EU packaging compliance hub

    Selling packaged goods in the European Union means two things at once: a national EPR obligation in every member state where you place packaging on the market, and a single EU-wide rulebook for how that packaging is designed and labelled. The country schemes decide what you pay. PPWR decides what you are allowed to sell.

    Start with the country you sell into, then check your packaging against the PPWR requirements.

    Country obligations

    Germany

    How packaging EPR works in Germany: LUCID registration, dual system licensing, volume reporting, audited declarations, fees and deadlines for producers.

    Law:
    Verpackungsgesetz (VerpackG)
    Register:
    LUCID, operated by ZSVR

    France

    How packaging EPR works in France: eco-organisme registration, the unique identification number, CITEO fees, eco-modulation, and Triman labelling duties.

    Law:
    AGEC law and the packaging cahier des charges
    Main eco-organisme:
    CITEO (household packaging and paper)

    Italy

    How packaging EPR works in Italy: CONAI membership, the environmental contribution by material, the diversified plastic bands, and labelling requirements.

    Scheme:
    CONAI and material consortia
    Fee:
    Contributo Ambientale CONAI (per tonne)

    Spain

    How packaging EPR works in Spain: Ecoembes and Ecovidrio registration, green dot fees, the commercial packaging extension, and the plastic packaging tax.

    Law:
    Royal Decree 1055/2022
    Schemes:
    Ecoembes, Ecovidrio

    Netherlands

    How packaging EPR works in the Netherlands: Afvalfonds registration, the 1,000 kg threshold, annual reporting and audit rules, and the deposit system.

    Scheme:
    Afvalfonds Verpakkingen
    Threshold:
    1,000 kg per year

    What PPWR changes for every market

    Regulation (EU) 2025/40 applies from 12 August 2026 and, because it is a regulation rather than a directive, it applies directly in every member state. It introduces design-for-recycling grades, minimum recycled content for plastic packaging, limits on empty space in grouped and e-commerce packaging, reuse targets for defined formats and harmonised labelling.

    The practical consequence is that packaging specifications are now regulated, not just packaging filings. Compare per-tonne rates in the EU PRO fee schedule, screen a pack with the recyclability grade checker, size the cost with the EPR fee calculator, and track filing dates on the compliance calendar.

    Selling beyond the EU? See the US EPR hub and the UK compliance hub, or look up terminology in the packaging compliance glossary.

    EU deep dives

    Every Packgine article covering EU packaging rules, from PPWR scope to country reporting mechanics.

    EU packaging compliance FAQ

    No. PPWR harmonises packaging design, recycled content, empty space and labelling rules across the EU, but registration, reporting and fee collection stay national. You still register and pay in each member state where you place packaging on the market.

    In practice yes, wherever you place packaging on the market above the local threshold. Registration is per member state, and several countries also require a locally established authorised representative if you have no establishment there.

    The regulation applies from 12 August 2026, with design-for-recycling grades, recycled content minimums and reuse targets phasing in on their own later dates through the 2030s.

    One component-level dataset can, provided it records material, weight and design attributes per component and resolves sales to the market of first placement. A single SKU-level weight cannot answer modulated fee or recyclability questions.

    One dataset, every EU market

    Packgine resolves your packaging to component level once, then applies each country's rules, rates and deadlines automatically.