PPWR: A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR PACKAGING
Since 11 February 2025, the European packaging industry has been moving to the rhythm of a countdown. That was the day Regulation (EU) 2025/40, known by its English acronym PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation), officially entered into force. Its general application date has been set for 12 August 2026. From that deadline onwards, a common set of rules will apply to all companies that design, manufacture, import or distribute packaging on the EU market.
The text does more than simply adjust existing regulation. It redefines the way packaging is designed, produced and tracked throughout its life cycle, from the design office to the recycling bin. For industry professionals, summer 2026 therefore represents much more than an administrative formality.
From a thirty-year-old directive to a directly applicable regulation
The PPWR replaces Directive 94/62/EC, which has been in force since 1994. This change in legal status is far from incidental. Whereas a directive left each Member State free to transpose it, resulting in 27 sometimes divergent national regimes, Regulation (EU) 2025/40 applies directly and uniformly across the Union, without transposition or any grace period. Companies operating in several European markets therefore gain a single reference framework.
This overhaul is part of the European Green Deal and the circular economy strategy. The issue is far from theoretical. According to the European Parliament, each European generates nearly 190 kg of packaging waste per year, a volume that the European Commission links in particular to the fact that around 40% of the plastics consumed in the Union are used for packaging. Reducing this volume, improving recyclability and developing reuse are at the heart of the regulation’s objectives. To support operators, the Commission published an interpretative notice and FAQ in March 2026, clarifying several key definitions, from packaging itself to the status of manufacturer or importer.
In France, the PPWR does not replace national schemes; it is added to them. It coexists with the AGEC law and with extended producer responsibility, managed by eco-organisations such as Citeo, Twiice and Leko, which already modulate eco-contributions according to packaging recyclability.
What the 12 August 2026 deadline makes mandatory
From 12 August 2026, non-compliant packaging will no longer be allowed to be placed on the European market. The first concrete obligations are documentary and technical. Each manufacturer will have to carry out a conformity assessment, draw up an EU declaration of conformity for its packaging and keep the corresponding technical documentation for five years, or ten years for reusable packaging. Importers, for their part, will have to verify that this conformity has been established before any product is placed on the market. No grace period is planned, although stocks already marketed before the deadline may continue to be sold in accordance with national rules. Failures to comply may lead to fines, market withdrawal or even exclusion from public procurement.
Two other changes also come into play from this date. The content of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in food-contact packaging will be restricted above a defined threshold, as a public health measure targeting these persistent pollutants. Traceability will also be strengthened, with each packaging unit having to be linked to its compliance information.
The regulation will also affect public procurement. According to the Ministry of the Economy, Article 63 provides that public buyers must include environmental sustainability requirements in certain contracts, through implementing acts adopted between 2026 and 2030.
This overhaul is part of the European Green Deal and the circular economy strategy. The issue is far from theoretical. According to the European Parliament, each European generates nearly 190 kg of packaging waste per year, a volume that the European Commission links in particular to the fact that around 40% of the plastics consumed in the Union are used for packaging. Reducing this volume, improving recyclability and developing reuse are at the heart of the regulation’s objectives. To support operators, the Commission published an interpretative notice and FAQ in March 2026, clarifying several key definitions, from packaging itself to the status of manufacturer or importer.
In France, the PPWR does not replace national schemes; it is added to them. It coexists with the AGEC law and with extended producer responsibility, managed by eco-organisations such as Citeo, Twiice and Leko, which already modulate eco-contributions according to packaging recyclability.
What the 12 August 2026 deadline makes mandatory
From 12 August 2026, non-compliant packaging will no longer be allowed to be placed on the European market. The first concrete obligations are documentary and technical. Each manufacturer will have to carry out a conformity assessment, draw up an EU declaration of conformity for its packaging and keep the corresponding technical documentation for five years, or ten years for reusable packaging. Importers, for their part, will have to verify that this conformity has been established before any product is placed on the market. No grace period is planned, although stocks already marketed before the deadline may continue to be sold in accordance with national rules. Failures to comply may lead to fines, market withdrawal or even exclusion from public procurement.
Two other changes also come into play from this date. The content of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in food-contact packaging will be restricted above a defined threshold, as a public health measure targeting these persistent pollutants. Traceability will also be strengthened, with each packaging unit having to be linked to its compliance information.
The regulation will also affect public procurement. According to the Ministry of the Economy, Article 63 provides that public buyers must include environmental sustainability requirements in certain contracts, through implementing acts adopted between 2026 and 2030.
A timetable stretching into 2040
12 August 2026 is only the first step. The most substantial quantified requirements will be phased in over nearly fifteen years. Design for recycling will become the rule for all packaging by early 2028 at the latest, the year in which harmonised European labelling will also begin to replace national logos, including Triman in France.
The year 2030 brings together the most structuring milestones. All packaging placed on the market will have to be recyclable, reuse targets will apply (for example 40% for transport packaging), and certain formats considered superfluous will be banned under Annex V, from hotel miniatures to bags for fruit and vegetables under 1.5 kg, as well as non-functional overpackaging. The waste reduction trajectory follows the same timeline, with a per-capita decrease of 5% in 2030, 10% in 2035 and 15% in 2040 compared with 2018.
To assess recyclability, the regulation introduces a five-level classification, from A to E. According to Techniques de l'Ingénieur, the lowest-performing packaging, classes D and E, will gradually be excluded from the market, which already puts certain hard-to-recycle multilayer combinations on borrowed time.
A transformation affecting the entire value chain
Few players in the industry will be left untouched by the PPWR. Packaging design is on the front line, with the search for recyclable materials, the integration of recycled content and the drive to eliminate unnecessary empty space (Annex IV caps the empty space ratio at 50% for transport, grouped and e-commerce packaging). Production and packaging lines will also have to adapt, as will logistics, which will need to integrate collection, washing and redistribution systems to make reuse operational.
Brands and retailers are also concerned, as they will need to include these criteria in their specifications and build partnerships with recycling channels to secure their supply of recycled material. Component suppliers, including films, cardboard, inks and labels, will have to document their products precisely, while traceability will require each physical reference to be linked to its digital data.
This complete chain, from material to machine, is brought together by ALLFORPACK EMBALLAGE PARIS through its four sectors (Packaging & Materials, Print & Design, Machines & Packaging, Intralogistics & Transport). Regulation also has a dedicated place there, with a webinar devoted to the PPWR held alongside Pack Eko, whose full summary is available to read.
See you in June 2027 to take action
This new chapter opens a new page, with the next edition taking place from 29 June to 1 July 2027 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, in the heart of the capital. More central and more accessible, this new setting will make travel, business meetings and the exchanges that define a professional trade show easier.
In 2027, operating machinery will occupy an even greater place. Seeing equipment in action, observing a full line or testing a solution under real conditions often remains the best way to validate an investment, especially when it comes to adapting your industrial tool to the requirements of the PPWR. The ALLFORPACK INNOVATIONS AWARDS, demonstrations and conference programme will help you compare the concrete responses the industry is already providing.