Extended Producer Responsibility shifts the burden of waste management to producers, requiring them to take financial and operational responsibility.
What is EPR?
In a world increasingly defined by environmental urgency, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) (in Dutch:Uitgebreide Producentenverantwoordelijkheid (UPV)), is emerging as a powerful legal instrument that redefines the relationship between producers and the products they create. It’s no longer enough to design, manufacture, and sell. Producers are now expected to take ownership of what happens after their products are used, discarded, and forgotten.
Whether you are a manufacturer, importer, or online seller, the responsibility does not end at the point of sale. It extends into the waste phase, demanding that producers finance and organize the collection, sorting, and recycling of their products. This shift is not just about logistics, it’s about accountability, sustainability, and long-term impact.
The scope of EPR is intentionally broad. It applies to all parties that place products on the market (“producers”), i.e. manufacturers, importers, resellers, and online sellers targeting Flemish consumers, whether they sell under their own labels or not. Belgian legislation covers a wide range of product categories, from packaging and electronics to batteries, vehicles, and increasingly, textiles.
It’s no longer enough to design, manufacture, and sell. Producers are now expected to take ownership of what happens after their products are used, discarded, and forgotten.
EPR obligations
One of the core obligations under EPR is the acceptance obligation, which requires producers to take back discarded products offered by consumers free of charge - typically via retailers, recycling parks, or other collection points. It is essential that the producer who has placed the product on the market bears responsibility for the collection and processing of its products that have reached the waste stage. The acceptance obligation is the most used instrument in the Flemish waste policy to implement EPR.
This responsibility can be fulfilled through:
- A collective system (via a covenant with OVAM); or
- An individual plan (subject to approval and annual reporting by/to OVAM).
In most cases, the acceptance obligation is fulfilled collectively by a sector. This is more efficient than if each producer were to organize their own system. Well-known collections systems are, for example, Recupel for electrical and electronic waste, Bebat for batteries and Valorlub for oil. The collective system is set out in a negotiated agreement between OVAM and the sector concerned, the acceptance obligation covenant.
Producers who prefer their own system can organize this on the basis of an individual plan that should be submitted to OVAM for approval. The plan describes how the company organizes selective collection and processing. The company must also take the necessary preventive measures and report annually to OVAM on the implementation of the plan.
Additionally, in some cases, producers must also submit a collective plan detailing how the specific legal provisions applicable to the relevant acceptance obligation will be implemented. Unlike the acceptance obligation, a collective plan does not necessarily focus on the collection and processing of waste by the producer. The collective plan therefore provides a more flexible framework for assigning other responsibilities to producers. This may include, for example, financial responsibility or the provision of information. The obligation applies to all producers who place a particular product on the market and is in Flanders mandatory for expired medicines, litter, and disposable diapers. The collective plan must be approved by OVAM and OVAM monitors the plan yearly.
A last EPR instrument is the take-back obligation for packaging waste introduced by the Interregional Cooperation Agreement on Packaging Waste in Belgium. Every producer placing significant volumes on the market must meet strict recovery and recycling quotas, again with the option of collective or individual compliance. The take-back obligation makes a distinction between packaging waste from households and packaging waste from businesses. For households, the business community has set up Fost Plus, while the latter is managed by VAL-I-PAC. By joining Fost Plus or VAL-I-PAC, companies can fulfill their take-back obligation. The companies then pay a contribution that depends on the type and quantity of packaging placed on the market. In addition, companies that place a lot of packaging on the market must draw up a prevention plan every three years.
On 11 February 2025 the Packaging and Packaging Waste regulation came into force, with its first binding obligations taking effect on 12 August 2026. This new regulation marks a turning point for all companies involved in packaging on the European territory. It introduces stricter regulations aimed at enhancing the sustainability of packaging and reducing waste, specifically targeting the following goals:
- Make all packaging on the EU market recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030.
- Safely increase the use of recycled plastics in packaging.
- Decrease the use of virgin materials in packaging and put the sector on track to climate neutrality by 2050.
As outlined above, Belgium (and more specifically Flanders), has already established legislation focused on sustainability and EPR obligations related to packaging. However, the Packaging and Packaging Waste regulation will have an impact on existing national regulations as it introduces more ambitious targets accompanied by stricter requirements that demand additional effort. The new rules include, for example, restrictions on certain single-use plastics, a requirement for take-away businesses to offer customers the option to bring their own containers at no extra cost and the minimization of substances of concern. The Packaging and Packaging Waste regulation will also replace the Belgian term “verpakkingsverantwoordelijke”/”responsible d’emballages” (responsible company) with a new, uniform European term “producer”, which carries different implications.
The requirements of this regulation will be further specified in harmonized standards for packaging, guidelines, and subsequent adoption of implementing and delegated acts.
Sector Spotlight: Textiles
The EU generates around 2.5 billion tons of waste per year, approximately 5 tons annually per person. This creates certain challenges that will need to be tackled. With the revision of the Waste Framework Directive, the textile sector is entering a new phase of responsibility.
The Waste Framework Directive, which has been in force since 2008, established a legal framework for treating waste in the EU. The rules included in this framework directive are part of a broader strategy to reduce environmental impact and promote circularity in the textile industry. As a result of this framework, separate collections for textiles intended for reuse, preparation for reuse, and recycling have been mandatory since January 2025.
On 5 July 2023 the European Commission presented a proposal to revise the Waste Framework Directive, setting specific targets for prevention, reuse, and recycling of waste in the textile sector. Organizations like Retexbel and Circletex vzw are emerging to support producers in meeting these obligations through voluntary membership and coordinated waste management.
The revision of the Waste Framework Directive entered into force on 16 October 2025, introducing common rules for EPR for textiles and setting binding food waste reduction targets for Member States. It forms part of the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan. The updated rules aim to hold producers accountable for the management of their products, for example clothing, footwear, blankets, linen and curtains. The revision introduced two main sets of measures:
- Mandatory EPR schemes for textile and footwear products – Under these schemes textile and footwear producers will pay a fee for each product they place on the market. This fee will finance collection schemes and the management of the collected textiles, providing for their re-use, preparing for re-use, recycling and disposal.
- New rules for the management of used textiles and textile waste – A uniform interpretation of what constitutes “waste” versus “used” textiles will be integrated across Member States. Member States will have to ensure that separately collected textiles undergo sorting operations before their possible shipment, preventing waste from being falsely labelled and exported as reusable.
Member States have 20 months to transpose the revised Directive into national laws and 30 months to establish EPR schemes for textile and footwear products. It is expected that the new systems will be implemented throughout the EU by 2028.
Consequences for non-compliance
The Interregional Cooperation Agreement on Packaging Waste imposes various sanctions on the packaging responsible and the legal entity involved:
- administrative fines depending on the kind of infringement (up to a maximum of EUR 25,000, with the possibility of doubling this amount);
- criminal fines (up to a maximum of EUR 2,000,000); and
- imprisonment.
It is important to note that other sanctions related to non-compliance with the UPV and textiles regulation will probably be introduced by the Belgian legislator in the near future as the various EUR regulations and directives stipulate that effective, proportionate, and dissuasive penalties must be provided for.
What’s next?
The EU is gearing up to take stronger action on sustainability. In the coming years, it plans to set clear performance targets to boost the re-use of products, including textiles and packaging, and encourage systems that prepare items for re-use instead of disposal.
EPR marks a turning point in how businesses engage with sustainability. By shifting accountability for waste to those who place products on the market, EPR challenges producers to move beyond compliance and embrace innovation. EPR will also cover more product categories, meaning producers will have to take greater responsibility for what happens to their products at the end of life. These steps aim to make circularity the norm, designing products to last longer, be repairable, and recyclable, while reducing waste and supporting a greener economy. Those who act now won’t just meet legal requirements, they’ll help shape a more circular, responsible economy and earn the trust of tomorrow’s consumers.
