Packaging definitions

 

Packaging is defined in Government Decree 1029/2021 and its annex.

The Decree specifies which products fall under packaging producer responsibility. For companies, this means the obligation to arrange the collection, recycling, guidance, and reporting of packaging waste, as well as to participate in the costs arising from these activities. Correct classification directly affects what and how much a company must report to the producer organization.

What is packaging?

According to the Decree, packaging is any material placed around a product that protects, preserves, presents, or facilitates the transport and handling of the product from the producer to the consumer or other user.

Packaging may be a sales package, group package, or transport package. All parts related to packaging, such as labels, are also considered packaging, as well as any items that fulfill one or more functions of packaging.

In short, packaging is:

  • Protective: Protects the product from damage, dirt and other external factors.
  • Enabling handling: Makes the product easier to handle and transport.
  • Promotional: presents the product at the point of sale and provides information about it.
  • Contains the product: Holds the product fully or partially.

Examples of different types of packaging are sales packaging (e.g. jars, bottles, cartons), group packaging (packaging of several products, e.g. six-packs of beer) and transport packaging (e.g. pallets, boxes, plastic wrap). Labels and other parts attached to the product are also counted as packaging.

It is also important to note that single-use tableware that meets the definition of packaging is classified as packaging.

What is not considered packaging?

For example, according to the additional criteria of the Packaging Regulation, packaging is not considered to be:

  • Flowerpots intended for the entire life cycle of a plant
  • Toolboxes
  • Tea bags
  • Wax layers around cheese
  • Sausage casings
  • Clothes hangers (when sold separately)
  • Coffee capsules for machines, coffee foil bags, and coffee pods made of filter paper that are discarded together with the coffee product
  • Printer cartridges
  • CD, DVD, and video tape cases (when sold together with the CD, DVD, or tape)
  • Water-soluble detergent sachets
  • Grave lanterns (covers of grave candles)
  • Mechanical grinding stones (in refillable containers, such as refillable pepper mills)

Such products are not classified as packaging, even if they resemble packaging externally.