INDEPENDENT. RECOGNIZED. SECURE.
Legally sound certification:
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EmpCo, PPWR, national plastic taxes and PFAS are usually treated separately. In this webinar Kathrin Schaumann and Malte Biss show that all four ask for the same chain of evidence: objective criteria, a public certification scheme, assessment by an independent third party and ongoing monitoring. Build that chain once and it serves all four.
4%
of annual turnover as a possible penalty for breaching EmpCo
30% or 70%
recycled content: meet the minimum or lead with a claim
€135,000
saving under the Spanish plastic tax, worked example from the webinar
95 / 5
paper to non-paper, the limit for the paper stream
The full document
The document itself carries every source, derivation and piece of evidence in full, along with the diagrams and tables.
The full deck with all diagrams is available in exchange for your contact details. It is in English.
The directive asks for three things: clearly defined, objective criteria based on standards; assessment by a competent and independent third party; and a publicly available certification scheme with rules on withdrawal and suspension. The referenced standard is ISO/IEC 17065 for bodies certifying products, processes and services.
Microplastic-free rests on REACH, recycled content on DIN EN 15343 and ISO 22095, recyclability on the German Packaging Act, PPWR and DIN EN 13430, plastic-free on SUPD and PPWR. The bases differ, the path is the same: objective criteria, certification scheme, technical verification, conformity assessment, regular monitoring.
PPWR governs the technical side: design, recyclability, recycled content, documentation and traceability. EmpCo governs how you may talk about it. Responsibility ends with the brand owner: under Article 3 PPWR and the EU guidance of April 2025 the brand owner is the manufacturer and carries the legal responsibility for compliance and claims.
Authorities do not test every product before it reaches the market. The burden of proof therefore moves forward: a competent independent body verifies compliance in advance, product by product and brand by brand. Only the certified brand or product may carry the claim. The webinar compares this to a mandatory vehicle inspection.
Getting concrete
Programme, number of products, type of testing and licence scope. Tell us what it is about and you get a quotation instead of a price list.
In more detail
Spain taxes packaging on its non-recycled plastic and requires evidence to UNE-EN 15343. France works with bonus models and eco-modulated fees, the United Kingdom taxes packaging below 30% recycled content. The worked example from the webinar: 1,000 tonnes of shrink film at 30% PCR gives 300 tax-free tonnes and, at €0.45 per kilogram, around €135,000 saved. Without a certificate there is no market access, no tax saving and no bonus eligibility.
As long as the 95/5 check stays internal it is a technical property. The moment it becomes „recyclable in the paper stream" or „plastic reduced" on the packaging, EmpCo applies. The technical proof is what protects the claim.
The webinar places PFAS where plastics stood five years ago: rising pressure through REACH, growing weight in packaging regulation, political attention and public pressure from retail and the media. The same choice returns: meet the minimum requirement, or use verified proof as a market signal.
Source: flustix webinar „EmpCo, PPWR, Plastic Tax, and PFAS. What companies need to know." with Kathrin Schaumann and Malte Biss
As of: June 2026
Editorial responsibility: Malte Biss, Managing Director of flustix GmbH
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