What is a Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) and must I participate?

A Producer Responsibility Organisation, or PRO, undertakes on behalf of manufacturers and importers the practical implementation of extended producer responsibility: collection, take-back, recycling and associated reporting obligations to authorities. Registration with Stiftung EAR alone is insufficient to fulfil your obligations completely — it is the foundation, but actual system participation runs through a PRO. For importers, this means concretely: you register with an appropriate provider and share costs proportionally according to the battery quantity you place on the market. Without this participation, your registration remains incomplete.