Fees & eco-modulation
Every fee Oblifee shows is calculated the same deterministic way, from your data and the brain's cited rates. This page explains the calculation, how UK eco-modulation adjusts it, and how the rate detail view lets you inspect the rate behind any line.
How a fee is calculated
For each product on each market, the engine takes:
- the product's packaging material and per-unit weight (grams),
- the volume (units) placed on that market, and
- the brain's newest in-force rate for that market and material.
The fee then follows the rate's unit:
| Rate unit | Fee for a line |
|---|---|
| per tonne | rate × (weight in tonnes) × units |
| per kilogram | rate × (weight in kg) × units |
| per pound | rate × (weight in lb) × units |
| per item | rate × units (weight is not used) |
Fees are computed in each rate's own currency and summed per market. Because the dashboard, the rate detail view and the new-product estimator all call the same engine and the same rates, the numbers agree wherever they appear.
:::info The rate carries its confidence Each rate is tagged confirmed, illustrative or estimate in the brain. A market's overall fee inherits the worst confidence of the rates it rests on, so you always know how much to lean on it. See Confidence & citations. :::
Eco-modulation (UK RAM 2027)
Eco-modulation adjusts a fee up or down according to how recyclable the packaging is. In the UK, PackUK's Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM) 2027 rates each pack red, amber or green, and that rating modulates the pEPR fee from 2026-27:
| Pack rating | Effect on the fee |
|---|---|
| 🟢 Green | A discount - the base fee × the rate's green multiplier. |
| 🟠 Amber | No change - the base fee stands. |
| 🔴 Red | A premium - the base fee × the rate's red multiplier. |
The multipliers are the brain's own cited figures. A rate with no modulation carries multipliers of 1.0, so applying modulation there safely changes nothing. Modulation is a UK methodology and is applied to GB lines only; other markets show the base fee. To understand how a pack earns its rating, see How RAM scoring works.
The rate detail view
Opening a market/material line (from the markets explorer, or a market row) shows everything behind that rate in three cards:
- Rate - the figure and its unit (for example, per tonne), a confidence pill, and the dates the rate is valid between.
- Eco-modulation - the green and red multipliers for that rate, so you can see the reward and the penalty at a glance.
- Your position - the packaging weight you have placed on that market over the last 12 months, and the fee that weight attracts at this rate.
Below the cards, Top products lists the products contributing the most weight to that market/material line over the last 12 months, so you can see what is driving the fee.
:::tip Trace it to source Rate citations link to the regulator's own guidance. If a rate looks wrong, follow the citation - or ask Obli to explain the rate from its row. :::
Where to go next
- Reading your EPR position - where these fees roll up.
- Nation by nation - the markets explorer these rates open from.
- How RAM scoring works - the rating that drives UK modulation.