Citeo – your ally for a circular packaging and paper economy
Do you sell packaged products consumed by households in France? Do you produce brochures or manuals? If so, you are affected by the extended producer responsibility (EPR) obligation to manage the end of life of your packaging and paper, as provided for by the French Environmental Code since 1992 (Articles R.541-10, R.543-56 and R543-208).
Citeo, a not-for-profit, mission-led organisation approved by the public authorities, provides you with a helping hand to manage and finance the end of life of your packaging and graphic paper.
In practice, joining Citeo means you delegate your responsibility to us. The financial contribution you make helps finance the collection, sorting and recycling of packaging and paper. As a Citeo member, you also benefit from a full support package for packaging and paper, from eco-design and communicating about your commitments to customers, to being prepared for the new regulatory obligations that affect you.
Once you are a member, you can estimate the amount you will be asked to contribute, receive your unique identifier and access the files for the compulsory Sorting Info label.
28,000
client contracts, from entrepreneurs to multinationals
72%
recycling rate for household packaging in 2021
62%
recycling rate for graphic paper in 2021
In France, most companies have decided to work together under the aegis of producer responsibility organisations approved by public authorities, such as Citeo. Founded in 1992, Citeo has been helping its clients lessen the environmental impact of their packaging and paper for 30 years now, by proposing solutions for reducing, reusing, sorting and recycling.
Does packaging EPR apply to my organisation?
Household packaging EPR applies to you if you are a:
- PRODUCER: if the packaged product comes from France, for products you package or have packaged under your brand, unbranded or as an own-brand.
- IMPORTER: if the packaged product comes from abroad, for packaged products purchased abroad and resold on the French market.
- RETAILERS: for service and shipping packaging, and if acting as an importer.
- MARKETPLACE: if third-party sellers have not declared the packaging for the products sold on your e-commerce platform.
The EPR applies to all companies placing household packaging on the French market.
➡ Do you have more questions?
How much will I have to pay Citeo for the packaging EPR contribution?
The amount you pay depends on the quantity of packaged products (also known as consumer sales units or CSUs) you sell to households in France.
Citeo offers three types of declaration based on that quantity or volume:
|
€80 FLAT FEE |
SIMPLIFIED DECLARATION |
CONSUMER SALES UNIT (CSU) DECLARATION |
|---|---|---|
|
Companies marketing under 10,000 CSUs per year do not need to provide a detailed declaration. No figures are required. Just sign into your client account to declare your status. You will only need to pay the minimum annual flat rate of €80 excl. tax. |
This declaration is available to companies placing under 500,000 CSUs on the market annually. No detailed data is required. The contribution is based on flat rates per product family. |
Accessible to all. Each type of packaging is broken down into material type and weight, to which an eco-modulation (bonus and penalty) sometimes applies. Available to all our clients and mandatory if you place 500,000 CSUs or more on the market.. |
What does my Citeo packaging EPR contribution finance?
Contribution simulator
Once you are a Citeo member, you can use our declaration simulators for the various types of declaration offered, enabling you to choose the best option for your business. Each declaration offers different advantages – you are free to decide which best meets your needs and budget.
Unique identifier number (UIN)
Since 1 January 2022, you should have been issued with a unique identifier number (UIN) generated by the French agency for ecological transition (ADEME). E-commerce businesses selling products via a marketplace have to transmit their unique identifier to their marketplaces, to prove that they have paid their contribution to each producer responsibility organisation. When you join Citeo, we take care of all the administrative steps required by the ADEME. You receive your unique identifier a few days after becoming a member. Your unique identifier needs to appear in your T&Cs and any contractual documents.
Sorting Info
The Sorting Info has been compulsory since 9 September 2022 and now includes the Triman logo. Any graphic paper that fall into the hands of private individuals, manufactured from that date onwards must display the Sorting Info label. However, you are allowed to use up all existing papers stock that was manufactured before that date. So, where can you access the files for the Sorting Info label? As a Citeo client, you can download the guide and the Illustrator source files to create the label for your graphic papers.
How to join Citeo
Does graphic paper EPR apply to my organisation?
"Graphic paper” (printed paper whose grammage is <224 g/m²) also has an EPR scheme. It requires businesses to pay a contribution to a producer responsibility organisation to manage and finance the end of life of their paper.
The scheme applies if you produce or order printed paper products for your organisation and introduce them onto the French market. However, blank paper is declared directly by the companies manufacturing it.
Here are a few examples of printed paper products: brochures, leaflets, catalogues, magazines, newspapers, mailings, headed paper, management documents, envelopes, posters, user manuals, decorative paper, receipts, tickets, etc.
In contrast with packaging EPR, paper EPR covers all paper products placed on the market in France (B2B, B2C, public bodies).
Citeo is the only producer responsibility organisation approved by the French government for paper EPR in France.
- The paper EPR applies regardless of the volume. As soon as you place any paper on the market, you have to join Citeo.
- To simplify the process, there is now a single customer area which gathers the Packaging and Graphic Paper EPRs. It is nevertheless necessary to complete a separate registration and declaration for each EPR.
➡ Do you have more questions?
How much will I have to pay Citeo for the graphic paper EPR contribution?
- Under five tonnes, you don’t pay anything.
- Over five tonnes, the rate is updated every year. For paper placed on the market in 2022, the base rate per tonne of paper is €65 excl. tax.
Depending on the type of declaration chosen (simplified or detailed), the rate may be adjusted upwards or downwards. For more information, refer to the rates guide.
Contribution simulator
Unique identifier number (UIN)
Since 1 January 2022, you should have been issued with a unique identifier number (UIN) generated by the French agency for ecological transition (ADEME). E-commerce businesses selling products via a marketplace have to transmit their unique identifier to their marketplaces, to prove that they have paid their contribution to each producer responsibility organisation. When you join Citeo, we take care of all the administrative steps required by the ADEME. You receive your unique identifier a few days after becoming a member. Your unique identifier needs to appear in your T&Cs and any contractual documents.
Sorting Info
The Sorting Info label has been compulsory since 9 September 2022 and now includes the Triman logo. Any packaging manufactured from that date onwards must display the Sorting Info label. However, you are allowed to use up all existing packaging stock that was manufactured before that date. So, where can you access the files for the Sorting Info label? As a Citeo member, you can download the guide and the Illustrator source files to create the label for your packaging.
How to join Citeo ?
