The first Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) in Estonia was established by the leading industry and trade companies soon after Estonia entered the EU in 2004. The creation of this PRO transposed relevant packaging, packaging waste, and waste directives into local legislation. While the initial idea was to replicate the Duales System Deutchland (Dual Systems Germany) PRO concept, it soon became apparent that PRO operational models have to be adjusted according to local circumstances. These adjustments were mainly caused by the strong consolidation of the Estonian waste management sector – two private operators who maintained nationwide coverage. At the same time, the capability of municipalities to provide waste services was, and still is, strictly prohibited due to political reasons. Authorities initially decided that a PRO should fulfill packaging waste take-back obligations by a publicly accessible three-color bin system. This decision was reasonable considering that Estonia is among most sparsely populated countries in Europe with a total population of 1,3 million inhabitants. It was also decided that the scope of the PROs responsibility would comprise of consumer, industrial, and commercial packaging. At the same time, a deposit refund system (DRS) had been established by leading breweries, soft drink fillers, and retail trade associations. In fact, systems for returning milk, soft drinks and beer bottles had been available in Estonia for decades before the establishment of the DRS. From a consumers’ point of view, DRS was just an evolution of the manual return system to reverse vending machines. This made the shift to DRS smooth and easy to understand. PRO cooperation with the dominant waste operators was not developed as well. Consequently, PRO management and ownership decided to transform their financial model into an operational one in several Estonian regions. Taking over operational responsibility ensured competitive service terms and relief from the continuous price pressure from the former service providers. However, their operational model did not improve cooperation with municipalities. Municipalities provide locations for the public collection bins and the PROs do all the rest.