SPI Regulation Tracker: Packaging Laws, EPR, PPWR and Deadlines by Country

What the SPI Regulation Tracker covers

The tracker records packaging rules made by public authorities: laws, regulations, decrees and the official schemes under them. A “rule” is one obligation, or a closely linked set, with its own dates, so a large law can produce several rows: the PPWR appears as 11 EU rows because its obligations start on different dates.

Each rule carries a type, status, materials, authority, dates, any rate or target, the official source with a short quote, the date that source was consulted and an SPI summary. Each rule also has its own page with an SPI note: what it means in practice, who is in scope, what to do by when, related rules and open questions.

Rules by jurisdiction

Europe accounts for 36 of the 79 rules, the Americas 23, Asia-Pacific 16, and the Middle East and Africa 4. The European Union is the largest single jurisdiction with 18 rules, followed by the United States with 13 (across seven states), the United Kingdom with 7 and Canada with 6.

Rules by status

A status says where a rule stands in law today. In force means the obligation applies now. Adopted means the rule has passed but its obligations start later, or cannot yet be enforced. Proposed means a formal proposal, bill or planned measure that is not yet law. Expired means the rule has been repealed or its target date has passed. Withdrawn means a proposed or planned measure has been dropped or put on hold.

The 4 proposed rules include the EU Environmental Omnibus suspension of the PPWR authorised-representative duty (PR-EU-012), the proposed EUR 1 per kg EU plastic own resource from 2028 (PR-EU-018) and Australia’s packaging EPR bill of 2026 (PR-AU-003). New Zealand’s stage 3 plastic phase-out, whose 2025 deadline was removed on 18 December 2024 with no new date set, is shown as withdrawn and is being updated to proposed in the SPI team’s 13 October 2026 check (PR-NZ-002). The 2 expired rows are the repealed Directive 94/62/EC (PR-EU-013) and Australia’s 2025 National Packaging Targets (PR-AU-001).

Rules by type

The tracker uses 11 rule types. EPR (extended producer responsibility) makes producers fund or run the collection and recycling of their packaging; it is the largest type with 25 rules. A ban prohibits a format or material (17 rules). Deposit return schemes put a refundable deposit on drinks containers (7). Design rules cover recyclability, PFAS limits or empty space (6); recycled content (6) and reuse (3) rules set minimum shares; taxes charge a rate per weight (4); labelling (3), plans (4) and reporting (1) cover sorting marks, national targets and market data.

How to use the tracker

The tracker is free to read with no sign-in. It answers three questions: what applies in a market, what is coming and when, and what the official text says.

Filter the rules

The rules table on this page can be filtered by search term (for example “plastic tax”, “PPWR” or “deposit”), type, material (plastic, single-use plastic, paper and board, metal, glass, wood or all packaging), status, jurisdiction, enacted or proposed, and checking (verified or sourced). The left-hand rail shows live counts and applies the same filters. Filters combine, so “type: deposit return, status: adopted” returns the schemes that have passed but not yet started.

Open a jurisdiction page

Each jurisdiction has its own page at /data/packaging-regulation-tracker//, for example European Union, United States, United Kingdom or India. Each opens with a short answer (rules, rules in force, next deadline), then lists deadlines, rules in force, adopted and proposed rules, a timeline and a peer comparison.

Read a rule

Every rule shows its authority, effective date, rate or target where there is one, the materials covered, the official source with a quoted extract, the SPI summary and the SPI note. The “Source consulted” line gives the date the official text was last opened, and the history lists each time the rule was added, changed, verified or corrected.

Export to CSV

Any filtered view downloads as a CSV file with one row per rule, ready for a compliance register. Filter to “United States, EPR” and the file holds those rules only.

Get e-mail alerts

Alerts are free. Choose your jurisdictions (or none for all), confirm by e-mail, and receive at most one e-mail a week, only in weeks when a rule there is added or changed. Unsubscribe in one click; the address is used for nothing else.

Key packaging regulations explained

This section gives the short version of the rules that most often decide packaging budgets and redesign plans. Rule IDs link to the rule on its jurisdiction page.

EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR)

Regulation (EU) 2025/40 entered into force on 11 February 2025 and has generally applied since 12 August 2026, replacing the 1994 Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PR-EU-001). It applies directly in every Member State; Germany replaced its Packaging Act with the VerpackDG from the same date (PR-DE-001).

PPWR requirements arrive in stages. Since 12 August 2026, food-contact packaging with PFAS at or above the PPWR limit values may not be placed on the EU market (PR-EU-002). The harmonised sorting label follows from 12 August 2028, or 24 months after its implementing act if later; that act was still pending in October 2026 (PR-EU-003). By 1 January 2029 Member States must separately collect at least 90% by weight of single-use plastic and metal beverage containers up to three litres (PR-EU-007).

The heaviest step is 1 January 2030. On that date all packaging must be recyclable in an economically viable way (PR-EU-010); plastic packaging must meet minimum recycled-content shares, including 30% for single-use plastic beverage bottles, rising to up to 65% in 2040 (PR-EU-004, PR-EU-005); binding reuse targets of 40% for transport packaging and 10% for grouped packaging apply (PR-EU-006); grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging must keep empty space at or below 50% (PR-EU-009); and Article 25 and Annex V bar listed formats, including plastic packaging for pre-packed fresh fruit and vegetables under 1.5 kg and packaging for food and drink filled and consumed on HORECA premises (PR-EU-008).

The authorised-representative duty for cross-border sellers could be suspended by the Environmental Omnibus proposal COM(2025) 982, but until it is adopted the duty applies (PR-EU-012). Read the EU jurisdiction page for all 18 EU rules and the SPI Insights article on PPWR 2030 format restrictions for Annex V entry by entry.

Tethered caps

Since 3 July 2024, single-use beverage containers up to three litres with plastic caps or lids may only be placed on the EU market if the caps and lids stay attached during intended use, under Article 6(1) of Directive (EU) 2019/904 (PR-EU-015). Composite beverage packaging such as cartons is covered as well as bottles. The same Directive has required PET beverage bottles to contain at least 25% recycled plastic since 2025, and all single-use plastic beverage bottles 30% from 2030, as a national average (PR-EU-016).

California SB 54

SB 54 is California’s packaging EPR law. Producers of single-use packaging and plastic food service ware must join a producer responsibility organisation (Circular Action Alliance) or take another compliance path, and the law sets 2032 goals for source reduction, recycling and recyclability (PR-US-004). Permanent regulations took effect on 1 May 2026, and producers had until 1 June 2026 to join Circular Action Alliance, register as an independent producer or apply for the small producer exemption. Circular Action Alliance submitted its PRO plan to the Advisory Board on 15 June 2026.

Because expanded polystyrene (EPS) missed the 25% recycling rate required by 1 January 2025, producers may not sell or distribute EPS food service ware in California; the restriction applies to producers, not to retailers or restaurants that are not producers (PR-US-005).

California SB 343

SB 343 limits the chasing-arrows symbol and other recyclability claims on products and packaging manufactured after 4 October 2026 to materials that meet CalRecycle’s criteria, such as collection by programmes serving at least 60% of the population (PR-US-011). On 14 July 2026 a federal court issued a preliminary injunction in California League of Food Producers v. Bonta blocking enforcement of SB 343; according to CalRecycle, its study obligations continue. In the SPI team’s 13 October 2026 check, SB 343 is being updated to adopted, with the injunction stated on the rule, because the law stands but cannot currently be enforced.

Packaging EPR in US states

The tracker holds packaging EPR laws in seven US states. Oregon, Colorado and California are in force. The SPI team’s 13 October 2026 check found the Washington, Minnesota and Maryland laws in force too, with producers already registering with or joining a PRO, and those three records are being updated from adopted. Maine is adopted but has no stewardship organisation under contract.

Oregon EPR fees are set on the supply data producers report to Circular Action Alliance, so packaging weight and material data drive cost directly (PR-US-002). Colorado EPR has barred non-participating producers from selling covered products since July 2025, under a Circular Action Alliance plan approved in December 2025 (PR-US-003). In Washington, producers outside a PRO in good standing may not introduce covered materials from 1 March 2029 (PR-US-008). Maine’s 2026 request for proposals drew no bids, so its first payment dates are not set (PR-US-001). The United States page lists all 13 US rules, and EPR fees per tonne in 2026 compares Oregon and Colorado rates.

UK packaging EPR and Plastic Packaging Tax

SI 2024/1332 requires UK packaging producers to register and report data, and large producers to pay disposal fees (PR-GB-002). For 2026-27, PackUK’s illustrative plastic fees are £415 (green), £455 (amber) and £545 (red) per tonne; confirmed fees are still to follow (PR-GB-003). The UK Plastic Packaging Tax is £228.82 per tonne from 1 April 2026 for components with less than 30% recycled plastic (PR-GB-001); Spain taxes non-reusable plastic packaging at EUR 0.45 per kg of non-recycled plastic (PR-ES-001). See plastic packaging taxes in force today.

Deposit return schemes

A deposit return scheme (DRS) adds a refundable deposit to a drink, paid back when the empty container is returned; producers join the operator, pay fees and deposits, and print the scheme logo. The tracker holds 7 deposit return rules: four schemes running and three adopted.

Single-use plastic bans

Bans are the second-largest rule type with 17 rules, 15 of them in force. Most target foodservice and high-litter items; the PPWR extends bans to mainstream packaging formats from 2030.

Other bans in force cover France (PR-FR-002), Wales (PR-GB-007), Washington and Oregon polystyrene (PR-US-012, PR-US-013), British Columbia (PR-CA-005), New Zealand (PR-NZ-001), China (PR-CN-001), Colombia (PR-CO-002) and Kenya (PR-KE-001).

Packaging compliance deadlines 2026 to 2030

The timeline below lists dated obligations still ahead on 13 October 2026, drawn from tracker records and the SPI notes on each rule. Proposed measures are marked.

Methodology: how SPI builds and checks the tracker

The tracker follows the SPI Methodology. Every rule goes through the same six steps: an SPI analyst finds the rule in its official source and copies a short quote; records the authority, type, status, materials, dates and rate (the rule is then marked Sourced); writes the SPI summary and note; a second SPI team member re-checks the record against the source (marked Verified); the weekly source check watches open points; and reported errors are corrected and logged.

Sources. Each rule is taken from an official source: the legal text in an official journal or gazette, or the page of the ministry, regulator, legislature or scheme body that runs it. The source is named, linked and quoted on the rule.

Statuses. Statuses are set from the official record on the date the source was consulted. Enacted means law (in force, adopted or expired); proposed means not yet law; withdrawn means a proposed or planned measure has been dropped or put on hold.

Re-checks. On 13 October 2026 the SPI team re-read 56 tracker records against their official sources and updated 46. A rule is marked Verified only after a second SPI team member has checked it; until then it is marked Sourced. When a fact on a verified rule changes, the rule returns to Sourced until it is checked again.

Weekly source check. Each week the SPI team re-opens the sources behind open points in the rule notes: pending PPWR implementing acts, court cases such as the SB 343 injunction, consultations and fee announcements such as PackUK’s year 2 fees. Changes go into the rule history and that week’s alerts.

Corrections. If you find an error or a missing rule, write to sales@strategicpackaginginsights.com with the rule ID and the source. Each report is checked against the official text and every correction is logged in the rule history (Corrections).

Record and reading kept apart. The quote is copied from the official source; the SPI summary and SPI note are SPI’s own reading and are labelled as such.

Limitations

• Not legal advice. Confirm obligations against the linked legal text and with qualified counsel or your compliance scheme.
• Coverage is growing and is not complete for any jurisdiction. Guidance and local rules may not be listed. France’s packaging EPR scheme is not yet a tracker row, although Citeo’s 2026 fees appear in the SPI EPR & Plastic Tax Calculator.
• Dates move. Rates and dates can change after a source was consulted. Where a date depends on a pending implementing act, the rule note says so.
• Status is a single label. A law can stand while its enforcement is blocked (SB 343) or apply while its main funding duties start years later (Minnesota, Maryland); read the rule note for the detail.
• Values are headline figures. Where a rule has several rates, the value field holds one (for example 30% under PR-EU-004) and the summary gives the rest.

Where the tracker fits: Discover, Understand, Evaluate, Decide, Implement

The tracker is the Understand stage of SPI’s model: which rules apply, when and at what rate. Discover is the SPI Buyers Database (179 public packaging targets from 42 brand owners and retailers). Evaluate is the SPI EPR & Plastic Tax Calculator (216 rate rows, 14 markets), which turns a rule into an estimated cost. Decide and Implement are where SPI Consulting comes in.

When to talk to SPI Consulting

The tracker answers “what is the rule?”. It does not tell you which rules hit your own SKUs, materials and markets, or what they cost you. That is the scope of SPI Packaging Regulatory Intelligence: a jurisdiction-by-material obligation map for your portfolio, EPR and plastic tax exposure scenarios using published rates and your own data, a dated deadline calendar, and ongoing monitoring with monthly change notes. Enacted rules, proposals and SPI interpretation sit in separate columns, each traced to its source. SPI does not give legal advice, file with regulators or certify packaging. If that is the right next step, ask for a briefing.