Changes in Packaging Reporting

The annual environmental compliance reporting season is almost over. However, due to continued efforts to reduce waste and encourage producers to improve the design of their products, packaging reporting was very much affected by changes in required reporting categories and updates to compliance schemes’ reporting portals across Europe. 

The Greek packaging scheme HERRCO, for example, updated the reporting categories. Paper and plastic were further split into sub-categories depending on the paper packaging category and plastic type. New categories were also introduced for composite packaging, highlighting the need to collect more detailed information on multi-material packaging.  

In Spain, Ecoembes, the packaging scheme, introduced a couple of new packaging attributes requested in the detailed declaration. The new requirements included:

• New color codes for glass packaging.
• A further distinction of multi-material packaging basing on the content of EVOH.
• An indication of the volume of plastic bottles.  

While some compliance schemes implemented more detailed reporting in terms of material attributes, others focused on upgrading their portals to make the reporting itself more efficient.  

The Belgian packaging scheme Fostplus, for example, launched a new portal, which is more user-friendly compared to its predecessor. Apart from the visual upgrade, the new portal also provides an instantaneous result of data import validation. This solution saves time as it allows to review the errors quickly and directly on the level of affected packaging sheets. Furthermore, information on packaging attributes also has become more detailed.  

A new portal was also launched by the packaging scheme Valorlux in Luxembourg. New data import templates are available, making the data collection easier and uniform for all customers. As of the 2021 declaration, the new Valorlux nomenclature is in place, so it was essential to review all previously entered packaging data migrated from the previous system. 

2021 was certainly an eventful year regarding new reporting requirements and formats. However, by working closely with our customers to collect as detailed data as possible, we successfully implemented all the changes to meet our customers’ Extended Producer Responsibility obligations, and we are ready for the challenges of the 2022 reporting. 

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