Selling Toys in Poland? Your Company’s Environmental Obligations (BDO, EPR, WEEE, Batteries)

If your company wants to place toys on the Polish market, you must first determine who is responsible for the packaging, the electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), and the batteries and accumulators. Depending on the product and the delivery model, your obligations may include BDO registration, weight records, annual reports, financing collection and recycling, public education campaigns, fees, and appointing an EPR authorized representative in Poland.

A single toy can trigger three separate extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes. The carton, the plastic blister and the shipping packaging fall under packaging law. An electronic toy may qualify as electrical or electronic equipment. An included battery or a built-in rechargeable battery creates a separate stream of obligations.

Abbreviations used in this article:

• BDO – the Polish Database on Products and Packaging and on Waste Management (Baza danych o produktach i opakowaniach oraz o gospodarce odpadami);
• EPR – extended producer responsibility (Polish: ROP);
• PPWR – the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation;
• WEEE – waste electrical and electronic equipment (Polish: ZSEE); EEE – electrical and electronic equipment.

What obligations can a single toy trigger?

Calling a product a toy does not, by itself, determine its environmental obligations. You need to analyze the product’s design, power source, set contents, packaging types, place of dispatch, customer type, and whether you sell through a distributor, an online store or a marketplace.

Who is responsible for environmental obligations when toys enter the Polish market?

Responsibility for packaging, equipment and batteries is determined separately for each stream. One entity may be responsible for all three streams, but this does not follow automatically from a single contract or from the mere fact of issuing an invoice.

Before you start selling, obtain written confirmation of who reports each stream, for which products, brands and periods, and under which BDO registration. An authorized representative appointed for WEEE does not automatically take over obligations for batteries or packaging.

BDO registration: before you start selling in Poland

BDO is Poland’s register and reporting system for products, packaging and waste. Registration in BDO alone does not mean that all obligations have been fulfilled.

If your company is an introducer of packaging, equipment or batteries (Polish: wprowadzający – the entity that places products on the Polish market), it should obtain registration in the relevant BDO sections before starting the activity that requires registration. A foreign business without a branch in Poland files its application with the Marshal of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship (Marshal’s Office in Warsaw). In practice, it may act through a duly authorized person, and specific acts may additionally require the appointment of an EPR authorized representative.

The registration fee is currently PLN 200 for micro-enterprises and PLN 800 for other businesses. In subsequent years, the annual fee is due by the end of February. No annual fee is payable in the year in which the registration fee was paid.

The BDO number must appear on documents prepared in connection with the activities covered by the registration. Changes to registered data must, as a rule, be reported within 30 days. BDO should not be presented as a general customs number or as a precondition for every import clearance.

Packaging: EPR covers more than the toy box

Your reporting may cover sales, grouped, transport and shipping packaging. You need to split it by material – for example paper and cardboard, plastics, wood, metal or glass – and then determine its actual weight. The weight of the toy is not the weight of the packaging.

Your obligations may include:

• registration in the relevant BDO section;
• keeping paper or electronic records of packaging weight by material type;
• retaining the source data for your records for five years;
• achieving the required recycling rates, either on your own or through a packaging recovery organization;
• financing public education campaigns;
• submitting an annual report in BDO;
• paying the product fee if the required rates have not been achieved.

Transferring the recycling obligation to a recovery organization requires a written agreement. The agreement should cover the full weight of the specified packaging types placed on the market by the business. You also need to agree which tasks remain with you as the client – in particular data transfer, record-keeping and checking the accuracy of the report.

If a business runs public education campaigns on its own, it must spend at least 2% of the net value of packaging placed on the market in the previous calendar year. When working with a recovery organization, the scope of the obligations it takes over should be clearly stated in the agreement.

If the total weight of packaging placed on the market in a year does not exceed 1 tonne, the business may apply for de minimis aid that exempts it from some of the obligations relating to recycling, the product fee and education campaigns. This is not an automatic exemption. The required documents must be submitted via BDO by 15 March. The exemption does not remove the obligation to register, keep weight records or submit the annual report.

PPWR: new EU rules for packaging

The PPWR – Regulation (EU) 2025/40 – generally applies from 12 August 2026. It replaces the previous Packaging Directive and gradually introduces uniform requirements covering, among other things, design, minimization, recyclability, labeling and recycled content. Many detailed requirements will apply in stages, including from 2030.

For companies selling toys, the PPWR rules on EPR representation also matter. Under the current wording of Article 45(3), a producer established in another Member State that supplies packaging or packaged products directly to end users in Poland must appoint an authorized representative for extended producer responsibility in Poland. For producers from third countries, Article 45(4) leaves it to each Member State to decide whether to introduce such an obligation.

The PPWR provisions on representation are currently the subject of legislative work at EU level. For this reason, check the direct-sales model and the current wording of Article 45 immediately before you start deliveries or finalize binding compliance instructions.

When is a toy covered by the WEEE system?

A toy is electrical or electronic equipment (EEE) if it depends on electric currents or electromagnetic fields to work properly and no statutory exclusion applies. This covers many toys with a motor, lights, sound, a screen, a control circuit or a power adapter. The classification must be confirmed for each specific model.

An introducer of EEE may be required, among other things, to:

• obtain the appropriate BDO registration and show the registration number on documents relating to placing equipment on the market;
• keep records of equipment weight and submit annual reports;
• organize and finance the collection of WEEE from collection points and the treatment of waste equipment;
• achieve the required collection, recovery and recycling rates;
• conclude an agreement with a treatment facility operator;
• finance public education campaigns;
• inform users about separate collection and mark the equipment with the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol;
• provide a financial guarantee if the business fulfills its obligations for household equipment on its own.

These obligations can be fulfilled independently or, to the extent permitted by law, transferred to an electrical and electronic equipment recovery organization under a written agreement. Transferring some tasks does not release you from the obligations that the law still assigns to the introducer.

The weight of equipment reported under the WEEE system does not include the weight of batteries or accumulators that are part of the equipment or supplied with it. Batteries must be weighed and reported separately.

If you run education campaigns on your own, you must spend at least 0.1% of the net revenue from placing equipment on the market in the previous year. The settlement is due by 31 January. The exemption that applies when the calculated amount does not exceed PLN 100 requires meeting the de minimis aid conditions and submitting documents on time – so it is not automatic.

If a producer from another Member State has appointed an authorized representative in Poland for equipment supplied to a Polish entity, you need to check the representative’s BDO registration, the scope of its written authorization and the products it covers.

If you supply electrical toys to consumers, distributor obligations may also apply. These include, among other things, taking back waste equipment of the same type free of charge on a one-to-one basis – also at the place of delivery – and informing customers how to return it. Stores with an EEE sales area of at least 400 m² must also take back very small WEEE (no external dimension exceeding 25 cm) without requiring the purchase of new equipment.

Selling toys with batteries or accumulators in Poland? Check the additional obligations

A battery included with a toy, packed in a separate part of the set or built into the product may trigger separate obligations. You need to determine its category, chemistry, weight and the entity that first makes it available on the Polish market.

Battery producer obligations may include:

• registration in the relevant BDO section;
• keeping weight records and retaining data for five years;
• submitting an annual report;
• ensuring separate collection of waste batteries, achieving the required collection rates and financing waste management;
• concluding the required agreements under the model provided for by applicable law;
• financing public education campaigns;
• paying the product fee if the required collection rate has not been achieved.

Polish law currently requires financing of education campaigns at PLN 0.03 per kilogram of batteries or accumulators placed on the market. The introducer may spend the required amount on its own campaign by 1 March or pay it into the bank account of the Marshal’s Office by 15 March of the following year. If the calculated amount does not exceed PLN 10, the obligation to finance campaigns does not arise.

The Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 requires producers to register in each Member State where they first make batteries available on the market. A producer making distance sales to Poland must appoint an authorized representative for extended producer responsibility in Poland. This mandate covers batteries only and does not replace representation for WEEE or packaging.

For typical portable batteries, the mercury limit is 0.0005% by weight and the cadmium limit is 0.002%. The Regulation also restricts lead content and sets a specific timetable for certain zinc-air batteries.

From 18 February 2027: removable and replaceable batteries in toys

From 18 February 2027, products incorporating portable batteries must be designed so that the end user can readily remove and replace the battery at any time during the product’s lifetime. As a rule, it should be possible to remove the battery with commercially available tools, without specialized tools, unless the manufacturer provides them free of charge with the product. Once the battery has been removed, the user should be able to replace it with another compatible battery without affecting the product’s functionality, performance or safety. Instructions for removing and replacing the battery must also be supplied with the product.

For toys, this requirement does not mean that a child must have free access to the battery. The battery compartment may be properly secured – for example with a screw – where this is necessary for safety reasons. At the same time, the design should allow the end user to remove and replace the battery in line with the rules set out in the Regulation. The rules provide for exemptions from the replaceability requirement, so the design of each product must be assessed individually.

QR code and battery passport

From 18 February 2027, all batteries – including the portable batteries used in toys – must be marked with a QR code that meets the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. This cannot be just any QR code. It must lead to complete and up-to-date information required for the given battery category. For batteries subject to the battery passport requirement, the code will lead to that battery’s passport. For other batteries, the code will provide access to a different set of information specified in the Regulation, including relevant battery information, the EU declaration of conformity and rules for handling the waste battery.

The QR code should be placed directly on the battery in a visible, legible and indelible way. Where this is not possible or not warranted due to the battery’s size or properties, the code must be placed on its packaging and in the accompanying documents.

The battery passport is an electronic record of information assigned to a specific battery and its unique identifier. From 18 February 2027, it will be mandatory for LMT batteries (light means of transport), industrial batteries with a capacity above 2 kWh and electric vehicle batteries. A typical portable battery used in a toy will not require a passport. The passport is to be accessible via the QR code and contain model-level information and information specific to the individual battery – depending on its category, including data on composition, capacity, durability, carbon footprint, recycled content and end-of-life handling. Some information is publicly available, while access to other data is restricted to specific parties, such as market surveillance authorities, repairers, or operators involved in battery reuse and recycling.

Environmental compliance calendar for toys placed on the Polish market

A deadline in the table may not apply to your company if the obligation has been effectively transferred to a recovery organization or does not arise in your business model. However, you must keep documents confirming the basis for such settlement.

What data should you collect from the first delivery?

Good record-keeping starts before the product ships. For each model and sales market, collect:

• product code, name and brand;
• number of units placed on the market in Poland;
• weight of each packaging type, broken down by material;
• weight of the electrical or electronic equipment excluding batteries;
• weight, category and chemistry of each battery or accumulator;
• whether the battery is built in, included in the set or sold separately;
• country of dispatch, customer type and sales channel;
• details of the entity or representative reporting each stream;
• source documents confirming weights and copies of agreements with recovery organizations.

Do not base your report solely on the gross weight of the shipment. Equipment, batteries and each packaging material must be separated.

Most common mistakes when reporting toys in Poland

1. Treating a toy with a battery as a single item instead of separating the equipment, battery and packaging.
2. Assuming that BDO registration automatically covers recycling, education campaigns and reporting.
3. Assuming that the representative or organization handling WEEE also reports batteries and packaging.
4. Overlooking shipping cartons, envelopes, film and void fill added by the online store.
5. Using the low-weight or low-amount exemption without checking the de minimis aid conditions and document deadlines.
6. Starting sales before registrations, representatives and data-sharing rules are in place.

How to prepare your company before the first delivery to Poland

Prepare a list of models, a description of how each one is powered, the set composition and your delivery flow to Poland. Collect the weight of each packaging material, the weight of the equipment without batteries, and the weight, category and chemistry of the batteries. Identify the countries of dispatch, customers, sales channels and the entities that will report each stream.

On this basis, you can determine whether you need BDO registration, an EPR authorized representative, an agreement with a recovery organization, a financial guarantee, records, reports or fees. This analysis should come before your products are first placed on the Polish market.

Send EKOKONSULT your list of toys and your delivery flow to Poland. We will identify your obligations for BDO, packaging, PPWR, WEEE and batteries, and then set up the right model for registration, record-keeping and reporting.