Netherlands
Does Dutch single-use plastics EPR apply to you
Single-use plastics EPR in Netherlands reaches you the moment you first place listed products on the Dutch market. Say you sell coffee cups or food containers to Dutch outlets: you become a producer from that first sale, and the litter-clean-up duty follows.
It has applied since 1 January 2023, and there is no size or turnover threshold.
This is a broader net than the packaging rules, and one carve-out sits inside it. Makers of menstrual pads and tampons escape the fee, but still run consumer-awareness duties.
Your reporting duties in the Netherlands
Register first, by filing a notification with Rijkswaterstaat, then report on a split calendar:
| Duty | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| Notification (melding) | Rijkswaterstaat | Within six weeks of the rules applying |
| Annual report, individual | Rijkswaterstaat | Before 1 April |
| Annual report, via producer organisation | Rijkswaterstaat | Before 1 August |
| Consumer-awareness plan | Rijkswaterstaat | Before 1 August every third year |
The two report dates catch people out. File it yourself and the deadline is 1 April, but let a producer organisation file for you and it moves to 1 August. Enforcement is administrative, run by ILT with a free-rider reporting form, and no fine amount is published.
If you have no Dutch establishment
Foreign e-commerce sellers shipping single-use plastics straight to Dutch end-users are in scope.
Under the Dutch UPV framework you must notify and report, acting through the notification and authorised representative route the decree provides. Selling from abroad does not exempt you. See the wider map on EPR in the Netherlands.
Questions sellers ask about single-use plastics EPR in the Netherlands
Short answers to the common ones.
Who has to register for single-use plastics EPR in the Netherlands?
Anyone who first places listed single-use plastic products on the Dutch market, such as cups, food containers, wet wipes and balloons. There is no size threshold, and you register by notifying Rijkswaterstaat within six weeks.
How much does single-use plastics EPR cost in the Netherlands?
A fixed litter-clean-up amount per product that Rijkswaterstaat sets and publishes each 1 June. It differs by product and is based on a cost study, a litter-composition survey and volumes placed on the market, so no rate is safe to quote in advance. There is no register fee or eco-modulation.
What happens if I sell without registering?
ILT supervises compliance and runs a free-rider reporting form, acting under the Wet milieubeheer. No product-specific fine amount is published, so avoid quoting one, but not notifying and not reporting breaches the rules.
Which register covers single-use plastics in the Netherlands?
Rijkswaterstaat. You file the notification and the annual UPV report there. Beverage bottles and cans are handled separately through the deposit system, not the litter tariff.
Can I handle Netherlands single-use plastics EPR from abroad?
Yes, but you remain in scope. Foreign distance sellers must notify and report through the Dutch UPV route, using the representative mechanism the decree provides. Selling from abroad does not remove the duty.
