Guides

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.

Selling into more than one EU country? The product rules are the same everywhere, but packaging EPR is run nationally, a different register, PRO and threshold in each state. Tick the countries you sell into and see what each one requires, free. Open the EU country selector →

Scope · Art. 3, 15, 21, 45

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.

Size · Art. 5–15, 51; Rec. 2003/361/EC

Does the PPWR apply to small businesses?

No general small-business exemption, and why the SME test for the few carve-outs is measured on your whole global group, not your EU sales.

Roles · Art. 15, 17–19, 21, 44–45

Who provides the Declaration of Conformity?

The manufacturer draws up the DoC, and the Article 21 own-name rule can make a brand owner the manufacturer, not its packer. Plus why the DoC “manufacturer” differs from the EPR “producer”.

Timeline · 2026–2040

PPWR 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 II

PPWR 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. 7

PPWR recycled-content rules for plastic

The exact minimum percentages by material, contact-sensitivity and PET, for 2030 and 2040.

Substances · Art. 5

The PPWR PFAS ban in food-contact packaging

What is banned, from when, and why fibre-based food packaging carries the most risk.

Minimisation · Art. 10

PPWR 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. 12

PPWR labelling requirements

Material-composition and separate-collection labels, the reusability marking, and the pending implementing acts.

EPR · Art. 45

Extended Producer Responsibility under the PPWR

E-commerce · Art. 10, 45

PPWR for online sellers and e-commerce

Why your shipping box counts, the 50% empty-space cap, and registering for EPR in every country you ship into.

Want it mapped to your own packaging? These guides explain the rules in general. The report screens your packaging profile against the regulation and returns only the obligations that apply to you, each with its threshold and deadline. Get my PPWR obligations report →