France: packaging EPR, the UIN and Triman for online sellers

Who is concerned

French EPR for household packaging applies to businesses that place packaged products on the French market for consumers. Since the AGEC anti-waste law, this explicitly covers distance sellers established outside France who ship directly to French consumers. Shipping packaging used for online orders counts as household packaging because it ends up in the consumer's bin.

Step 1: Join an eco-organisation

Household packaging is handled by approved eco-organisations. The best known is Citeo; Léko and Adelphe are also approved. You sign a contract, declare the packaging you placed on the French market each year by material and number of units, and pay an eco-contribution. The fee scale rewards recyclable packaging and penalises disruptive materials.

Step 2: Get and show your UIN

Once registered, you receive a unique identification number (UIN, in French “identifiant unique” or IDU) recorded in ADEME's SYDEREP system. There is one UIN per EPR sector, so a seller of electronics in cardboard boxes may need separate numbers for packaging, electrical equipment and batteries.

The UIN must be shown in your general terms and conditions of sale or in any other document available to customers, and communicated to marketplaces. A sentence in your Shopify terms page such as “Packaging EPR (France): UIN FR123456_01XXXX” is a common approach.

Step 3: Triman and Info-tri labels

Household packaging must carry the Triman logo together with Info-tri sorting instructions that tell consumers which bin each part goes into. There are size-based rules: for small packaging, part of the information may be provided digitally instead of printed. Shipping boxes for online orders are household packaging in France, so check the marking rules for them too.

Under the PPWR, harmonised EU sorting labels will apply from 12 August 2028 at the earliest. National labels such as Triman have been challenged at EU level, but until the EU labels apply, plan to comply with the French rules and design artwork that can be updated.

Step 4: Representatives for non-French sellers

French law already allowed foreign producers to appoint a representative to fulfil EPR obligations. Under the PPWR (Article 45), producers that are not established in France must appoint an authorised representative for EPR from 12 August 2026; a proposed postponement for producers established in other EU countries was under discussion at the time of writing. Non-EU sellers should plan to use a French representative.

Marketplaces

Since 2022, online marketplaces must collect the UIN of their sellers or pay the eco-contribution on their behalf, and many block listings without a valid number. If you also sell on Amazon, Cdiscount or similar platforms, have the UIN ready.

Penalties

Failure to register, declare or display the UIN can lead to administrative fines under the French Environmental Code, and labelling failures are penalised separately. Back payments of eco-contributions can also be claimed.