Sources read on 2026-09-12 · Written by PPWR Connect from the scheme documents; legal review pending.
At a glance — what each grid wants
| Scheme | Grid | What the record provides | Precise mapping in PPWR Connect |
|---|---|---|---|
| PPWR — recyclability (Article 6, Annex II) | Grade A, B or C per packaging unit | Components, materials, weights, interactions (label on body, closure, inks, barriers) | Grade computed from the component graph; the harmonised methodology is due from the Article 6(4) delegated acts |
| UK pEPR — packaging data + RAM | Tonnes per material, household / non-household, per period; RAM rating green / amber / red (nation data: not a current deadline) | Units placed × unit weights by material; the RAM rating you assessed | PackUK material categories (8) + household / non-household — not yet a PackUK-format file (activity, packaging type, class P1–P6, rigid/flexible not captured) |
| US — Circular Action Alliance (California and other states) | Covered-material categories per state, annual | Units placed × unit weights by material, per state | Material-level export — the official category lists are not in our data yet, and the export says so on every line |
| Canada — Ontario | Blue Box categories | Units placed × unit weights by material | Blue Box (RPRA supply report — O. Reg. 391/21 material categories) — 6 categories (v2026) |
| Canada — Québec | ÉEQ declaration categories | Same record | Éco Entreprises Québec — Guide des matières, déclaration 2026 — 32 categories (v2026) |
| Canada — British Columbia | Recycle BC categories | Same record | Recycle BC — 2026 material categories — 20 categories (v2026) |
| EU — Germany / France | Material declarations to the scheme | Same record | LUCID / dual system (VerpackG) — 8 categories (v2026-08) · Citeo (emballages ménagers) — 9 categories (v2026-08) |
The record: components, not packaging types
A « bottle » is not a data point. A bottle is a PET body of 18 g, a PP closure of 2.4 g, a paper label of 0.6 g with an acrylic adhesive. That is the record every scheme reads: the PPWR grade needs the interactions (does the label peel? is the closure the same polymer?), the schemes need the weights per material, the UK needs them household / non-household and per period.
What is computed, what is declared
Computed from the record: the material split per unit, the tonnage per market and period (units placed × unit weights), the PPWR grade. Declared by you and stored as your value: the UK RAM rating per packaging version (it is your assessment under the UK methodology, and we never derive it from the A/B/C grade), the units placed, the market and the period.
Every value carries its provenance — entered by whom, validated by whom, when — and a declaration records what it was computed from, so a later weight change shows which archived declaration it touches.
Where the mapping is precise and where it is not
A mapping is precise only when the scheme publishes its category list and we have read it. Today that is true for the schemes marked above; for the US states the lists are published by the PRO and the state agencies and are not in our data yet — the export is material-level and says so. Precision is a data fact, not a promise.
Fee amounts never appear here: schemes revise their tariffs every year, and a category list without amounts is exactly what the declaration needs.
Five questions
- Can the RAM rating be derived from the PPWR grade?
- No. The UK RAM is your assessment under the UK methodology, declared per packaging version. PPWR Connect stores it as a declared value and never derives it from the A/B/C grade.
- Is the PPWR grade a legal determination?
- No. It is a first-pass assessment against Annex II; the harmonised methodology comes from the Article 6(4) delegated acts. The grade is an indication with its inputs kept.
- What happens when a weight changes after a declaration?
- The archived declaration is never rewritten. It records the inputs it was computed from, and the Impact screen lists the archives, open periods, DoCs and passports a change touches.
- Do I need one record per market?
- No — one record per packaging unit, with the units placed per market and period. The market and the period are the variables; the components are not.
- Which schemes have a precise category mapping today?
- DE, FR, NL, PL, BE, CA-ON, CA-QC, CA-BC — read from the schemes’ published lists. Everywhere else the export is material-level and says so.
Primary sources
What the scheme documents imply — an indication provided for information, not legal advice. Category lists change with each scheme edition: verify the current list before filing.