SPI Intelligence for Food and Beverage Packaging

Who this page is for

Brand owners, co-packers, converters, closure and preform makers, resin suppliers and foodservice operators. The page answers four questions: which containers carry a deposit and from when, how much recycled plastic bottles must hold, which takeaway, produce and HORECA formats are banned, and how your public targets compare with peers’.

Most packaging rules are not written for one industry. The SPI Regulation Tracker classes its 79 rules by type, and four types carry most of the weight for food and drink. EPR fees and plastic taxes apply too; we cover their cost side below and in the SPI EPR & Plastic Tax Calculator.

Deposit return: which drinks containers carry a deposit

Definition. A deposit return system (DRS) adds a refundable deposit to a drink’s price, repaid when the empty container is returned. Producers join a scheme operator, register each container type, pay fees and print a scheme logo and barcode.

Four national systems already run; the table below compares them. Three details catch producers out. Austria excludes milk and dairy drinks and beverage cartons, and counts mail-order sellers delivering into Austria as first placers (PR-AT-001). Ireland’s S.I. No. 599/2021 covers PET bottles and aluminium or steel cans only, so non-PET plastic bottles carry no deposit (PR-IE-001). Portugal’s Volta scheme, live since 10 April 2026, brings service packaging and plant-based drinks into scope from 12 August 2026, according to the Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente FAQ (PR-PT-001).

Two UK schemes are adopted and start on the same day. In England and Northern Ireland, SI 2025/67 brings single-use PET, steel and aluminium drinks containers of 150 ml to 3 litres into a scheme run by a deposit management organisation from 1 October 2027 (PR-GB-004). GOV.UK says that organisation will set the deposit and producer fees. Scotland’s SSI 2025/188 moves its start to 1 October 2027, removes glass and raises the minimum size from 100 ml to 150 ml (PR-GB-005).

By 1 January 2029 every Member State must separately collect at least 90% by weight per year of single-use plastic and metal beverage containers up to three litres, and the Commission’s PPWR facts page and recital 142 say a deposit system is to be set up where that cannot be reached by other means (PR-EU-007). The recitals indicate deposit systems should not be obligatory for wine, spirits and milk products (recital 144).

Tethered caps and other design rules

Definition. A tethered cap stays attached to the bottle or carton after opening.

Since 3 July 2024, single-use plastic beverage containers of up to three litres with plastic caps or lids may be placed on the EU market only if the caps and lids stay attached during intended use (Directive (EU) 2019/904, Article 6(1); PR-EU-015). Cartons are covered as well as bottles; glass and metal containers with plastic caps are not.

Two other design rules apply directly to food and drink:

• PFAS in food-contact packaging (PR-EU-002, in force). Since 12 August 2026, food-contact packaging may not be placed on the EU market if its PFAS concentration is at or above the PPWR limit values. It mainly reaches paper, board and moulded-fibre grades that used fluorinated treatments for grease and water resistance. Oregon goes further on foodware: since 1 January 2025 foodware containers for prepared food may not contain intentionally added PFAS (PR-US-013).
• Excessive packaging in China (PR-CN-003, in force). GB 23350-2021 has applied since 1 September 2023 to food and cosmetics sales packaging. A pack fails if it exceeds three layers (grain products) or four (other foods), breaks the void-ratio cap for its net content (from 85% for 1 mL or g or less down to 30% above 50 mL or g), or if packaging cost excluding the contact layer exceeds 20% of the sales price.

Recycled content in plastic bottles

Definition. Post-consumer recycled (PCR) content is plastic recovered from packaging consumers have used; post-industrial scrap does not count under these rules.

• EU, Single-Use Plastics Directive (PR-EU-016, in force). PET beverage bottles up to three litres must contain at least 25% recycled plastic from 2025, and all Part F beverage bottles at least 30% from 2030, each as an average across bottles placed on the market in a Member State (Article 6(5)).
• EU, PPWR 2030 and 2040 (PR-EU-004 and PR-EU-005, adopted). Regulation (EU) 2025/40 sets 30% for single-use plastic beverage bottles from 2030, rising to up to 65% by 2040; other plastic categories have their own percentages. The implementing act on calculation and verification is due by 31 December 2026.
• California, AB 793 (PR-US-009, in force). Plastic beverage containers with the California Redemption Value must average 25% PCR since 1 January 2025 and 50% from 1 January 2030, measured as an annual aggregate, with shortfalls penalised at USD 0.20 per pound.
• New Jersey, P.L.2021, c.391 (PR-US-010, in force). Plastic beverage containers need 15% PCR from 2024, 20% from 2027 and 50% in 2044. Pyrolysis and gasification outputs do not count as PCR.
• India, Plastic Waste Management Rules (PR-IN-002, in force). Category I rigid plastic packaging carries 30%, 40%, 50% and 60% recycled content from 2025-26 to 2028-29 onwards. G.S.R. 237(E) of 2026 lets unmet 2025-26 food-contact obligations be carried forward for three years.

Bans on single-use plastic and foodservice formats

Bans are the largest of the four food and beverage rule types, with 17 rules in the tracker; all but two already apply.

Single-use plastic items. The EU Single-Use Plastics Directive has required Member States to ban single-use plastic cutlery, plates, straws, stirrers and expanded polystyrene food and drink containers and cups since 3 July 2021 (PR-EU-014). Similar bans are in force in France (PR-FR-002), England from 1 October 2023 (PR-GB-006), Wales from 30 October 2023 (PR-GB-007), Canada (PR-CA-001), British Columbia from 15 July 2024 (PR-CA-005), India from 1 July 2022 (PR-IN-004), New Zealand (PR-NZ-001, stage 2 from 1 July 2023), Colombia (PR-CO-002) and Dubai, whose final phase from 1 January 2026 covers plastic plates, cutlery and cups with their lids (PR-AE-001).

Expanded polystyrene foodservice ware. California restricts EPS food service ware from 1 January 2025 because EPS did not reach the 25% recycling rate SB 54 requires; CalRecycle states that the restriction falls on producers, not on retailers, distributors or restaurants that are not producers (PR-US-005). Washington has banned EPS foam food containers, plates, clamshells and cups since 1 June 2024, after loose-fill packing peanuts on 1 June 2023 (PR-US-012). Oregon bans polystyrene foam containers for prepared food from 1 January 2025 and, according to DEQ, did not grandfather existing stock (PR-US-013).

PPWR format restrictions from 2030. From 1 January 2030, Article 25 and Annex V of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 bar specified formats, mostly single-use plastic: grouped packaging films, packaging for pre-packed fresh fruit and vegetables under 1.5 kg, packaging for food and drink filled and consumed in HORECA premises, single-portion condiments and sauces in HORECA, and very lightweight plastic carrier bags (PR-EU-008). Member States may set exemptions for fresh produce. Our article on PPWR 2030 format restrictions goes through each Annex V entry.

Germany adds a cost rather than a ban. Under the Single-Use Plastics Fund Act, producers of to-go food containers, beverage containers and cups, bag and foil packaging and lightweight carrier bags pay an annual levy into a federal fund, first paid in 2025 on 2024 quantities (PR-DE-002).

Key dates for food and beverage packaging

The timeline lists 20 dates for food and drink packs, from the 2021 EU bans to New Jersey’s 2044 step. Twelve are still ahead.

What EPR fees look like for food and drink formats

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) makes producers pay for collecting and recycling their packaging, usually as a fee per tonne by material. The SPI EPR & Plastic Tax Calculator holds 216 published rate rows for 14 markets; Spain’s Ecoembes 2026 schedule shows how much format choice matters within one scheme.

Plastic taxes come on top. The UK Plastic Packaging Tax is £228.82 per tonne from 1 April 2026 on components with less than 30% recycled plastic (PR-GB-001), and Spain taxes the non-recycled plastic in non-reusable packaging at EUR 0.45 per kg (PR-ES-001). In the UK, PackUK’s illustrative 2026-27 fees for plastic are £415, £455 and £545 per tonne for green, amber and red recyclability ratings, against £185, £205 and £245 for glass (PR-GB-003). These are illustrative; confirmed year 2 fees follow later in 2026. See also EPR fees per tonne in 2026.

What 21 food and beverage companies have committed to

The SPI Buyers Database lists 21 food, beverage and foodservice companies among its 42 brand owners and retailers, which together publish 179 packaging targets. Each target is quoted from the company’s own report and given a status on SPI’s reading of the reported figure against the company’s own goal. Figures are company-reported; SPI does not audit them.

Bottles and cans. The Coca-Cola Company reports 30% recycled material in primary packaging in 2025 against 35% to 40% by 2035 (2026 Sustainability Update). PepsiCo reports 18% recycled content in plastic packaging against 40% or more by 2035, and Keurig Dr Pepper 16% in primary plastic against 25% to 35% by 2035. Diageo met its 35% target for PET bottles, at 44% in fiscal 2026. HEINEKEN reports 48% recycled content in bottles and cans against 50% by 2030.

Reuse. HEINEKEN sold 39% of volumes in reusable formats in 2025, against 43% by 2030. Coca-Cola reports 14% of beverage volume in reusable packaging, with no target. AB InBev reports 89.7% of products in returnable or majority recycled-content packaging, missing its 100% by 2025 goal. Starbucks sold 4.6% of beverages in reusable cups in fiscal 2025.

Food and snacks. Nestlé reports 89.5% of packaging meeting its reusable, recyclable or compostable criteria, missing its 100% by 2025 target, and a 28% cut in virgin plastic versus 2018. Kraft Heinz reports 86% (2024) against 100% by 2025. Mondelēz met its 5% virgin plastic cut (11.5% versus 2020). In India, Dabur reports recycled content of 2%, 6% and 1% in non-food Category I, II and III plastics in FY 2025-26, against 30%, 10% and 5% levels that match India’s 2025-26 obligations (PR-IN-002), and Marico 95% recyclable against 100% by 2025.

How SPI builds this page

SPI Regulation Tracker. Each of the 79 rules has an official source, dates, a last-checked date and its own page with an SPI note on scope, actions and open points. The 13 October 2026 check re-read 56 tracker records against their official sources and updated 46.

SPI Buyers Database. 42 brand owners and retailers with 179 public targets, each quoted from the company’s own report. It holds no contacts, volumes, suppliers or specifications.

Limitations. The tracker is not every rule, and it does not cover food-contact law in full (for example EU plastics food-contact regulation or FSSAI rules). SPI does not give legal advice, test or certify packaging, certify food-contact compliance or file with regulators; where you need that, we can point you to a qualified provider. See our methodology and corrections pages.

Where this fits in your decision

• Discover: compare food and drink targets in the SPI Buyers Database.
• Understand: filter the SPI Regulation Tracker by rule type and sign up for alerts.
• Evaluate: estimate fees and plastic tax in the SPI EPR & Plastic Tax Calculator (Germany and Ontario are not included: no public fee table).
• Decide and implement: SPI Consulting applies the same data to your own packs and markets.

Related pages: Retail and e-commerce for own-brand food packaging, Personal and home care, and the Industries overview.

When you need more than the data

The SPI Trackers are free. Three SPI Consulting services fit food and beverage work:

• Packaging Regulatory Intelligence: deposit, recycled-content, ban and PFAS rules mapped to your materials and markets, with an obligation map, sourced exposure scenarios and a deadline calendar.
• Sustainable Packaging Strategy: material alternatives, reuse options and redesigns tested against the rules above, with a peer benchmark of public commitments.
• Packaging Market & Competitive Intelligence: for converters and resin suppliers sizing food and drink demand.

Work is scoped as a Briefing, Sprint, Programme or Retainer, with pricing on request. If you have a specific market or format question, send an enquiry.