Article n°11 of the EPR series: How to comply to the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) ? And how much recycling should cost you, according to French law? (Part 2)

In this article we will be defining the notion of Consumer Sales Unit (CSU) and explain how it is measured. The calculation of the CSU is as follows:

6 = （ 1 + 2 ）✖ 3 ➖ 4＋5

1 → CSU Contribution: incentive to reduce the number of packages

2 → Weight contribution per material: incentive to reduce package weight and improve its recyclability

3 → Bonus – malus: eco-modulation to limit the disruptive effects of recycling and encourage the sorting process

4 →  Premiums for integration of recycled materials (new from 2022)

5 →  Penalties if the UC has confusing signs or markings (new from 2022)

6 →  Total contribution of the CSU

The Consumer Sales Unit (CSU) stands for one unit of manufactured product which can be separated from others. For example, for non-alcoholic refreshing drinks such as juice, soda and milk the CSU will either be a bottle, a can or a carton. Even if the products are bought in a pack, the CSU will still be the bottle, the can and the carton. Packaging such as “in-store-packaging”, shopping bags and parcels are considered as one CSU.

Example: a pack of 4 yoghurts, a television, a bottle of water