24 October 2026

Poland’s packaging fee puts a price on every kilogram of packaging from 2027. For film, that is a second price list alongside the raw material price

Poland’s draft Act on Packaging and Packaging Waste introduces a mass-based packaging fee from 1 January 2027, payable by producers and also by importers of packaged products into the Polish market. It is expected to raise about PLN 513 million in its first year and about PLN 5 billion in 2029. For a food or household chemicals producer, this means packaging weight is no longer just a technical parameter. It becomes a cost line that grows every year until 2029.

In brief

Mechanism: a fee per kilogram of packaging placed on the market, settled quarterly in BDO (Poland’s waste database). The money goes through NFOŚiGW (the National Fund for Environmental Protection) to municipalities. A state fund replaces recovery organisations.
Scale: 2027 is a transition period (about PLN 6 per resident), with full implementation from 2029. In the examples from the regulatory impact assessment, the target rate for plastics comes out at around PLN 1.7/kg.
Lever: with a mass-based fee, thinner film works fastest. Every 10 µm off packaging film means a double-digit percentage fewer kilograms subject to the fee, and less raw material to buy.

2027fee starts (1 January)

513mPLN revenue in 2027

5bnPLN revenue in 2029

PLN 1.7per kg: estimated rate for plastics

01 What we know about Poland’s packaging fee (as of October 2026)

The bill implements PPWR and rebuilds Poland’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) system. The first version, from August 2025, drew more than 1,600 comments. In March 2026 the climate ministry published a new version and moved the start from 2026 to 2027.

Poland’s draft Packaging Act: key elements (March 2026 version)
Who pays	producers and importers of packaged products, as well as anyone who unpacks goods without being the end user
Based on	packaging mass in kilograms, broken down by material
Timetable	2027-2028 transition period, full implementation from 2029
Revenue	about PLN 513 million (2027), PLN 1.26 billion (2028), about PLN 5 billion (2029)
Reporting	quarterly reports in BDO
Penalties	administrative fines of up to PLN 2 million in the most serious cases
Status	government bill in the legislative process

Per-kilogram rates are not settled yet. In the 2025 regulatory impact assessment, a 25 g plastic cosmetics bottle came to a fee of PLN 0.044 in the year of full implementation, or about PLN 1.76/kg; a 16 g multi-material pack came to PLN 0.027, or about PLN 1.68/kg. We treat this as an order of magnitude, not a price list.

02 Myth: “it’s pennies per pack, consumers won’t notice”

On a single pack, it really is pennies. The catch is that a producer does not pay for one pack but for tonnes a year. Here is an example worked out on packaging film, format 25 × 35 cm, PE with a density of 0.92 g/cm³:

40 µm and 30 µm film: mass, fee and raw material per 1 million packs
Film mass per 1 million packs	40 µm: about 6.4 t; 30 µm: about 4.8 t
Fee at PLN 1.7/kg	40 µm: about PLN 10,900; 30 µm: about PLN 8,200
Less raw material to buy	1.6 t per million packs

At 20 million packs a year, the difference in the fee alone is about PLN 54,000, and in raw material 32 t of film. The fee is not huge. But it can be calculated, it grows until 2029, and it adds to the price of raw material, which you also buy by the kilogram.

The packaging fee does not change the physics of film. It changes who in the company asks about its gauge.

03 Three levers on packaging mass

Since the fee is calculated per kilogram, three design decisions act on it directly:

Thinner film

Downgauging with a line trial

A bakery chain moved from PP 30 µm to PE 18 µm: 40% less material with the same protection for the bread. A toilet paper producer went from 35 to 28 µm with 35-55% PCR.

Structure

Layers instead of thickness

3- or 5-layer film delivers strength and barrier at a lower mass than single-layer film.

Material

Mono-material instead of multi-material laminate

Multi-material laminates are the most expensive in the EPR system and the hardest to recycle. Switching to PE/PE reduces future PPWR burdens (recyclability from 2030) without changing the packing machine.

The condition

Downgauging only makes sense if the damage rate does not rise. One torn pack on the line costs more than the saving on a hundred. That is why every downgauging project at Kablonex starts with a trial on the customer’s line, not with a change to a price list.

04 Who in the company should read this

The packaging fee is settled in the finance department, but the decisions that lower it are made in technology and purchasing. In 2027, in many companies, these people will sit down at one table for the first time:

CFO: a new cost line, growing until 2029, with quarterly reporting.
Technologist: gauge, structure, line test.
Purchasing: the price per kilogram is now only half of the equation; the other half is the kilograms.

The conversation moves faster when everyone looks at the same number: packaging mass per unit of product.

05 Where to start (one week’s work)

Take stock: the 10 packaging SKUs with the highest annual tonnage. For each: material, thickness, unit mass, annual unit count.
Calculate: the mass and cost of each pack at the current thickness and at a reduced one.
Pick one trial: the SKU where 10 µm less gives the biggest annual mass saving. Reply to your enquiry within 24 h, quote within 48 h, MOQ 5,000 kg per SKU.

Who are you under PPWR?kablonex.pl/en/news/who-are-you-under-ppwr/

FAQ Frequently asked questions about the packaging fee

When does the packaging fee apply in Poland?

Under the draft Act on Packaging and Packaging Waste (March 2026 version), from 1 January 2027, with a transition period in 2027-2028 and full implementation from 2029.

How much is the packaging fee per kilogram of plastic?

The rates are not settled. Examples from the regulatory impact assessment point to an order of magnitude of about PLN 1.7/kg for plastics in the year of full implementation.

Who pays the packaging fee?

Producers and importers of packaged products, as well as any business that unpacks goods without being the end user. The fee is calculated on packaging mass and settled quarterly in BDO.

How can I lower the packaging fee on film?

Reduce the packaging mass: thinner film after a line trial, a 3- or 5-layer structure instead of thicker single-layer film, and mono-material PE/PE instead of a multi-material laminate.

As of 24 October 2026, based on Poland’s draft Act on Packaging and Packaging Waste (UC100, March 2026 version) and its regulatory impact assessment. The draft may change during the legislative process. This text is for information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice.

About the author

Radosław Koperski

R&D, Kablonex

Designs formulations and structures of multilayer PE films for specific industrial applications: stretch hood (including with PCR content), films for automatic FFS lines and shrink films. He validates every solution on customers’ packaging lines. He has worked in the film and packaging industry for almost 20 years, previously as Packaging Development Manager at PDO (Pałucka Drukarnia Opakowań). His starting point is always the real application: the product, the machine, transport and storage.

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