What producer responsibility?

Rinkiin.fi Companies’ producer responsibility What producer responsibility?

Producer responsibility for packaging is a statutory obligation for companies. Read below to find out what types of companies are subject to producer responsibility for packaging.

Companies are responsible for organizing the waste management of the packaging they place on the market, including collection, transportation, recycling or other recovery, and for covering the related costs. Under legislation, producers are also required to contribute to achieving the annual material-specific recycling targets (%).

The easiest way for a company to fulfil its producer responsibility obligations is to join a producer organisation. In that case, the management of producer responsibility is transferred to the producer organisation.

Join a producer organisation!

In addition to packaging, producer responsibility applies to the following products:

  • certain single-use plastic products
  • fishing gear containing plastic
  • batteries and accumulators
  • vehicles
  • paper and paper products
  • tyres
  • electrical and electronic equipment (EEE)

Contact information for all producer organizations can be found on the website of the Finnish Supervisory Agency: How to Manage Producer Responsibility

What does producer responsibility mean?

What kind of companies must meet producer responsibility obligations for packaging?

Packaging producer responsibility applies to all businesses operating on a professional basis that place packaging on the Finnish market. The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) changes the definition of a producer in certain respects. Customers of Finnish Packaging Producers Ltd (Suomen Pakkaustuottajat Oy) can access a comprehensive Producer Definition Guide in the Rinki Extranet. The guide explains both the producer definition valid until 11 August 2026 and the definition under the PPWR, which will apply from 12 August 2026 onwards.

 

Producer definition until 11 August 2026

 

Packaging producer responsibility applies to companies established in Finland* that:

  1. Pack or have products packed for the Finnish market (excluding service packaging and farm packaging)
  2. Import packaged products into Finland
  3. Manufacture or import service packaging or farm packaging for the Finnish market

Service packaging: Packaging used at the point of sale to pack food or other products directly for consumers.

 

Farm packaging: Packaging used for unprocessed agricultural and horticultural products sold from a farm.

 

Packaging producer responsibility also applies to companies established outside Finland that:
4. Sell packaged products by distance selling directly to users in Finland

*A Finnish company refers to a company that has a Finnish Business ID and is domiciled in Finland, or a Finnish branch of a foreign operator that is registered in the Trade Register maintained by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office and has a permanent establishment in Finland.

 

Producer definition from 12 August 2026 onwards

 

A packaging producer is:
1. A company established in Finland that:

  • Manufactures or has manufactured, under its own name or trademark, packaged products or empty transport, service or primary production packaging; or
  • Imports packaged products or empty service, transport or primary production packaging, provided that it is not the end user of those items.

2. A company established outside Finland that:

  • Sells packaged products or empty transport, service or primary production packaging by distance selling to Finnish end users (consumers or businesses).

If no producer can be identified for a package under points 1 or 2 above, the producer is the company established in Finland that removes the packaging surrounding the packaged product without being the end user of the product.

Please note! More detailed guidance on the producer definition is available in the Rinki Extranet for customers of Finnish Packaging Producers Ltd. The guide explains, among other things:

  • How transport packaging, service packaging, primary production packaging and end users are defined;
  • What is meant by having products manufactured under one’s own name or trademark; and
  • The exemption applicable to micro-enterprises.

The guide is updated regularly and contains the latest guidance, interpretations and positions issued by the authorities regarding the producer definition.
How to handle producer responsibility

Companies handle their producer responsibility obligations for packaging by signing a contract with a producer organisation. The contract with Finnish Packaging Producers Ltd is registered by Rinki.

 

The contract with the producer organisation covers producer responsibility obligations for packaging placed on the Finnish market. Companies are required to organise the transport of waste sorted on site from their property. This can be arranged with a waste transport company – these costs are not included in the recycling fees.
The implementation of producer responsibility is supervised

The Finnish Supervisory Agency is the authority that supervises the implementation of packaging producer responsibility in Finland. The Agency carries out supervisory tasks in cooperation with other authorities such as the Tax Administration, Customs and the Finnish Environmental institute.

 

Rinki submits the packaging statistics that it collects from Finnish Packaging Producers Ltd customers to the Finnish Supervisory Agency every year. The statistics only show total packaging material volumes.

 

Every year, the Finnish Supervisory Agency reports the accumulated packaging waste volumes as well as information about recycling and reuse to the European Commission.

 

Neglecting producer responsibility can lead to a significant fine

 

If a company with producer responsibility does not fulfil its producer responsibility obligations, the Finnish Supervisory Agency may impose a negligence fine corresponding to 1% of the company’s turnover in the previous year, with a minimum fine of EUR 500 up to a maximum of EUR 500,000. A fine can also be imposed for failing to submit required data, with a minimum fine of EUR 500 up to a maximum of EUR 10,000.
Producer organisations are responsible for recycling packaging waste

Packaging industry producer organisations are legally competent not-for-profit organisations. They are responsible for ensuring that the targets set by EU and Finnish legislation for recycling of packaging are met in Finland, and that the receipt of packaging at terminals and related communications are carried out in accordance with the legislation.

 

The producer organisations agree on material-specific recycling fees. Rinki invoices producer responsibility fees from Finnish Packaging Producers Ltd customers on behalf of the producer organisation.

 

The aim is to arrange recycling of packaging cost-effectively and in a manner that ensures that the fees paid by companies remain reasonable.
Companies must arrange for waste disposal from their properties

Despite the producer responsibility system, companies are responsible for sorting packaging waste that remains on their premises and arranging transportation. Waste transportation can be agreed upon with a waste transport company. Transportation costs must be paid separately and are not included in the recycling fees.

 

The recycling fees cover the recycling of packaging placed on the Finnish market by a company and the collection of consumer packaging in Finland. The collection of packaging waste from the company’s premises is not included in these fees.

 

The recycling fees cover the funding of the network of terminals for receiving packaging waste, where materials are received free of charge, as well as the transportation of the materials from the terminals to the waste treatment plant and the cost of recycling them or turning them into raw material for new products.