International comparisons and benchmarking of European packaging recovery systems is a complex issue – very often such efforts result in “comparing apples with oranges” or worse. There are several factors affecting fee levels which should be taken into account when comparing the relative costs of compliance across various European schemes. Major factors influencing relative compliance costs include the following:  Existing national collection and recovery infrastructure in the waste management sector – both for packaging waste as well as other waste streams – e.g. residual and organic waste.  The source of packaging used to meet national recycling quotas (household only or all packaging, including industrial and transport packaging). Household packaging waste is more expensive to collect and recover than packaging waste arising at industry’s back door.  The proportionate share of costs which industry bears. Some schemes meet 100% cost of collection and recovery cost, while others only pay a share thereof.  National recycling targets and the effect of derogations for some member states.  Collection system used - bring systems are generally less expensive than kerbside collection from households.  Geographic location and population density - Remote and sparsely populated regions will generally be more difficult and expensive to collect from.  Enforcement regimes influence costs: The more companies participate in the scheme, the greater the spread of the cost base, and the lower the cost for the individual company.  Labour costs and general overheads differ depending on the prevailing local economic conditions.  National waste legislation and enforcement: some countries have a comprehensive landfill ban in effect, while others still are striving to manage largely unstructured waste disposal. The present document provides an overview about the costs of participation in the respective national recovery systems for packaging and packaging waste for 2014 (where available).