ESG Quick Guide: EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation

The PPWR (Regulation (EU) 2025/40) entered into force on 11 February 2025. Its provisions will generally apply from 12 August 2026, although certain obligations will take effect at a later date. 

The PPWR replaces the former EU Packaging Directive (94/62/EC). 

Unlike a Directive, the Regulation applies directly and does not need to be transposed into national law by the Member States. However, Member States can implement supplementary national regulations.

The PPWR is designed to harmonise national rules on packaging, avoid market fragmentation and promote more sustainable practices. It lays down environmental sustainability requirements for the entire life cycle of packaging, which must be met for packaging to be placed on the market. Its objectives include reducing the overall consumption of packaging, increasing and improving product recyclability and thereby achieving more sustainable packaging solutions. 

The PPWR imposes (among other things):

• packaging conformity requirements and the framework for a conformity assessment system;

• restrictions on substances of concern in packaging;

• recyclability and reusability requirements and targets; 

• eco-friendly design and labelling requirements and  

• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). 

The European Commission published a (non-binding, but interpretive) guidance document in March 2026 (“PPWR Guidance”) to help interpret selected provisions of the PPWR. 

The Commission has also published a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to answer some practical questions raised since the PPWR was adopted.

Mandatory.

The PPWR imposes obligations within the EU on different categories of persons (many of which overlap) as well as on Member States. The precise allocation of roles is of great importance, as it provides for a tiered system of responsibility among the various actors in the supply chain. A person that takes on multiple roles therefore has several requirements to meet.

• “Economic Operator”, meaning the manufacturer, the supplier, the importer, the distributor, the authorised representative, the final distributor and the fulfilment service provider (all of which are defined by the PPWR); 

• “Manufacturer”, meaning any natural or legal person that manufactures packaging or a packaged product, including any natural or legal person (except for micro-enterprises) who has packaging or a packaged product designed or manufactured under its own name or trademark, regardless of whether any other trademark is visible on the packaging or packaged product; 

• “Supplier”, meaning any natural or legal person that supplies packaging or packaging material to a manufacturer;

• “Importer”, meaning any natural or legal person established within the Union that places packaging from a third country on the market;

• “Distributor”, meaning any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or importer, that makes packaging available on the market;

• “Producer”, meaning any manufacturer, importer or distributor to whom one of several specifically defined scenarios applies. These scenarios include, inter alia, where the manufacturer, importer or distributor: (i) is established in a Member State and places packaging on the market in that Member State; and (ii) is established in a Member State or in a third country and places packaging on the market in a Member State directly to end users (including professional end users who do not make the product further available on the market in the form supplied to it); and

• “End User”, meaning any natural or legal person that resides or is established in the EU to whom a product has been made available either as a consumer or as a professional end user in the course of its industrial or professional activities, and that does not make that product further available on the market in the form supplied to it.

“Placing on the market” means the first making available on the market of packaging, whether empty or with a product, on the EU market.  

“Making available on the market” means any supply of packaging, whether empty or with a product, for distribution, consumption or use on the EU market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge.

The PPWR applies to all packaging placed on the EU market, whether empty or filled, regardless of the material used, and whether produced within the Union or imported from third countries. 

It also covers all packaging waste generated within the EU:

• “Packaging” means an item intended to be used by an economic operator for containment, protection, handling, delivery or presentation of products to another economic operator or to an end user. This includes (but is not limited to), inter alia: (i) an item necessary to contain, support or preserve a product without being an integral part of the product, and which is intended to be used, consumed or disposed of together with the product, (ii) components of, and ancillary elements to an item referred to in the aforementioned point that is integrated into the item, and (iii) an item designed and intended to be filled at the point of sale in order to dispense the product, which is also referred to as ‘service packaging’.

• “Packaging waste” is defined as any packaging or packaging material that is waste (i.e., any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard), with the exception of production residues.

The PPWR addresses different categories of packaging, including:

• “Sales Packaging”, meaning packaging conceived so as to constitute a sales unit consisting of products and packaging to the end user at the point of sale;

• “Grouped Packaging”, meaning packaging conceived so as to constitute a grouping of a certain number of sales units at the point of sale, irrespective of whether that grouping of sales units is sold as such to the end user or whether it serves as a means to facilitate the restocking of shelves at the point of sale or to create a stock-keeping or distribution unit, and which can be removed from the product without affecting its characteristics; and

• “Transport Packaging”, meaning packaging conceived so as to facilitate the handling and transport of one or more sales units or a grouping of sales units, in order to prevent damage to the product from handling and transport, but which excludes road, rail, ship and air containers. 

Annex I contains a non-exhaustive list of items that are considered packaging (e.g. clothes hangers sold with a clothing item; flower and plant pots, including seed trays, intended to be used only for selling and transport; sterile barrier systems) and items that are not regarded as packaging (e.g. clothes hangers sold separately; flower and plant pots, including seed trays, used in business-to-business relations throughout different stages of production or intended to be sold with the plant; soluble bags for detergents). The PPWR Guidance also provides practical examples to clarify when a product qualifies as packaging.

The key requirements of the PPWR must be observed and ensured by almost all stakeholders. In addition, the PPWR sets out specific obligations for each market participant. The obligations under the PPWR are, in each case, subject to specific exceptions. Furthermore, the PPWR also obliges Member States to meet certain defined targets and take specific actions.

Key requirements for sustainable packaging (“Sustainability Requirements”):

• requirements for substances: Restrictions apply to substances of concern in packaging (being defined by reference to the EU Eco-Design Regulation as (i) substances listed on either the EU REACH Authorisation List or Candidate List; (ii) substances classified under specified hazard classes under the EU CLP regime; (iii) substances regulated under the EU POP Regulation; and (iv) substances that negatively affect the re-use and recycling of materials in the product in which it is present) as well as in relation to the concentrations of heavy metals and, for in food-contact packaging, of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS).

• recyclability of packaging: All packaging placed on the market must be generally recyclable, in principle as from 12 August 2026. Recyclability means (i) that the packaging is designed for material recycling, enabling the use of resulting secondary raw materials of sufficient quality to be used as a substitute for the original primary raw materials, and (ii) that when it becomes waste, the packaging can be collected separately, sorted into specific waste streams without affecting the recyclability of other waste streams and recycled at scale. Introduction of these specific requirements is phased with significant deadlines being 1 January 2030 and 1 January 2035 (or, if occurring later, upon the expiry of specific periods following the entry into force of the respective delegated acts). The Commission shall adopt a delegated act to fully harmonise design and recycling requirements and the related assessment methodology by 2028. The manufacturer must then assess packaging recyclability, which shall be expressed in recyclability performance grades A, B or C as described in the Annex II to the PPWR. From 1 January 2038, packaging generally shall not be placed on the market unless it is recyclable. 

• minimum recycled content in plastic packaging: Any plastic part of packaging placed on the market must contain a minimum percentage of recycled content recovered from post-consumer packaging waste with minimum percentages set out by the PPWR for 2030 and 2040. 

• packaging minimisation and ban on specific packaging types: From 2030, the packaging placed on the market must be designed so that its weight and volume is reduced to the minimum necessary to ensure its functionality. Packaging with characteristics that aim only to increase the perceived volume of the product, including double walls, false bottoms and unnecessary layers, must not be placed on the market. In addition, beyond the general requirements on packaging minimisation, there will be a ban on specific types of packaging (so-called excessive packaging as well as, e.g., certain single-use plastic packaging). 

• harmonised packaging labelling: Packaging must be marked with a harmonised label containing information on its material composition in order to facilitate consumer sorting. The labelling must be based on pictograms and easily understandable.

• re-use of packaging: The PPWR defines when packaging is considered reusable. It sets targets for 2030 onwards regarding the total proportion of packaging that should be reusable within a reuse system. Packaging must be conceived, designed and placed on the market with the aim of being reused multiple times. 

• conformity assessment procedure: The PPWR implements a conformity assessment procedure that must be carried out by the manufacturer before the product is placed on the market. An EU declaration of conformity must be issued by the manufacturer. All relevant information must be documented and provided with the packaged product.

• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): The PPWR introduces EPR obligations for producers, which includes a financial contribution covering costs of labelling waste receptacles for the collection of packaging waste and costs of carrying out compositional surveys of collected mixed municipal waste. Each Member State will establish a national register of producers to monitor compliance of producers with the requirements, in which all producers are obliged to register when they make packaging or packaged products available on the territory of the Member State for the first time or where they unpack packaged products without being end users.

• non-conformity: If the economic operators have reason to believe that packaging which they have placed on the market is not in conformity with one or more of the applicable requirements, they must immediately take the corrective measures necessary to bring that packaging into conformity, to withdraw it or to recall it as well as inform the market surveillance authority of the Member State.

Key obligations for market participants:

• Manufacturers must ensure conformity with the Sustainability Requirements (this includes, in particular, the key requirements for sustainable packaging mentioned above) as well as carry out the conformity assessment procedure before placing the packaging on the market. By drafting the declaration of conformity, the manufacturer “assumes” responsibility for the compliance of the packaging with the requirements. 

• Importers must only place on the market packaging on the market that has undergone the conformity assessment procedure and is in conformity with the Sustainability Requirements.

• Distributors must act with “due care” in relation to the requirements of the PPWR when making packaging available on the market; they therefore must verify that key obligations regarding the sustainability of the product are fulfilled.

• All of the above must – if they fall under the definition of Producer – comply with the Extended Producer Responsibility, including the registration obligation in relevant Member States (see above).

• Suppliers must provide the manufacturer with all the information and documentation necessary for the manufacturer to demonstrate the conformity of the packaging and the packaging materials with the PPWR.

Key obligations for Member States:

In addition to the obligations already listed, the PPWR also places responsibilities on Member States. These obligations are, thus, not directly imposed at businesses but may become relevant as a result of the respective implementing measures adopted by the respective Member States:

• harmonised labeling for the separate collection of packaging waste; 

• reduction in the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags; 

• systems and infrastructure to provide for the return and separate collection of all packaging waste from the end users;

• reduction of packaging waste (by at least 5% by 2030, at least 10% by 2035 and at least 15% by 2040 compared to 2018) and

• recycling targets and promotion of recycling (by 31 December 2030, a minimum of 70 % by weight of all packaging waste generated).

Most of the requirements will start to apply from 12 August 2026 unless otherwise specified. 

In some cases, transitional provisions apply, and certain requirements will be introduced or tightened gradually over the coming years. 

Key dates:

• 12 August 2026: Most of the Sustainability Requirements (i.e., the key requirements for sustainable packaging, see above) come into effect.

• 2027: New obligations under the EPR scheme will apply. 

• 2030 / 2035 / 2040: Some obligations are phased in over time, e.g. minimum quotes for minimum for the use of recycled content in plastic packaging; restrictions on use of certain packaging formats; re-use targets; reduction of packaging wasted generated per capita; recycling targets.

The PPWR does not provide for specific penalties in case of non-compliance. 

Member States shall establish rules and competent national authorities by 1 February 2027 on penalties applicable to infringements of the PPWR and take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

According to the PPWR, the penalties for failure to comply with the obligations of economic operators to reduce packaging and packaging waste shall specifically include administrative fines. Further sanctions could include the exclusion of individual packages from the market, sales bans, profit skimming as well as warnings and injunctions under competition law.

Apart from specific penalties, the PPWR further strengthens the enforcement of compliance by prohibiting the placing on the market of non-compliant packaging (for example, packaging that is not recyclable). These prohibitions may serve as a legal basis for respective administrative orders by national authorities.

In August 2025, the Commission launched a public consultation on a Circular Economy Act and the proposal is due to be published at the end of 2026. This will aim to establish a Single Market for secondary raw materials, increase the supply of high-quality recycled materials and stimulate demand for these materials within the EU. This Act is intended to establish a framework for a sustainable product policy and some key product value chains. 

The PPWR forms part of this regulatory framework, as well as some other policies, e.g. the Sustainable Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 or the EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles. As part of the Circular Economy Act, the Commission has also evaluated the existing Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) and is currently in the process of revising it.

Although the individual policies and initiatives are, in principle, separate, they are ultimately intended to work together to establish a circular economy.

In December 2025, the Commission has published a new Environmental Omnibus package aimed at simplifying EU environmental legislation in the fields of industrial emissions, the circular economy and environmental assessments. 

Relevant measures relating to the PPWR include, for example, reducing the administrative burden, such as reporting obligations concerning EPR schemes. 

The Commission has also indicated that it may grant exemptions for pallet wrappings and straps from the 100% re-use targets. Other flexibilities, such as those relating to packaging formats, are also to be considered, and reporting procedures might be simplified. 

The Environmental Omnibus package is now going through the ordinary legislative procedure which under normal circumstances tends to take at least 18 months. 

For more information on the status of the Omnibus proposals, see our EU Omnibus Tracker.

Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation

Guidance document

Frequently Asked Questions

Environmental Omnibus

Circular Economy Act

EU Single Market Strategy: dealing with fragmented rules on packaging, labelling and waste

European Commission takes steps to advance the circular economy

EU: Commission launches call for evidence to inform forthcoming Environmental Omnibus

EU: Commission publishes Environmental Omnibus

EU Omnibus Tracker