On average, in 2021 every single citizen of the European Union threw away 189 kilograms of packaging waste, 20 per cent more than ten years earlier. We are talking about bags, bottles, flasks, sachets, jars, cartons and so on. The total produced in the European Union, again in 2021, amounts to 84.3 million tonnes: the equivalent of eight thousand Eiffel Towers. Starting this year, many things will change — not so much on the recycling front, but much earlier, right from the design stage: the first provisions of the new European regulation on packaging and packaging waste (Ppwr) are now coming into force.

What the new European packaging regulation (Ppwr) entails

The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (2025/40) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 22 January 2025, entered into force on 11 February and will apply from 12 August 2026. It will replace the Packaging Directive (94/62/EC) that has been in force until now. Unlike the previous text, it is a regulation: this means it comes into force in all member states without the need for national transposition measures. The European Commission will nonetheless need to adopt delegated acts to detail individual requirements.

The regulation requires member states to achieve binding targets for the prevention of per-capita packaging waste, all calculated against 2018 levels: minus 5 per cent by 2030, minus 10 per cent by 2035, minus 15 per cent by 2040. Alongside these quantitative targets, there are equally significant qualitative ones concerning the recyclability of packaging, the use of recycled plastic and the reduction of virgin raw materials.

How the Ppwr affects packaging design

The Ppwr shifts the focus onto packaging design, introducing a recyclability requirement for all packaging placed on the market and harmonised criteria for assessing it. Design must also minimise weight and volume, avoiding superfluous components, and ensure the separability of elements that could hinder recycling. Labels, closures and material combinations become an integral part of the conformity assessment, with a direct impact on design choices.

Materials: from recycled plastic to Pfas restrictions

The regulation introduces mandatory minimum percentages of post-consumer recycled plastic content, differentiated by packaging type, and strengthens restrictions on the use of substances of concern. Among these are Pfas: from 12 August 2026, packaging that exceeds certain thresholds may not be placed on the market. This set of requirements makes many non-separable multilayer solutions progressively incompatible, as they allow neither effective recycling nor compliance with the prescribed chemical limits.

Formats and models: with the Ppwr, single-use sachets are on their way out

The Ppwr also intervenes on packaging formats and usage models by banning certain types of single-use packaging — such as single-portion sauces, sugar and detergents and small packs of fruit and vegetables — and by introducing binding reuse targets in sectors such as catering, retail and logistics. At the same time, it promotes refill and top-up systems and sets limits on empty space in grouped packaging, transit packaging and e-commerce packaging.

Harmonised labelling to prevent greenwashing

The regulation introduces a harmonised labelling system at European level, designed to provide clear and comparable information on packaging composition and end-of-life disposal methods. There is also the option of using a QR code. In practice, companies can no longer generically describe their packaging as "green": the only permitted information is that which is standardised, verifiable and supported by objective evidence.

Where to begin: the Ppwr deadlines

The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation covers very diverse areas. To make this transition more manageable, the application of the new rules is spread out over time. From 12 August 2026, the basic obligations come into effect, including the harmonised labelling requirement for packaging, limits on hazardous substances and Pfas in food-contact packaging, the obligation to hold traceable technical data on packaging composition, the obligation to carry out recyclability assessments based on common and verifiable criteria, and the ban on placing packaging that does not meet the basic requirements on the market.

Also thanks to the implementation of these measures, by 2030 the most significant targets are expected to be met. First and foremost, member states must ensure that all packaging is recyclable in an economically sustainable way. Also for 2030, the European Union sets minimum recycled material content requirements for plastic packaging. For paper, cardboard, glass and metals, the Ppwr does not introduce mandatory minimum recycled content percentages, but limits itself to setting recyclability requirements, recycling targets and prevention measures.

After 2030, the focus shifts to progressive targets, starting with a 15 per cent reduction in per-capita packaging waste by 2040 compared to 2018 levels. In this phase, reuse and refill models become particularly central; the Ppwr sets increasing quotas differentiated by packaging type and sector for these. Alongside these targets, requirements on traceability and information are introduced to make it more transparent what happens along the supply chain and how this is communicated to the market.