The Process

Our calculator walks you through four steps to build a complete picture of your packaging and generate country-specific fee estimates. It is designed as a practical, cost-effective planning tool, not necessarily a compliance system. Unlike expensive enterprise calculators that require deep integration into your internal data stacks and are built for formal reporting, this tool helps you quickly compare packaging formats, understand likely cost impacts across markets, and build a clear internal (and customer-facing) case for packaging that is more recyclable and typically less expensive under EPR schemes.

Step 1: Introduce Your Packaging

Begin by selecting the type of packaging you want to assess. This sets the foundation for the rest of the calculation by determining which material options and attributes will be relevant to your specific packaging format. We've implemented many standardized packaging formats and filled them with data based on our certification knowledge, but each is fully customizable. If you don't see yours, click "Other".

Step 2: Configure Materials

Specify the materials and attributes that make up your packaging. This step is the heart of the calculator, and it's intentionally placed before country selection.

In the background, CIRCPACK applies the same logic we use in real world assessments to interpret your format. The calculator evaluates your entries in order to streamline its use. For example, we won't ask you to label something as mono-material or multi-material, or to pre-judge certain recyclability attributes. From the components, layers, and weights you enter, the tool can infer these properties automatically and apply consistent logic across markets. To be clear, we are not using AI in the evaluation of your packaging format. These assumptions are hard coded.

You might wonder why you configure materials first when every country has its own EPR rules. We've normalized country-specific fee requirements in the backend so you do not need to do so yourself. Instead of making you interpret 20+ different national frameworks, the calculator translates your packaging description into a standardized model and then maps that to each country's fee structure.

That normalization comes with a trade-off that we want to be clear about:

• You give up a bit of precision compared to full compliance-grade tools, because the calculator makes certain standardized assertions about your format to keep the experience simple.
• The current estimates should be understood as directional, with typical variability of up to ±15% depending on the country and format. For simpler countries, it is much more accurate.
• Accuracy is improving over time as datasets and logic are expanded and validated.

Step 3: Choose Countries

Select the markets where you want to understand your EPR landscape. Each country has its own fee structure and methodology, and the calculator maps your configured packaging to those national systems. By comparing multiple countries side by side, you can quickly see how the same format is treated across jurisdictions. This is possible due to our logic in step 2.

Step 4: Obtain Results

Review your estimated EPR fees for each selected country. The results provide a clear breakdown of cost drivers and how different material choices influence fees. These estimates are intended to support early-stage planning, design decisions, commercial discussions, and internal strategy. If compliance-grade, validated calculation models are available, we will communicate that clearly in future releases.