New EU Regulation Aims to Promote Sustainable Packaging

The European Union's New Packaging and Packing Waste Regulation covers the full packaging lifecycle across multiple industries

The European Union has introduced a new set of requirements through the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR) to reduce packaging waste, decrease use of primary raw materials, and increase reuse and recyclability — from product design to waste management. 

The PPWR covers all packaging and packaging waste on the EU market aside from a few key exemptions, such as packaging for specific materials (e.g., cork, wood, textiles, and ceramics), medical devices, contact-sensitive food, and the transport of dangerous goods. Entered into force on Feb. 11, the PPWR will become applicable 18 months later throughout multiple industries, including in the household, industrial, and commercial sectors.

What's new in the EU's new packaging regulation?

According to the PPWR, it aims "to reduce the quantity of packaging placed on the market in terms of its volume and weight, to prevent packaging waste from being generated, in particular through packaging minimisation, avoiding packaging where it is not needed and increasing re-use of packaging" and to augment the use of recycled content in packaging. 

Key provisions to aid in this transition to a more circular, sustainable economy and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 include:

• A requirement that by 2030 all packaging on the EU market must be recyclable (Article 6) 
• Targets for minimum recycled content in plastic packaging by 2030 and 2040 (Article 7) 
• Threshold levels for some substances of concern in packaging, such as per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in food contact packaging (Article 5)
• Single-use plastic restrictions (Annex 5)
• A refill obligation requirement for take-away businesses to offer customers who bring their own containers to be filled "products at no higher cost and under no less favourable conditions than when selling the sales unit consisting of the same product and single-use packaging" (Article 32)

What lies ahead for packaging in the EU

While the PPWR promises to transform packaging circularity across Europe, businesses, policymakers, and consumers alike may find hurdles along the way to sustainability including:

• Lack of support and cooperation between recyclers, producers, and waste managers
• Difficulty covering costs incurred through recycled content targets and reuse requirements
• Challenges creating the needed collection and sorting infrastructure to meet the new requirements
• Challenges to existing manufacturing processes and equipment 
• Packaging stability and performance both during distribution and while in inventory 
• Competition from imported packaging
• Regulatory hurdles for controlling/limiting certain regulated substances (e.g., PFAS, flame retardants, etc.) in recycled materials 

The new regulation comes at a time when the amount of waste generated from packaging is growing faster than the amount recycled in the EU. By replacing the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (EU) 94/62/EC (PPWD), the PPWR promises to strengthen the internal market for recycling, reuse, manufacturing, and raw materials.