PPWR guides
The EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2025/40 — applies from 12 August 2026, with staggered deadlines to 2040. Your obligations, by topic. General information, not legal advice.
Does the PPWR apply to my packaging?
Who counts as a producer, importer, brand owner or distributor — and which packaging is caught by the regulation.
Timeline · 2026–2040PPWR deadlines: the full timeline
Every date that matters, from application on 12 August 2026 to the 2040 recycled-content step-up.
Recyclability · Art. 6, Annex IIPPWR recyclability grades explained
Grades A, B and C, the 2030 and 2038 cut-offs, and what “not placeable on the market” means for you.
Recycled content · Art. 7PPWR recycled-content rules for plastic
The exact minimum percentages by material, contact-sensitivity and PET, for 2030 and 2040.
Substances · Art. 5The PPWR PFAS ban in food-contact packaging
What is banned, from when, and why fibre-based food packaging carries the most risk.
Minimisation · Art. 10PPWR minimisation and the empty-space rule
The ≤50% empty-space cap for grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging from 2030, and the file you must hold.
Labelling · Art. 12PPWR labelling requirements
Material-composition and separate-collection labels, the reusability marking, and the pending implementing acts.
EPR · Art. 45Extended Producer Responsibility under the PPWR
Register per market, eco-modulated fees, and when a non-EU seller needs an authorised representative.