Poland
Poland registers every producer duty in one database and runs a product-fee model, with a deposit system live since October 2025. Polish EPR compliance means a BDO entry plus recovery obligations across eight active streams, and a bigger packaging overhaul is being drafted.
The current model leans on fees. Where you miss a recovery or recycling target, you pay a product fee rather than a fixed licence charge.
What carries EPR in Poland
Eight streams are active: packaging, electronics, batteries, vehicles, tyres, lubricant oils, single-use plastics and fishing gear. Textiles are the stream still ahead.
The single-use plastics rules arrived in stages. Bans and labelling came in 2023, and from 2024 a consumer fee on cups and containers sits alongside producer fees that finance litter clean-up.
Fishing gear also became a duty in 2024, with producers financing selective collection against a target that climbs from 5 percent to 30 percent by 2030.
The BDO register
Every stream routes through BDO, the national waste database, where producers register before placing goods on the market and report against their recovery obligations.
Foreign sellers of electronics need a local step. A distance seller into Poland appoints a Polish authorised representative to hold the BDO registration and reporting.
The deposit system
Beverage containers carry a deposit under the system kaucyjny, live since 1 October 2025. It sits alongside the packaging producer duty rather than replacing it.
Drinks producers pay the deposit on the container and still meet their packaging obligations through the product-fee model.
What changes next
The Polish pipeline is dominated by a reform that reshapes packaging:
- Textiles: municipal separate collection has run since 2025, with an EPR scheme required by around April 2028.
- 12 August 2026: the EU packaging regulation PPWR applies directly in Poland.
A central packaging EPR reform is in draft, moving the model toward a single state operator and full financing by 2028. It would change how packaging fees are set and paid, so watch the bill rather than assume today's product-fee model is permanent.
Frequently asked questions about EPR in Poland
Brief answers to the questions sellers ask most.
What is EPR in Poland?
Producer responsibility across eight active streams, all registered in the BDO database, run on a product-fee model with recovery and recycling obligations per stream.
What is the Polish EPR register?
BDO, the national waste database, where producers register before selling and report their recovery obligations and product fees.
Is the deposit the same as packaging EPR?
No. The system kaucyjny deposit on beverage containers is a separate return system, live since October 2025, applying alongside the packaging duty.
Do foreign sellers need a Polish representative?
For electronics, yes. A distance seller into Poland appoints a Polish authorised representative to carry the BDO registration and reporting.
Is Poland changing its packaging EPR?
Yes, a central reform is in draft that would move to a single state operator and full financing by 2028, so the current product-fee model may not last.