Packaging EPR in France: how it works and who is concerned

Extended producer responsibility, or EPR (REP in French), is the mechanism that funds the collection and recycling of packaging in France. Many e-commerce and logistics companies still confuse the household packaging scheme, which has been around for a long time, with the new B2B packaging scheme, which is only now getting started. This explainer sets out how the mechanism works and identifies who must register, and where.

The principle: polluter pays, not collector pays

An EPR scheme rests on a simple principle: whoever places a packaged product on the market funds the end of life of that packaging, whether or not they handle collection themselves. In practice, there are two ways to meet this obligation:

• join an eco-organization (éco-organisme) approved by the French State, paying it an eco-contribution calculated according to a fee schedule (by material, by weight, by unit depending on the scheme),
• set up an individual system, separately approved by the State, when the company chooses to manage the end of life of its packaging itself rather than going through a collective eco-organization.

The eco-organization then pays financial support to the local authorities or operators that carry out collection, sorting and actual recycling.

Two separate packaging schemes in France

This is the most commonly misunderstood point: there is not one packaging EPR scheme, but two, with different timelines and operators.

The household packaging scheme, run by Citeo

Citeo is the long-standing eco-organization for household packaging and graphic paper. It was approved on December 27, 2023 for the 2025-2029 period, with specifications published in the Journal officiel (French Official Journal) at the end of December 2024.

The scheme's funding relies on per-tonne support paid to local authorities, but this support remains conditional on the actual take-back and recycling of collected and sorted packaging, material by material. In its 2025 activity report, Citeo itself describes a scheme in a “zone of turbulence” with results still below target, and its chairman argues for moving from a focus on means to a culture of results. It is the eco-organization making this assessment of its own scheme, which is useful to know for anyone who has to work with it.

The new B2B packaging scheme

Created by the loi AGEC (French anti-waste law for a circular economy), this scheme targets packaging used in business-to-business (B2B) relationships, as opposed to household packaging intended for the end consumer. A framework decree, Decree No. 2025-1081 of November 17, 2025, laid down its structure.

An order (arrêté) of June 3, 2026 approved three eco-organizations: Citeo Pro, Léko Pro and Twiice. The major pallet pool operators, Euro Pool System, International Pallet Pool and La Palette Rouge, obtained approval as individual systems, a route distinct from joining a collective eco-organization.

The timeline, however, has slipped. Operational launch was initially planned for July 1, 2026. On June 26, 2026, the minister responsible for Industry and Energy announced an indefinite postponement, citing the late publication of EU guidelines and the recent publication of the eco-organizations' fee schedules. On July 28, 2026, the ministry set operational implementation for January 1, 2027. The scheme dedicated to food service packaging, which had existed since 2024 under Citeo Pro, is being absorbed into this new B2B scheme.

The amounts at stake are significant: around €300 million in eco-contributions expected at launch, with a trajectory targeting €600 million per year by 2030. A large share of this funding is earmarked for the collection and sorting of non-hazardous plastics, whose recycling rate remains low (26% in 2024-2025, against a target of 55% in 2030).

Who is concerned, in practice

The deciding criterion is where the packaging ends up, not the size of the company:

• packaging that travels with a product all the way to the end consumer generally falls under the household scheme (Citeo),
• packaging used in flows between businesses, including transport and logistics packaging (pallets, pallet boxes, pallet wrapping films, bulk cartons, drums), falls under the B2B scheme, once it has actually launched.

For an e-commerce or logistics company, both schemes can apply at the same time: the final packaging shipped to the customer follows one logic, while handling and transport packaging within the supply chain follows the other. This is something to check with your eco-organization rather than assume.

What this means operationally

The first step is to identify the right contact, since it depends on the type of packaging: Citeo for household packaging, Citeo Pro, Léko Pro or Twiice for B2B packaging, or an individual system if the company manages the end of life of its transport packaging itself. Then comes cost. With a ramp-up targeting €600 million per year for the B2B scheme by 2030, the eco-contribution becomes a cost line to build into the economics of a package, just like its manufacturing or its return logistics.

One more down-to-earth pitfall remains: follow the actual timeline rather than the announced one. Several reference documents, including materials from ADEME (French Agency for Ecological Transition) dated February-March 2026, still mentioned an entry into force on July 1, 2026. That has since changed. Check a document's publication date before relying on it for a compliance decision.

Key dates

Packaging designed for reuse, with an organized return loop, changes the picture for both schemes: it reduces the volume of single-use packaging on which the eco-contribution is calculated, in addition to contributing to the loi AGEC reuse target.

This article is for information only and does not replace legal advice. The B2B packaging scheme timeline already changed once in 2026: check its status with your eco-organization or on the French Ministry of Ecological Transition website before any compliance decision.

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