backOn August 12, 2026, the new EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (“PPWR”) will be into force. Manufacturers must be prepared by then. The new Regulation (EU) No 2025/40 is part of the European Green Deal and sets the course for a circular, resource-saving and climate-neutral packaging industry. The PPWR covers the entire life cycle of packaging – from production and placement on the market to re-using, recycling and disposal. The objective is to transition to a harmonized circular economy in which all packaging is to be gradually made reusable or recyclable and packaging waste is to be reduced across all industries.
For manufacturers, importers, suppliers and distributors (“economic operators”) this means substantial changes. The new provisions stipulate sustainability and labelling requirements for packaging as well as actions from economic operators to document and monitor compliance. The Regulation applies to all packaging placed on the market in the Union, regardless of the type of packaging or the material used. As an EU Regulation, the PPWR is directly applicable in all EU Member States and will enter into force on August 12, 2026, economic operators must prepare for the new requirements in advance.
Manufacturers must review and adapt their processes to ensure that their packaging meets the requirements of the regulation. Importers, suppliers and distributors must prepare to review the documentation.
1. Key Compliance Obligations
Manufacturers must fulfil several obligations. The key Obligations to comply with the Regulation are:
- Adapting the substances of the packaging to new requirements from August 12, 2026!
- Adapting labelling to new requirements from August 12, 2026!
- conducting a conformity assessment,
- establishing technical documentation,
- issuing of an EU declaration of conformity,
- registering in the register of products (national register provided by the member states),
- submitting annual reports.
2. Legal requirements for Packaging (Substances and Labelling)
The Regulation sets out both fixed dates and targeted timelines. The following is based on fixed dates. All manufacturers must review their packaging and ensure that it is compliant with the substance and labelling, marking and information requirements by the following dates:
a. Substance Requirements (Article 5 – 11 Regulation (EU) No 2025/40)
- From August 12, 2026, the Regulation restricts the sum of concentrations of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium in packaging and sets a value limit for PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances) in food-contact packaging (Art. 5 (4), (5)).
- From August 12, 2026, all packaging must be recyclable. Packaging is considered recyclable if it is designed for material recycling and, once it becomes waste, can be separately collected and effectively recycled at scale (Art. 6).
- From February 12, 2028, packaging such as coffee- or teabags and sticky labels affixed to fruit and vegetables must be compostable under industrially controlled conditions (Art. 9).
- From January 1, 2030, the manufacturer or importer needs to ensure that the packaging is designed to the minimum necessary for functionality (Art. 10).
- From January 1, 2030, new performance levels for the recyclability of packaging will apply. A recycling rate of at least 70% must be achieved (“Design for Recycling”; “DfR”) (Art. 6 (3)).
- From January 1, 2030, a minimum percentage of recycled content in plastic packaging is set, which varies on the kind of packaging and lies between 10% and 35% (Art. 7).
- From January 1, 2038, packaging must have a minimum recyclable design of 80% (“Design for Recycling”; “DfR”) (Art. 6 (3)).
Compliance with the recyclability requirements shall be proved in the technical documentation.
b. Labelling, Marking and Information Requirements (Article 12 - 15 Regulation (EU) No 2025/40)
- From August 12, 2026, the packaging must be labelled with details, as an identification feature as a batch- or serial number, and manufacturers and importers must indicate their name, brand and address (Art. 15 (5), (6)).
- From August 12, 2028, packaging must be marked with pictograms containing information on its material composition to facilitate consumer sorting (Art. 12 (1)).
- From February 12, 2029, reusable packages must be labelled with a QR-Code (Art. 12).
- Environmental claims concerning packaging are allowed if the claims exceed the minimum requirements set out by the Regulation and it is specified whether the claim relates to the packaging or part of the packaging (Art. 14).
3. Register of Producers and annual reports by economic operators
The Regulation assigns specific responsibilities to producers, manufacturers, suppliers, importers and distributors.
- Producers must register packaging information at the register of producers in each Member State where they make packaging or packaged products available. The term “producer” has been newly defined, and it is essential for economic operators to determine their role under the PPWR to fulfil their obligations (Art. 44 (2)).
- Producers need to annually report to the competent authority of the mass of packaging (broken down into different types of packaging) they have made available for the first time in the respective EU Member State or of the total amount of packaging from which they have unpacked the total packaged products (Art. 44 (10)).
- Manufacturers need to conduct a conformity assessment procedure based on internal production protocol, showing that the requirements of the Regulation are met. This requires the manufacturer to conduct technical testing and documentation and may require an external scientific consultant. After having a positive assessment, the manufacturer must issue an EU declaration of conformity and keep all documents and the technical dossier at hand (Art. 15 (2), 38, 39).
- Suppliers must provide the manufacturer with the necessary information and documentation to conduct the conformity assessment (Art. 16).
- Importers need to ensure that the conformity assessment has been carried out by the manufacturer and that the packaging meets the requirements of the Regulation (Art. 18).
- Distributers must verify that the producer and the labelling of the packaging are compliant with the requirements of the Regulation (Art. 19).
4. Who establishes the Register of Producers?
The PPWR also imposes obligations on the EU Member States. They must establish the necessary systems and infrastructure to monitor compliance (“Register of Producers”) and provide for the return and separate collection of all packaging waste from the end users (“Return and Collection Systems”). The Member States are also required to promote the development of re-use and re-fill systems to support the broader transition to circular packaging industry (Art. 44, 48).
5. Required actions – What has to be done?
- Practical implementation issues will be further specified through delegated acts, but essential provisions apply from August 12, 2026. Economic operators need to assess their role early to ensure compliance with the new Regulation.
- Until August 12, 2026, manufacturers need to
- assess the packaging and substances used
- change substances, if necessary,
- change/provide the labelling
- have a full documentation of substances and labelling in place
- conduct the conformity assessment
- issue a formal declaration of conformity
- be prepared for the annual report to authorities.
King & Spalding has significant expertise in creative support of companies who are affected by the new provisions of the PPWR.
Additional Contributors: Carolin Welker