How do I find out whether my product is concerned by an EPR scheme? 

Check whether your product comes under one of the EPR schemes by consulting the scope of the current schemes that may concern you. Then contact one of the producer responsability organisations  in charge of that scheme.

Be careful not to omit certain components of articles placed on the market, especially packaging and batteries. For example, a second-hand clothing seller whose products are packaged will not be concerned by the Apparel EPR scheme (which only covers new products), but will have to contribute to the household packaging scheme!  

Which producer responsibility organisations are accredited for the EPR schemes? 

Producer responsibility organisations (PROs) play a key role in each scheme by assuming responsibility on behalf of their member producers. They are accredited by the public authorities for a set period of time.  

Consult the Producer Responsibility Organisations list.  

Need an english version ? Consult the Producer Responsibility Organisations list.

To find out more about the role played by PROs, see this page explaining how the EPR schemes operate.

Who are Unique Identification Numbers (UINs) issued to? 

A Unique Identification Number (UIN) is issued to a company that places products subject to EPR on the market within French national territory.  

To find out more about the companies concerned, go to our page on UINs.

Can a producer have several Unique Identification Numbers? 

Yes, a producer will hold a UIN for each scheme to which it is subject.

It should be noted that a given product can fall under several EPR schemes.

A smartphone, for instance, may be concerned by the electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) scheme, the household packaging and graphic papers (EMPAP) scheme, and the batteries and accumulators (PA) scheme

How do I obtain a Unique Identification Number? 

The producer responsibility organisation you have joined will handle registering you with the declaration tool for EPR schemes (SYDEREP) and sending you your UIN. You cannot do this as an individual in the framework of a collective scheme.  

To find out more about obtaining a UIN, go to our page on the formalities for obtaining a UIN.

What should I do if I can’t obtain my UIN from my producer responsibility organisation? 

ADEME is not able to generate a UIN for a producer that is part of a collective scheme. The PRO handles this process after the producer has joined and complied with the contractual terms, which are specific to each PRO. Similarly, the timeframes for finalising contracts are specific to each PRO.  

If you have problems obtaining your UIN: 

• You can consult our search engine of UINs issued,  to check whether it was generated after you were registered.
• If it was not, only your PRO will be able to advise you.  

What information is required in order to obtain a Unique Identification Number? 

Within a collective scheme, the producer must send its contact details to the PRO it wishes to join as a minimum.

Note that companies are identified according to their country of residence: 

• For French companies: their SIRET (French business establishment identification number),
• For EU companies: their Intra-Community value-added tax (VAT) number,
• For foreign companies: the registration number issued by the tax authority in its country of residence. 

To find out more, view the list of information to provide 

How can I find out whether a company has a Unique Identification Number?

To find out whether a producer has a UIN, you can use our dedicated search engine, and search by company name or UIN.

What are the obligations in terms of declaring a Unique Identification Number? 

All producers must declare their UINs in their general terms and conditions of sale, and on their website.

If you are starting a new activity involving market placement and wish to prepare your communication resources in advance, contact your PRO and ask whether it can register you before you launch your activity. Registration is the only means of generating UINs.

To find out more about the obligations in terms of declaring UINs, go to our page on UINs.

What sorting instructions must be put on products subject to EPR?  

The Triman symbol informs the public that a waste material is subject to sorting rules and explains what they involve. This may include in-store take-back for electrical and electronic equipment, specific collection points for batteries, disposing of packaging in the yellow waste bin, etc.

This sorting logo must be used by producer responsibility organisations and individual compliance schemes, which define their own marking subject to approval by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition. Producers must request the logo to be placed on their product or packaging from their PROs at the time of joining. They will then be responsible for placing these on their products, with the appropriate information about sorting.

In the case of a packaged product subject to EPR, a single logo is sufficient. It must be placed on the packaging along with the two sets of sorting instructions (product and packaging).

More details can be found on the FAQ page of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition.

For further information about the Triman logo and sorting instructions in the scheme that concerns you, please contact your producer responsibility organisation.

How do I tell citizens where to drop off their products for repair, reuse or disposal? 

In practical terms, the website Que Faire de Mes Déchets et Objets (“What to do with my waste and objects”) helps people find nearby collection, repair, or reuse points where they can drop off an item in just a few clicks. 

This search tool can be embedded directly on your website to raise your visitors’ awareness about waste reduction and encourage them to take action.  
To do so, simply copy this script to your website: 

<script src="https://quefairedemesobjets.ademe.fr/iframe.js"></script>

The term ‘marketplace’ refers to all the electronic interfaces defined in  L. 541-10-9.

A marketplace has producer status: 

• If it places products on the market under its own brand;
• For the quantities it places on the market on behalf of third parties, UNLESS it holds proof that these parties have already fulfilled their obligations – in other words, that they hold a UIN for the scheme(s) concerned. 

For further information on marketplaces, consult the website of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition.

Several EPR ‘intermediaries’ with different levels of responsibility have an impact on producers’ obligations to declare individual market placements, and on the holding and use of the EPR Unique Identification Number (UIN). 

Case of appointing producers/authorised representatives 

A producer may choose to place the responsibility for its EPR obligations in the hands of an authorised representative. The authorised representative thereby assumes the producer’s responsibility.

The authorised representative must declare the individual market placements for each of the producers it represents: directly in the SYDEREP declaration tool in the case of an individual compliance scheme, and via the producer responsibility organisations in the case of a collective scheme. 

Case of represented producers/representing producer entities 

A derogation has been granted by the Ministry, applicable solely to groups/subsidiaries (within the meaning of the Commercial Code) and franchisors/franchisees (within the meaning of the order of 29 November 1973 – ‘Journal Officiel’ (Official Journal) of 03/01/1974, which defines a franchise as a contract whereby a company grants independent businesses, in exchange for a fee, the right to operate under its corporate name and trademark to sell products or services).

This derogation consists in authorising the reporting of consolidated data for all the entities represented (subsidiaries or franchises). In this case, only the representatives (groups or franchisors) hold an EPR Unique Identification Number (UIN). Nevertheless, the entities represented (subsidiaries or franchisees) are authorised to include in their General Terms and Condition of Sale the wording “subsidiary/franchisee of the company [company name – SIRET] holding UIN [number]”.