Custom packaging declaration and weight administration
If you place more than 50,000 kilograms of packaging on the Dutch market in a calendar year, or dispose of more than that amount after importing it, you file a return with Verpact (formerly Afvalfonds Verpakkingen) every year. That return rests on your packaging records: the quantities sold per item and the weight per material type. Appfront builds software that compiles those records from your ERP and item data, prepares the return and keeps the supporting evidence for when Verpact asks for it.
What is packaging return software?
Packaging return software keeps track of which packaging you place on the Dutch market, how much it weighs and what material it is made of, and turns that into the annual return. The basis is producer responsibility under the Packaging Management Decree 2014 (Besluit beheer verpakkingen 2014): producers and importers of packaged goods jointly ensure prevention, collection and recycling. Verpact carries this out on behalf of industry and collects the Packaging Waste Management Contribution (Afvalbeheerbijdrage Verpakkingen) for it. You must file a return if you place more than 50,000 kilograms of packaging on the market in a calendar year, or dispose of it after importing it. This threshold does not apply to single-use plastic (SUP) packaging or to deposit-return packaging. A foreign company selling directly online to Dutch consumers is also covered.
A return is only as good as the records behind it. In its guidance, Verpact describes detailed records at item level: the quantities sold from your ERP or financial system, linked to the weight of primary, secondary and tertiary packaging per material type. You check supplier weights by weighing items yourself on a sample basis. With a large product range, you may first map at least 80 per cent of the mass and extrapolate to the whole. You report SUP packaging in kilograms and in units, per type. If you stay below the threshold, you record how you calculated that. You keep the records and the supporting evidence for seven calendar years, and you give access to them during an audit.
We build custom software because the data is scattered differently at every company: weights in a PIM or item file, quantities in the ERP, shipping packaging in the WMS and import data with purchasing. The software brings it together and shows where a weight or material is missing. The rules also change. The European Packaging Regulation has applied since 12 August 2026, and Verpact uses the definition of producer from that regulation. According to Verpact, the Dutch threshold will remain for the time being and will disappear at the latest at the first report to the new producer register, expected from 2029. We build the records so that those rule changes are reflected in the software rather than in yet another spreadsheet.
Per article
Weight per material recorded.
From your systems
Quantities from ERP and WMS.
Substantiated
Ready for an audit.
How we build your packaging return software
We start with your data: where the units sold are recorded, which weights you already have and from whom, which packaging you add, and which arrives with imported products. Then we set up the item file with weights per packaging component and material type, and integrate it with your ERP. We first run last year's figures through it and compare the result with your previous declaration, so differences become visible before anything is submitted. After that, SUP packaging, imports and shipping packaging are added. If the definition of producer or the reporting requirements for the producer register change, we adjust the rules.
Quantities, weights, sources.
Weight per material type.
Compared with the previous declaration.
Go-live, monitoring, and maintenance when rules change.
What packaging declaration software actually does
The components below appear in almost every packaging administration. Which ones you need depends on your product range and on how your products reach the market.
Weights
Per item and material.
Quantities
From ERP and sales.
SUP
Kilograms and units.
Validation
Missing weights made visible.
Declaration
Figures per category.
Archive
Supporting evidence per year.
Who we build packaging declaration software for
The software is intended for companies that place packaged products on the Dutch market and currently compile their Verpact declaration by hand or with separate spreadsheets. The larger your product range and the more sources you have, the more it delivers.
Manufacturers
Own packaging per item.
Importers
Packaging from outside the Netherlands.
Brand owners
Private label under your own name.
Online shops
Shipping packaging included.
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This page is about the Dutch declaration and the weight administration behind it. For the requirements of the European Packaging Regulation on design and recyclability, see our page on PPWR software, and for registration in other EU countries, our page on EPR registration per country. If you make packaging yourself, take a look at software for the packaging industry; batteries have their own reporting obligation, see battery producer registration. You can read about our approach on building custom software.
Why Appfront for your packaging declaration software?
A declaration rebuilt from spreadsheets every year, supplier weights that nobody has re-weighed, or an "other material types" category used because the material is unknown: all of this costs time and leads to questions during an audit. That is what we build on: records per item, checks before the declaration, and supporting evidence you can still show years later.
Repeatable
The same calculation rules every year.
Checked
Gaps caught before the declaration.
Verifiable
Stored per year.
Security and privacy in packaging declaration software
The software processes commercial data: sales per item, suppliers and purchasing. It uses only what the administration needs, with its own account that has exactly the permissions to read quantities and item data, and it records every calculation with time and source. Personal data is usually not needed for the declaration; where it does appear, such as with contact persons, the GDPR applies.
The software runs in a European data centre, with encrypted connections and storage. Keys and passwords are kept secure and are not visible to staff. We agree with you in advance who may change weights and who may approve the declaration, so every change can be traced back to a person.
Frequently asked questions about packaging declaration software
Questions that producers, importers and online shops ask before they get started.
Producers and importers that place more than 50,000 kilograms of packaging on the Dutch market, or dispose of it after import, in a calendar year. No threshold applies to SUP (single-use plastic) packaging and deposit-return packaging. Foreign companies that sell directly online to Dutch consumers are also covered. If you are filing for the first time, you register with Verpact first.
Yes. Verpact is the new name of the Afvalfonds Verpakkingen (Dutch Packaging Waste Fund). On behalf of industry, it carries out producer responsibility for packaging and collects the Packaging Waste Management Contribution (Afvalbeheerbijdrage Verpakkingen) for it.
For each item, the quantities you place on the Dutch market and the weight of the packaging per material type, together with the evidence for those weights. For SUP packaging, the number of units per type is added. Even if you stay under the threshold, you record how you calculated that.
According to Verpact's guidance, a statutory retention period of seven calendar years applies to the packaging records and the supporting evidence. This also applies if, after calculation, you stay under the 50,000-kilogram threshold.
Not necessarily. Weights may come from the supplier, but you check them with spot checks by weighing them yourself. For a large product range, Verpact allows you to first map at least 80 per cent of the mass and extrapolate to the whole. The software keeps track of which weights have been verified by weighing.
Since 12 August 2026, Verpact has used the definition of producer from the regulation, which means the reporting obligation for some packaging may shift. A producer register is being introduced. According to Verpact, the 50,000-kilogram threshold continues to apply for now and will disappear at the latest with the first report to that register, expected from 2029.
For companies with a large or varying product range, multiple sources for quantities and weights, or a mix of own production, import and fulfilment. If you have a handful of items with fixed packaging, a well-maintained overview is usually enough.
Your packaging declaration backed up by your own systems?
Tell us where your quantities and weights are held now and how you put the declaration together. We will show you how software can do it the same way every year.