Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation

Introduction

Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR) is a comprehensive legislative act that repeals Directive 94/62/EC to harmonise packaging rules across the EU internal market. Adopted in December 2024 and published in January 2025, it addresses the entire life-cycle of packaging, aiming to tackle the increasing generation of packaging waste and the barriers to circularity.

Main Goal

The Regulation aims to prevent the generation of packaging waste, boost high-quality recycling, and create a market for secondary raw materials. It establishes requirements to ensure that all packaging on the EU market is reusable or recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030.

Who It Applies To

The Regulation applies to all packaging, regardless of the material used, and to all packaging waste. It affects:

Manufacturers & Importers: Must ensure packaging meets sustainability requirements (recyclability, recycled content, minimization).
Distributors & Fulfilment Service Providers: Must verify compliance and share information.
HORECA Sector: Specific obligations regarding refill and bans on certain single-use formats.
Online Platforms: Must ensure compliance of products sold through their interfaces.

Key Dates

Entry into Force: 11 February 2025.
General Application: 12 August 2026.
Recyclability & Recycled Content Targets: 1 January 2030.
Deposit Return Systems (DRS): 1 January 2029.
Restrictions on Formats: 1 January 2030.

Exemptions

Medical Devices & Pharma: Specific contact-sensitive packaging is exempted from certain recycled content and re-use targets to ensure safety.
Micro-enterprises: Exempted from certain re-use targets and restrictions on specific packaging formats if technically not feasible.

Key Provisions

Substances of Concern: Restrictions on substances like PFAS in food-contact packaging and heavy metals.
Recyclability: By 2030, all packaging must be recyclable by design (Grades A, B, or C). By 2035, it must be "recycled at scale."
Recycled Content: Mandatory minimum targets for post-consumer recycled content in plastic packaging (scaling up from 2030 to 2040).
Compostable Packaging: Mandatory for specific applications (e.g., tea bags, sticky labels) by 2028; restrictions on others.
Packaging Minimisation: Packaging must be reduced to the minimum weight/volume necessary. Empty space ratio for transport/e-commerce packaging limited to 50%.
Re-use Targets: Mandatory targets for transport, grouped, and beverage packaging.
Deposit Return Systems (DRS): Mandatory for single-use plastic bottles and metal cans by 2029 (90% collection target).

Obligations & Requirements

Design: Compliance with Design for Recycling (DfR) criteria and minimization of empty space.
Labelling: Harmonised labels for material composition (for sorting) and reusability (QR codes/digital data).
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): Producers must register and pay fees modulated by the packaging's recyclability and recycled content.
Information: Reporting on packaging waste generation and prevention.

Penalties

Member States must lay down rules on penalties, which must be effective, proportionate, and dissuasive. Non-compliant packaging may be prohibited, withdrawn, or recalled from the market.

Implementation Timeline:

**February 11, 2025**
- Entry into force of the Regulation.

**August 12, 2026**
- General date of application for most provisions.
- PFAS restriction in food-contact packaging applies.

**February 12, 2027**
- **HORECA:** Must provide systems for consumers to bring their own containers (refill) for cold/hot beverages and ready-prepared food.
- **Member States:** Rules on penalties must be established.

**February 12, 2028**
- **Compostable Mandate:** Tea bags, coffee pods, sticky labels on fruit/veg must be compostable.
- **Empty Space:** Methodology for calculation applies.

**January 1, 2029**
- **DRS:** Mandatory Deposit and Return Systems for single-use plastic bottles and metal cans (up to 3L) must be operational (unless 90% collection rate achieved earlier).
- **Recycled Content Verification:** Methodologies for calculation apply.

**January 1, 2030**
- **Recyclability:** All packaging must be recyclable (Grades A-C).
- **Plastic Recycled Content (Step 1):**
- 30% for contact-sensitive PET & single-use bottles.
- 10% for contact-sensitive non-PET.
- 35% for other plastic packaging.
- **Bans:** Restrictions on single-use plastic formats (e.g., hotel toiletries, fresh produce <1.5kg, HORECA table service).
- **Minimisation:** Maximum 50% empty space ratio for transport, grouped, and e-commerce packaging.
- **Re-use Targets (Step 1):** Applies to transport packaging (40%), grouped boxes (10%), and beverages (10%).

**January 1, 2035**
- **Recycled at Scale:** Packaging must meet 'recycled at scale' criteria to be considered recyclable.

**January 1, 2040**
- **Plastic Recycled Content (Step 2):** Increases (e.g., 65% for bottles, 50% for contact-sensitive PET).
- **Re-use Targets (Step 2):** Targets increase significantly (e.g., 40% for beverages).

**Exemptions:**
- Micro-enterprises (<10 employees, <€2M turnover) exempt from certain re-use targets.
- Medical/Pharmaceutical packaging exempt from recycled content/re-use obligations.... Show more

Documents & Attachments

Official Documents

Batteries and Packaging EPR Authorised Representative Rules Suspension

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL suspending the application of the rules on the appointment of an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility for batteries and waste batteries and packaging and packaging wasteDec 10, 2025

Proposal for a RegulationEnglishEU

General Information Documents

Overview

InformationEnglish

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Executive summary

InformationEnglish

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Supportive Documents

Commission Notice – Application of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council on packaging and packaging waste, amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and Directive (EU) 2019/904, and repealing Directive 94/62/EC to and in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland

Feb 4, 2025

NoticeEnglishEU