Netherlands
What the Dutch paper scheme actually covers
Graphic paper EPR in Netherlands is both broader and narrower than the name suggests. There is no scheme literally called graphic paper. Instead there is one producer responsibility for all non-packaging paper and board, run by Papier Recycling Nederland.
Graphical products sit at its core, including books, periodicals, brochures, folders, notebooks and calendars. But so do wallpaper, masking paper, displays, manuals and hygienic paper.
The hard boundary is on the other side, since packaging paper is carved out entirely. So the real question is not graphic or not, but packaging or non-packaging.
Where your paper products fall in the Netherlands
Picture a pallet of new copy paper landing at your Dutch warehouse, or a print run of brochures you are first to bring onto the market here. In both cases the duty may land on you as the eerste ontvanger, the first receiver.
That is the twist a generic guide misses. The levy does not attach to the printer or publisher by name, but to whoever is the first party in the Netherlands to take new paper or board with the aim of placing it on the market.
Publishers, printers, mail-order firms and copy-paper importers are the named examples, and there is no small-producer threshold.
Where the money goes in the Netherlands
The contribution funds the collective paper-recycling system, steered toward a minimum 75 percent recycling target. It is a per-weight recyclingbeheerbijdrage to the Stichting Verwijderingsfonds, and it is not eco-modulated.
The rate is set each quarter. For the first quarter of 2026 it was 3,25 euro per 1.000 kilograms of new non-packaging paper and board placed on the market or imported, excluding VAT.
The agreement runs from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2027, with no marketplace gate and no dedicated foreign-seller representative. Compare the equally narrow construction glass levy mapped on EPR in the Netherlands.
Frequently asked questions about Dutch graphic paper EPR
Short answers to the common ones.
Who has to register for graphic paper EPR in the Netherlands?
Whoever is the first receiver of new non-packaging paper or board on the Dutch market, such as publishers, printers, mail-order firms and copy-paper importers. There is no size threshold, and you check your status with PRN's assessment form.
How much does graphic paper EPR cost in the Netherlands?
A per-weight recyclingbeheerbijdrage set each quarter. For the first quarter of 2026 it was 3,25 euro per 1.000 kilograms of new non-packaging paper and board, excluding VAT. It is not eco-modulated and is levied when waste-paper prices are low, plus once a year for system costs.
What happens if I sell without registering?
There is no stream-specific fine, because this is a declared levy under the Wet milieubeheer rather than a decree. Its binding force still obliges every first receiver on the Dutch market to pay, including those who never signed up.
Which register covers graphic paper in the Netherlands?
Papier Recycling Nederland runs the scheme for non-packaging paper and board, and its participant list is public. Packaging paper is excluded and handled by Verpact instead.
Can I handle Netherlands graphic paper EPR from abroad?
There is no dedicated authorised-representative route. Liability sits on the first receiver in the Netherlands, so the party that owes the levy is usually that first Dutch receiver rather than a foreign seller.
