he project “Screening the efficiency of packaging waste in Europe” has been promoted by Consorzio Nazionale Imballaggi (CONAI) with the support of the Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance (EXPRA). The project assesses the performance of different packaging waste Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems across Europe, with a focus on the activities conducted by the Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs). An econometric analysis and an indicator-based assessment are adopted to provide a quantitative analysis of the cost efficiency and effectiveness of 25 Member States’ EPR systems and 21 PROs. Furthermore, though an ad-hoc survey collecting data from more than 20 European PROs, the project evaluates the coherence of PROs’ tariff schemes in relation with the environmental goals of waste packaging management. The primary result of the research is that PROs’ recycling effectiveness is not necessarily associated with high EPR systems’ costs. Through the indicator-based assessment we identify a group of PROs that is both more effective in recycling and cost-efficient than the European average (Figure 1). Though the econometric analysis we assess the impact on the recycling rate of the EPR schemes’ characteristics, of the National waste management system and of macroeconomic conditions. We find that PROs that operate with a shared responsibility through a unique, non- competitive system achieve, on average and ceteris paribus, a recycling rate of total packaging percentage points higher than systems that operate in competitive environments with multiple PROs. Financial resources are used more efficiently in the former group, although results vary greatly by material and a particularly low performance across all EPR categories is found as for plastic packaging when EPR costs are below the European average. Furthermore, we find that across all packaging materials, higher recycling rates are expected when local authorities are involved in the operational responsibility of collection. The analysis based on the survey’s responses finds that EPR fees’ modulations is mostly based on qualitative and operational criteria, rather than on the recyclability of materials or the share of recycled materials used in packaging production (the latter are adopted in 20%-30% of the cases). This result shows that there is still a large untapped potential for PROs to foster a more circular path for the packaging waste production.