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The new EU Packaging Regulation fundamentally changes the legal framework for packaging and packaging waste in the European Union. Regulation (EU) 2025/40, generally referred to as the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation or PPWR, has applied in principle across all EU Member States since 12 August 2026.
The PPWR regulates the entire life cycle of packaging, from design and material composition to labelling, reuse, recycling and extended producer responsibility. Its requirements apply not only to packaging manufacturers. Food producers, packers, fillers, importers, brand owners, distributors and online retailers may all be affected, depending on their role in the relevant supply chain.
Food businesses face a particularly complex compliance exercise. Their packaging must become more resource-efficient and recyclable while continuing to meet food safety, hygiene, shelf-life and product protection requirements. The Regulation also introduces new conformity assessment, documentation, traceability and producer responsibility obligations.
This article provides a systematic overview of the principal changes, the timetable for implementation and the practical implications for food manufacturers. It also identifies areas in which further EU measures or national rules are still required.
Legal status: 14 August 2026
The PPWR replaces most of the previous Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC with directly applicable EU legislation. Unlike a directive, an EU regulation does not generally require transposition before it becomes binding. The PPWR is therefore intended both to strengthen environmental standards and to reduce regulatory fragmentation within the internal market.
Under Article 2, the PPWR applies to all packaging, irrespective of the material used, and to all packaging waste. Its scope includes sales packaging, grouped packaging, transport packaging, e-commerce packaging and service packaging. Permeable tea and coffee bags, as well as certain single-serve coffee and beverage system units, are also expressly covered by the legal definition of packaging.
The principal objectives of the new EU Packaging Regulation are to:
The PPWR is being implemented in stages. The general application date of 12 August 2026 does not mean that every substantive requirement is already fully operational.
| Date | Principal development |
|---|---|
| 11 February 2025 | Entry into force of the PPWR |
| 12 August 2026 | General date of application; this includes the PFAS limits for food-contact packaging and new rules on economic-operator roles, conformity, documentation and traceability |
| 12 February 2027 | Take-away businesses must allow customers to use their own containers |
| 12 February 2028 | Reusable take-away packaging option; specific compostability requirements; additional rules on empty space in sales packaging |
| From 2028/2029 | Harmonised packaging labelling, subject to the entry into force of the required implementing acts |
| From 1 January 2030 | Recyclability performance classes, minimum recycled content, packaging minimisation, restrictions on certain single-use formats and reuse targets, in some cases subject to later dates if the necessary EU acts are delayed |
| From 1 January 2035 | Packaging must also be recycled at scale; the date may move for this requirement if the relevant implementing act is adopted later |
| From 1 January 2038 | Only packaging meeting recyclability performance grade A or B may be placed on the market |
| From 2040 | Higher recycled-content requirements and further reuse targets |
The English version of the PPWR distinguishes between a manufacturer, supplier, importer, distributor, final distributor and producer. These terms are not interchangeable, and the distinction is particularly important in legal English.
A manufacturer under Article 3(1)(13) is the person that manufactures packaging or a packaged product. The term may also cover the person that has packaging or a packaged product designed or manufactured under its own name or trade mark. This role is primarily connected with compliance with the sustainability, labelling, conformity assessment and technical documentation requirements.
A producer under Article 3(1)(15), by contrast, is the economic operator responsible for extended producer responsibility in a particular Member State. The producer is primarily responsible for registration, reporting and financing the collection and recovery of packaging waste in the country in which the packaging is expected to become waste.
According to the European Commission’s PPWR Guidelines, for sales and grouped packaging the manufacturer will generally be the business carrying out the final processing operations, such as filling and sealing, and placing the packaged product on the Union market. A business that has packaging or a packaged product produced under its own name or trade mark may also be treated as the manufacturer.
The allocation of responsibilities must therefore be examined carefully in private-label arrangements, contract packing, co-manufacturing, imports and other complex supply chains. The same business may perform several legal roles at the same time.
The PPWR contains limited provisions for micro-enterprises, but it does not provide a general exemption from packaging compliance or extended producer responsibility.
Specific PFAS limits have applied to food-contact packaging since 12 August 2026. Food-contact packaging may not be placed on the market where it contains PFAS at or above any of the following thresholds:
The combined concentration limit of 100 mg/kg for lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium also remains relevant.
The PFAS restrictions have immediate practical consequences for food manufacturers. Potentially affected packaging includes grease-resistant or moisture-resistant papers, board, coatings and barrier materials.
The Commission’s Guidelines do not recognise a general sell-through period for food-contact packaging first placed on the market after 12 August 2026. Packaging that had already been placed on the market before that date may, in principle, remain available.
For sales and grouped packaging, the legally relevant event will often be the filling, sealing or other final processing of the packaging. The fact that empty packaging was manufactured or purchased before the deadline does not, by itself, establish that it was already placed on the market.
The general requirement that packaging be recyclable has applied since 12 August 2026. Until the detailed PPWR criteria become applicable, the Commission takes the view that recyclability should continue to be assessed under the existing essential requirements and relevant harmonised standards. A PPWR-specific conformity assessment against the future recyclability criteria will be required only after the delegated acts under Article 6(4) become applicable.
In future, each unit of packaging will be assessed under Design for Recycling criteria and assigned recyclability performance grade A, B or C.
From 1 January 2030, or 24 months after the relevant delegated acts enter into force if that date is later, only packaging meeting grade A, B or C may generally be placed on the market. From 2038, only grade A or B packaging will be permitted. From 2035, packaging will also have to be recycled at scale in the Union.
For food packaging, potentially critical features include multilayer and composite structures, barrier films, labels, adhesives, printing inks, closures and components that cannot be readily separated. The legal outcome should not be anticipated before the Commission adopts the detailed Design for Recycling criteria and assessment methodology.
From 2030, the plastic part of packaging must contain specified minimum percentages of post-consumer recycled plastic. The application date may be deferred if the implementing act required for the calculation and verification methodology enters into force later.
| Packaging category | Minimum recycled content in 2030 | Minimum recycled content in 2040 |
| Contact-sensitive PET packaging other than single-use plastic beverage bottles | 30% | 50% |
| Contact-sensitive plastic packaging made from materials other than PET, excluding single-use plastic beverage bottles | 10% | 25% |
| Single-use plastic beverage bottles | 30% | 65% |
| Other plastic packaging | 35% | 65% |
There are exemptions for certain applications, including packaging for infant and young-child food. Exceptions may also apply where the use of recycled content would endanger human health or infringe EU rules on food-contact materials.
Food manufacturers may therefore face a genuine regulatory tension. The PPWR requires greater use of recycled plastic, but chemical safety, migration limits and all other food-contact material requirements must continue to be satisfied in full.
By 12 February 2028, permeable tea, coffee and other beverage bags, as well as sticky labels attached to fruit and vegetables, must be compatible with industrially controlled composting conditions.
Other biodegradable packaging must generally be designed for material recycling without affecting the recyclability of other waste streams.
The terms bio-based, biodegradable and compostable do not describe the same legal or technical characteristics. Food businesses should use these claims only where the relevant property can be substantiated and the applicable labelling rules are met.
From 2030, manufacturers and importers must ensure that the weight and volume of packaging are reduced to the minimum necessary to maintain its functionality. Features such as double walls, false bottoms or unnecessary layers designed solely to create the impression of a larger product volume will generally be prohibited.
For grouped packaging, transport packaging and e-commerce packaging, the PPWR introduces a maximum empty-space ratio of 50%. Filling materials such as air cushions, paper cuttings, foam and wood wool are treated as empty space. Additional requirements for reducing unnecessary empty space in sales packaging apply from 12 February 2028.
For food products, the PPWR expressly recognises that headspace, protective atmospheres, settling during transport and product protection may be functionally necessary. Packaging minimisation must therefore not be assessed in isolation. A smaller package is not compliant if it compromises food safety, shelf life or protection against damage and increases food waste.
Packaging will in future carry harmonised pictograms identifying its material composition. Corresponding labels on waste receptacles are intended to facilitate correct sorting. Reusable packaging will be subject to additional labelling and digital information requirements, potentially using QR codes or other data carriers.
The general material-composition label did not automatically become mandatory in August 2026. It will apply no earlier than 12 August 2028 and, in any event, only 24 months after the relevant implementing acts enter into force. A separate timetable applies to the labelling of reusable packaging, beginning in February 2029 or 30 months after the relevant implementing act.
Businesses should therefore prepare packaging artwork and data systems but should not pre-empt the final harmonised symbols or technical specifications.
From 1 January 2030, the packaging formats listed in Annex V to the PPWR may generally no longer be placed on the market. The following restrictions are particularly relevant to the food sector:
Exceptions may be available for fresh fruit and vegetables where packaging is demonstrably necessary to prevent water loss, microbiological hazards, physical damage or oxidation. Further Commission guidance will be important for the application of these exceptions.
From 2030, reuse targets will apply to transport packaging and certain grouped packaging. The general target for covered transport packaging is 40%. Certain transport movements within the same undertaking, between linked undertakings or between businesses in the same Member State are subject to more specific requirements.
Pallet wrappings and straps have been exempted from the 100% reuse obligation in those specific transport situations. They nevertheless remain within the general 40% target.
Final distributors of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will generally be required to make at least 10% of those products available in reusable packaging within a system for reuse by 2030. Exemptions include certain highly perishable beverages, milk and milk products, wine and spirits. Private-label products must make a fair and proportionate contribution to the achievement of the target, which may also affect supply and manufacturing agreements.
In the take-away sector, businesses must allow customers to bring their own containers from 12 February 2027 and may not offer those customers less favourable conditions. From 12 February 2028, they must generally offer a reusable packaging option within a system for reuse. Micro-enterprises are exempt from this latter requirement.
From the general date of application, manufacturers may place on the market only packaging that complies with the requirements of Articles 5 to 12 that are applicable at the relevant time. Before placing packaging on the market, the manufacturer must in particular:
Technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity must be retained for five years for single-use packaging and ten years for reusable packaging.
Suppliers of packaging and packaging materials must provide manufacturers with the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate compliance. Food manufacturers should establish a contractually documented information chain. A generic supplier declaration that does not identify the packaging type, material composition, test basis and document version will often be insufficient.
The PPWR also harmonises important elements of producer registration, reporting and extended producer responsibility. Producers must, in principle, register in every Member State in which they make packaging or packaged products available for the first time or unpack packaged products without being end users.
The new harmonised register structure still depends in part on implementing acts and national administrative arrangements. Producer responsibility therefore remains operationally linked to national registers, producer responsibility organisations and waste-management systems.
In Austria, the existing provisions of the Waste Management Act 2002 and the Packaging Ordinance 2014 continue to apply to the extent that they are compatible with the PPWR. Existing obligations to participate in collection and recovery systems and to submit reports did not cease merely because the PPWR became applicable. Amendments to the Austrian legislation are planned.
Food manufacturers and retailers selling through their own online shop or an online marketplace must assess their obligations on a country-by-country basis.
Under Article 3(1)(15)(c) and (d), a manufacturer, importer or distributor established in one Member State or in a third country may become the producer for EPR purposes in another Member State where it makes packaging or packaged products available there for the first time directly to end users.
This rule is particularly relevant to business-to-consumer e-commerce, but it is not limited to consumers. A professional customer can also be an end user where it uses the product and does not make it available again on the market in the form in which it was supplied.
The Commission’s Guidelines explain that EPR costs should be borne in the Member State in which the packaging is expected to become waste. An Austrian food manufacturer shipping jars of preserves directly to customers in Germany and France may therefore incur separate EPR obligations in both destination countries. Those obligations can cover the sales packaging, labels, closures, shipping cartons and other packaging components.
Depending on the destination Member State, the distance seller may need to:
Article 44(4) establishes a market-access consequence: packaging or packaged products may not be made available for the first time in a Member State if the producer, or where applicable its authorised representative for EPR, is not registered there.
Online marketplaces are also required to obtain information concerning the producer’s registration in the Member State in which the consumer is located, together with a self-certification confirming compliance with the relevant EPR requirements. A lack of packaging EPR documentation can therefore also lead to an online listing being suspended.
EPR fees are frequently calculated by reference to the weight, material and quantity of packaging. For smaller distance sellers, however, the principal burden may arise from fixed country-specific costs and administration rather than the waste-management fee itself.
Separate registration, scheme membership, reporting, translations and an authorised representative may be required in each destination country. Where a business makes only a small number of annual sales into a particular Member State, these fixed costs can exceed the profit generated in that market.
The PPWR does not establish a general de minimis exemption for occasional shipments or very small packaging quantities. The threshold of less than 10 tonnes in Article 44(8) provides for simplified reporting only. It does not, in principle, remove the underlying registration, EPR financing or authorised-representative obligations.
Distance sellers should therefore prepare a destination-country compliance matrix recording:
The European Commission has acknowledged the administrative burden created by mandatory country-by-country representation. In proposal COM(2025) 982, the Commission proposed suspending the mandatory appointment of an authorised representative under Article 45(3) until 1 January 2035.
For producers established in third countries, Member States would remain able either to require an authorised representative or to ensure traceability and enforcement through alternative means.
As at 14 August 2026, however, the proposal remains in the EU legislative process and has not yet become law. Businesses should therefore proceed on the basis of the current wording of Article 45(3) unless and until an amending regulation is adopted and published in the Official Journal.
Even if the proposed suspension is adopted, it would not abolish the producer’s underlying obligations to register, participate in the relevant EPR system, report packaging quantities and finance packaging waste management in the destination Member State.
Food manufacturers should not treat the PPWR as a matter solely for the packaging procurement or waste-management team. It affects product development, quality assurance, purchasing, production, logistics, distribution, marketing, online sales and contract management.
The following consequences are particularly important:
Although the PPWR is generally applicable, significant elements still require further clarification.
Numerous provisions depend on delegated acts, implementing acts or harmonised standards. These include:
There is currently no fully harmonised EU testing method for PFAS in food-contact packaging. The Commission recommends a tiered testing approach in its Guidelines. This may assist businesses and enforcement authorities, but it is not equivalent to a binding harmonised standard.
Determining the manufacturer and producer remains difficult in complex supply chains, including private-label production, contract filling, neutral packaging, imports and cross-border online sales.
The Commission’s Guidelines and FAQs provide important interpretative assistance but are not legally binding. They cannot amend the Regulation, and the Court of Justice of the European Union retains ultimate authority over the interpretation of EU law.
According to the Austrian Federal Ministry’s PPWR information sheet, amendments to the Austrian Waste Management Act 2002 and Packaging Ordinance are planned.
Until those amendments enter into force, the existing Austrian provisions must continue to be applied and interpreted consistently with EU law. This may create transitional questions concerning legal roles, registration, competent authorities and sanctions.
It remains uncertain whether, and in what final form, proposal COM(2025) 982 will be adopted. Businesses should not confuse the proposed suspension of the authorised-representative requirement with the abolition of country-specific registration, EPR scheme participation or packaging waste financing.
During the transitional phase, the practical application of the PPWR registration rules also depends on the national registers and accompanying legislation available in each Member State.
A practical PPWR implementation plan should include at least the following steps:
The new EU Packaging Regulation is not a single compliance deadline. It is a staged transformation of European packaging law extending to at least 2040.
Food manufacturers already need to address PFAS limits, supply-chain roles, technical documentation, conformity declarations, traceability and cross-border EPR obligations. Those matters should not be postponed until the 2030 recyclability and recycled-content requirements become applicable.
At the same time, businesses should avoid treating draft technical rules as if they were already final. Further EU acts will be decisive for recyclability grades, recycled-content calculations, labelling, reuse and several exemptions.
The most effective approach is therefore a continuously maintained packaging compliance system that integrates technical, food-law, environmental, distribution and contractual requirements.
This article provides a general legal overview. It does not replace an assessment of the specific packaging type, supply chain and destination Member State.