Frequently Asked Questions  

Producers of packaging include companies that package their products, importers of packaged products, and in certain cases distance sellers or packaging manufacturers.

Producer responsibility applies only to packaging placed on the market. Packaging used solely for internal company purposes is not subject to producer responsibility.

You can find more information about producer responsibility here.

Service packaging must always be reported by the Finnish manufacturer of the packaging or the company importing the packaging into Finland.

A company that packs its own products into such packaging is not subject to the reporting obligation.

Sumi’s customers can choose from three reporting cycles: monthly, quarterly, and yearly reporting. If no reporting cycle has been selected separately, yearly reporting is applied by default.

The reporting schedule depends on the selected reporting cycle:

• Yearly reporting: Packaging data for the previous year is reported in January of the following year.
• Quarterly reporting: Packaging data for each quarter is reported during the month following the quarter.
• Monthly reporting: Packaging data for the previous month is reported during the following month.

We remind customers of reporting deadlines through automatic email notifications.

If your company is subject to producer responsibility, small packaging quantities must also be reported. There is no minimum reporting limit.

In the SumiOn system, packaging data can be reported with gram-level precision.

In the SumiOn system, the reporting of SUP packaging depends on the selected reporting method.

Sales-based (EAN-based) reporting method:
SUP packaging is reported together with other packaging data by selecting the SUP product option and the relevant SUP category for the product. A separate SUP form is not used in this case.

Traditional (RINKI) and simplified reporting method:
SUP packaging is reported using the SUP form available within the packaging data reporting section.

Please always ensure before reporting that the packaging in question qualifies as SUP packaging. Only packaging classified as SUP packaging is reported in SumiOn, including empty single-use plastic beverage cups sold to end users.

If the product is a SUP product but not SUP packaging, it is not reported in the SumiOn system.

Under the simplified reporting method, reuse of packaging is not reported.

Only the 1st usage in Finland and packaging placed on the Finnish market together with imported products are reported.

Import of empty packaging itself is not separately reported under the simplified reporting method. In simplified reporting, only the total weight of packaging materials for the reporting period is entered into the SumiOn system.

Service packaging refers to packaging used to pack food and other products at the point of sale directly to the consumer.

Examples include takeaway coffee cups filled in a café, and plastic or paper bags used to pack products in a clothing store.

SUP packaging refers to certain single-use plastic packaging defined in the EU SUP Directive, intended to be used only once before disposal or recycling.

For example, a plastic smoothie cup and plastic-containing bags used for loose bakery products sold at in-store bakery counters are considered SUP packaging.

You can find more examples of SUP packaging in Sumi’s SUP listing here.

Consumer packaging refers to packaging that ends up with the product in the hands of a consumer. Sales packaging for consumer products and packaging used at the point of sale are considered consumer packaging.

Business packaging refers to packaging that ends up with the product delivered to a company. Sales, grouped and transport packaging intended for businesses are considered business packaging.

If packaging clearly ends up only with businesses or is primarily intended for professional use, such as wholesale packaging, it must be reported as business packaging.

If there is a possibility that the packaging may end up with a consumer, it should generally be reported as consumer packaging. This applies in situations where it cannot be demonstrated that the packaging is exclusively supplied to businesses.