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Packaging rule · European Union · Other

EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) applies

Packaging rule covering all packaging in the European Union, set by European Parliament and Council of the EU. Applies since 12 August 2026.

By the SPI teamRule ID PR-EU-001Source consulted 13 October 2026Verified 13 October 2026
Sourced facts

The rule

Recorded from the official source named below. Rates and dates are as the source states them on the date it was consulted.

Jurisdiction
European Union
Authority
European Parliament and Council of the EU
Rule type
Other
Materials
All packaging
Status
In force Enacted
Adopted or published
19 December 2024
Applies from
12 August 2026
From the source

“ENTRY INTO FORCE: 11.2.2025. APPLICATION: from 12.8.2026.”

Official source European Parliament Legislative Observatory: Regulation (EU) 2025/40 summaryOfficial (government or regulator) · consulted 13 October 2026

Deadlines

Key dates

  1. Adopted or published 1 year and 9 months ago

  2. Applies from 2 months ago

  3. Source consulted by the SPI team today

  4. Re-checked by a second SPI team member today

SPI analysis

What it means

SPI analysis Our reading of the official source above. Not legal advice; always rely on the official text.

SPI summary

Regulation (EU) 2025/40 sets EU-wide rules on packaging sustainability, labelling, EPR and waste. It entered into force on 11 February 2025 and generally applies from 12 August 2026, replacing Directive 94/62/EC.

In practice

Since 12 August 2026 the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation applies directly in every Member State, replacing the 1994 Packaging Directive as the main EU framework. For manufacturers, converters and brand owners it frames staged obligations: PFAS limits in food-contact packaging from 2026, then recyclability, recycled content, reuse, empty space and format rules from 2030. Many details depend on implementing and delegated acts still in preparation.

Who is in scope

  • Packaging placed on the EU market and packaging waste: sustainability, labelling, EPR and waste rules (Legislative Observatory summary).
  • Economic operators along the packaging chain, including producers and e-commerce actors placing packaging and packaged products on the Union market (recital 127).
  • Member States, which carry targets such as per capita waste reduction.

Who is not

  • The opened sources state no general exclusions; exemptions sit in individual provisions (see related entries).
  • Some provisions of Directive 94/62/EC continue to apply after 12 August 2026, according to DG ENV, so the old regime is not entirely switched off.

What to do and by when

  1. NowMap which PPWR obligations touch each packaging format and role you hold (manufacturer, producer, importer, distributor, fulfilment service).
  2. NowRead the Commission guidance (March 2026) and FAQ (August 2026).
  3. NowSet up a watch list of the implementing and delegated acts on the Commission timeline, starting with labelling and recycled-content methodology.
  4. 1 January 2030Plan product redesign and supplier changes for the 2030 recyclability, recycled content, reuse and empty space requirements.

Related rules

  • PR-EU-013 Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC repealed
    Directive 94/62/EC, which the PPWR replaces from 12 August 2026.
  • PR-EU-012 Environmental Omnibus: suspension of PPWR authorised-representative obligation
    Environmental Omnibus proposal that would suspend the PPWR authorised-representative obligation; not adopted.
  • PR-DE-001 Germany Packaging Law Implementation Act (VerpackDG) replaces VerpackG
    Germany's VerpackDG, a national law adapting German packaging law to the PPWR.
  • PR-EU-002 PPWR: PFAS limits in food-contact packaging
    PFAS restriction in food-contact packaging, one of the first PPWR obligations to apply on 12 August 2026.
  • PR-EU-014 SUP Directive: ban on single-use plastic cutlery, plates, straws and EPS containers
    Single-Use Plastics Directive, which the PPWR amends and which continues alongside it.

Where the record is unclear

  • This note rests on the official summaries, Commission pages and recitals. SPI has not yet checked every point against the article text of Regulation (EU) 2025/40.
  • Several implementing acts were due by 12 August 2026; the Commission timeline describes the labelling act as in preparation and gives no status for most items.
  • The Environmental Omnibus proposal (December 2025) could change the authorised-representative obligation; the Commission says it is being examined by Parliament and Council.

Sources for this note

  1. European Parliament Legislative Observatory: Regulation (EU) 2025/40 summary Consulted 13 October 2026
  2. European Commission (DG ENV): Packaging waste Consulted 13 October 2026
  3. EUR-Lex: Summaries of EU legislation, Packaging and packaging waste (from 2026), last updated 26.9.2025 Consulted 13 October 2026
  4. European Commission Green Forum: Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation implementation (timeline of implementing and delegated acts) Consulted 13 October 2026
  5. EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR), OJ L 22.1.2025 Consulted 13 October 2026
  6. EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2025/40, OJ L 22.1.2025, HTML text Consulted 13 October 2026

Note written by the SPI team on 13 October 2026.

Where it sits in the tracker

  • One of 18 packaging rules we track in the European Union, of which 2 are other rules.
  • In all, 3 other rules are tracked across 2 jurisdictions. Compare them below

Company profiles that map to this rule

Companies whose SPI profile lists this rule in its regulatory exposure, based on where they report selling. Not company-reported.

Audit trail

Change history

Verified: a second SPI team member re-checked every fact above against the source on 13 October 2026. Any later change to the facts sends the rule back to Sourced and is logged here.

  1. Verified by a second SPI team member

  2. Added to the tracker

Spotted an error? Write to sales@strategicpackaginginsights.com quoting PR-EU-001 and the source. Corrections are logged in this history.

Other jurisdictions

Other rules elsewhere

The same type of rule for the same materials in other jurisdictions, by the date it applies.

RuleWhereTypeMaterialsStatusApplies from
Plastic Resource Circulation ActPR-JP-001JapanOtherPlasticIn force1 April 2022

Every other rule in the tracker

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Questions people bring
  1. Q1

    Which packaging rules apply to us in each market we sell in?

    We map each market's EPR, tax, ban, recycled-content, labelling and deposit rules against your materials and formats, and show which are in force, adopted or only proposed.

  2. Q2

    What could EPR fees and plastic taxes cost us next year?

    We apply published fee tables and tax rates to your tonnages and recycled content, and show the result as scenarios with every rate sourced.

  3. Q3

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