waste and the subsequent transport and treatment thereof, which concerns products covered by the directive.
The share of municipal collection of waste discarded in public collection systems, and the subsequent transport and treatment thereof, which concerns products covered by the directive.
Municipalities are compensated through the Extended Total Balance Principle (DUT), which is implemented in the block grant.
You can read the letter here.