BDO reports

In practice, the phrase „BDO reports” implies several different obligations, and the biggest problem for businesses is that they try to treat it as one form for all. Meanwhile, the BDO system covers different types of reporting, two of which are the most important for companies: the annual report on waste generation and waste management and annual report on products, packaging and the management of waste arising therefrom. Both are submitted electronically via an account in the BDO system, but relate to different groups of entities and are based on different source data. This is why the mere phrase „I have BDO” does not yet answer the question of which report needs to be submitted. It is first necessary to establish by what title the company is on the register and whether its obligations relate to waste, products and packaging or both at the same time.

Waste report when does it apply to a company?

The annual report on waste generated and waste management mainly concerns those entities that are obliged to keep records of waste. Biznes.gov.pl indicates that it is submitted by, among others, waste producers obliged to keep records and entities carrying out specific waste activities. In practice, this means that the sources of data for this report are primarily KEO and KPO and the current records kept in the BDO system. This report is strictly waste-based: it shows what waste has been generated, how it has been managed and to which processes it has been transferred. If a company does not keep waste records, the mere possession of a BDO number does not yet necessarily imply an obligation to submit just this type of report.

Product report who should remember it?

The second main obligation is the report on products, packaging and the management of waste arising from them. This is the one that most often applies to manufacturers, importers, introducers of packaged products, entrepreneurs offering plastic shopping bags, as well as other entities subject to product obligations. Business.gov.pl points out that this report is also submitted electronically to the 15 March for the previous calendar year. In practice, its preparation requires completely different data than in the waste report: here, the weights of packaging by material, the number of bags subject to the recycling fee, information on single-use plastic products or other data resulting from the company's product obligations count. This is the reason why many shops, importers and e-commerce do not submit a waste report, but are obliged to submit a product report.

Deadline, system and most common errors in BDO reports

The most important operational principle is simple: BDO reports are not produced „at the end of the year”, but are the result of data collected throughout the year. The official BDO instructions show that the system has separate instructions for new reports and individual departments, and the BDO update for 2026 shows that reporting for 2025 still generates many user questions. The most common mistake is that a company knows its BDO number but does not know whether it falls under the waste report, the product report or both at the same time. The second problem is the assumption that everyone on the register must submit everything that is in the system. Meanwhile, BDO makes it clear that not all BDO registrants are required to file annual reports of every type. The safest approach, therefore, is to determine the title of the entry, assign it to the appropriate type of report and only then prepare the source data and send it through the appropriate module in the system.

Frequently asked questions

If you want to check which BDO report applies to your company and whether the data for its filing is collected correctly, it is worth sorting this out before the deadline rather than only when filling in the form. For details, see Contact page there, you can describe your activities and match the scope of your support to your actual reporting obligations.