The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is a binding EU-wide regulation that entered into force in February 2025 and now applies from 12 August 2026. It requires all packaging placed on the EU market to be recyclable by design by 2030, sets mandatory recycled content targets for plastic packaging, limits empty space in e-commerce packaging to 50%, restricts PFAS in food-contact packaging above set concentration limits from 12 August 2026 (Article 5(5)), and harmonizes eco-modulated EPR fees across all member states. Any company that places packaged products on the EU market — including US brands exporting to Europe — must comply.
By Kevin Kai Wong, Managing Partner, gCurv Technologies
Packgine tracks your entire portfolio against every PPWR obligation from a single dashboard.
Feb 2025
PPWR enters into force
Aug 2026
Core obligations begin applying
2028
Harmonized labeling requirements
2030
Recyclability assessment under PPWR Annex II (Grade C tier removed from market); recycled content targets
2035
10% packaging waste reduction vs 2018
2038
Recyclability Grade B minimum
2040
15% waste reduction; higher PCR targets
PPWR does not sit on its own. The same product data feeds digital product passports for packaging, which the EU is phasing in as the machine-readable record behind recyclability, recycled content, and material composition claims.
Companies shipping across the Channel also face a separate rulebook: UK packaging EPR and plastic packaging tax use different producer thresholds and reporting formats, so a single European dataset has to serve two regimes.
If your business also sells in North America, read how the EU PPWR compares with US state EPR, where nine separate state statutes replace one harmonized regulation and each sets its own registration and fee cycle. Coverage across both regions is what drives cost, so review what each Packgine tier covers across EU and US jurisdictions.
Use the EU and US packaging compliance calendar to see how PPWR deadlines intersect with registration and reporting dates in the US states.
Budgeting starts with the numbers each national producer responsibility organization actually charges, so check the verified EU PRO fee schedule for 11 member states before you model your EU packaging costs.
All packaging graded A through C. From 2030 (or 24 months after the Commission's design-for-recycling delegated acts, if later) packaging must achieve recyclability grade A, B or C. From 1 January 2038, grade C is no longer permitted; grades A and B remain.
By 2030: 30% PCR for contact-sensitive PET, 10% for contact-sensitive non-PET, 30% for single-use plastic beverage bottles, 35% for other plastic packaging. Under Article 7 the 2030 date is 2030 or 3 years from the date of entry into force of the implementing act referred to in paragraph 8, whichever is the latest. Targets rise to 50%, 25%, 65%, and 65% by 2040.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances banned in food contact packaging from August 2026.
E-commerce and transport packaging must not exceed 50% void space ratio by 2030.
Harmonized fee criteria across EU. Lower fees for recyclable, high-PCR packaging; premiums for hard-to-recycle formats.
5% by 2030, 10% by 2035, 15% by 2040 compared to 2018 baselines.
Content reviewed by Kevin Kai Wong, Managing Partner at gCurv Technologies
Score your packaging portfolio against PPWR recyclability grades, track recycled content, and model eco-modulated fee impacts.