By means of a packaging tax, producers, importers and distributors of packages products pay for the collection, sorting/processing and recycling of packaging waste. An annual total amount of € 115 million is reserved in a waste fund. From this fund, municipalities are paid for the collection and registration. The money received has to be invested in local waste policies.
Packaging is divided into three categories:
- primary packaging: consumer packaging
- secondary packaging: packaging used to hold several products together
- tertiary packaging: packaging used to transport products
The tax tariffs have been calculated based on the damage the material does to the environment. The tariffs are (in €/kg):
|
Material |
Primary packaging |
Secondary/Tertiary packaging |
|
Glass |
0,0456 |
0,0160 |
|
Aluminium |
0,5731 |
0,2011 |
|
Other metals |
0,1126 |
0,0395 |
|
Plastics |
0,3554 |
0,1247 |
|
Bioplastics |
0,0641 |
0,0225 |
|
Paper/Cardboard |
0,0641 |
0,0225 |
|
Wood |
0,0228 |
0,0080 |
|
Other materials |
0,1017 |
0,0357 |
