The Household packaging and graphic papers filière (EMPAP)
Emballages ménagers et papiers graphiques — Packaging placed on the market for household consumption, plus graphic papers. France treats these as a single filière.
The essentials
- Eco-organisme: CITEO, ADELPHE and LEKO
- ADEME code: EMPAP
- Status: operational — the obligation applies today
- Registration: one IDU per filière, issued via ADEME's SYDEREP register. A packaging IDU says nothing about this one.
How the eco-contribution is charged
Per unit of packaging and by material, with the tariff varying by resin for plastics. Small producers may use a flat-rate scheme instead of declaring unit by unit.
Read from the CITEO 2026 barème. That is the unit of charging, not the rate — confirm current figures against the eco-organisme's own published barème before budgeting.
If you are not established in France
- You are still the producer. French REP law attaches the obligation to whoever first places the product on the French market, not to where the company is incorporated.
- Since 10 July 2026 you must appoint a mandataire — a representative established in France, designated by written mandate. The requirement is horizontal across the filières.
- Marketplaces must verify your IDU for the filières your products touch, and become the producer themselves if you have none. That is what gets listings blocked.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Household packaging and graphic papers filière?
One of the roughly nineteen French REP filières, each a product stream with its own producer-responsibility scheme. Known in French as Emballages ménagers et papiers graphiques, code EMPAP. It covers: packaging placed on the market for household consumption, plus graphic papers. France treats these as a single filière. The obligation applies today.
Which eco-organisme runs the EMPAP filière?
CITEO, ADELPHE and LEKO. Registering with an approved eco-organisme is what yields your IDU, the unique identifier recorded in ADEME's SYDEREP register for this filière specifically.
How is the EMPAP eco-contribution calculated?
Per unit of packaging and by material, with the tariff varying by resin for plastics. Small producers may use a flat-rate scheme instead of declaring unit by unit. Read from the CITEO 2026 barème. This describes the unit of charging, not the rate — confirm the current figures against the eco-organisme's own published barème before budgeting.
Do foreign sellers fall under the EMPAP filière?
Yes, if they place these products on the French market. Under French REP law the producer is whoever first makes the product available in France, so a distance seller shipping to French households is the producer whatever its country of incorporation.
Does a foreign seller need a mandataire for this filière?
Since 10 July 2026, yes. Law 2026-602 requires every producer not established in France to appoint a representative established in France by written mandate. The obligation is horizontal — it covers this filière along with the other eighteen.
What happens without an IDU for this filière?
Marketplaces are legally required to verify that third-party sellers hold a valid IDU for the filières their products touch, and become the producer themselves if the seller does not. In practice listings get blocked, usually long before any inspector makes contact.
Sources
- https://filieres-rep.ademe.fr/filieres-rep
- https://filieres-rep.ademe.fr/eco-organismes
- Registry entry confidence: VERIFIED — read directly off an official ADEME page.
Further reading: France is not one declaration — the filières explained · CITEO and French packaging EPR for online sellers