- Regulation (EU) 2025/40, short PPWR, applies from 12 August 2026 directly in all EU countries, without national implementation laws.
- If you ship packaging into other EU countries, you need a registration there and usually an authorised representative on site.
- Many detailed duties arrive staged until 2030, but the preparation belongs in this year: packaging inventory and registrations.
Affects you if you sell and pack physical products, especially if you ship into several EU countries.
01What this is about
The PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation) replaces the packaging directive from 1994. The goal: less packaging waste, more recycled content and uniform rules in the single market. Because it is a regulation and not a directive, it applies directly in every destination country, with no national law in between.
For you as a merchant this means: the question is no longer just what applies in your home country, but what applies in every country your parcel goes to.
02What applies from 12 August 2026
- The core duties of the regulation take effect EU-wide, extended producer responsibility is harmonised.
- You need a registration in every country you ship packaging into.
- Without a legal seat in the destination country you usually need an authorised representative there, appointed in writing.
- Packaging with food contact falls under a restriction on PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals.
03What arrives staged until 2030
- Recyclability becomes a mandatory criterion: poorly rated packaging can no longer be placed on the market.
- Minimum recycled content for plastic packaging.
- A maximum of 50 percent empty space in shipping packaging.
- Harmonised labelling for waste sorting.
- Bans on certain single-use formats.
04The most common misconception
Registered in Germany with LUCID does not mean done EU-wide. The German registration only covers Germany. Every destination country is its own case with its own authority, thresholds and reporting cycles.
Details still differ per country. Check every destination country individually before you keep shipping there.
- Do a packaging inventory: which materials, which volumes, which countries.
- Check registrations per destination country and catch up on missing ones, including the representative.
- For food packaging, clarify with your supplier whether PFAS are involved.
- Reduce empty space in shipping boxes now, it saves postage anyway.
- When buying packaging, pay attention to recyclability. Requirements rise until 2030.
Carefully researched and kept up to date, but not legal advice. For binding questions, talk to a law firm.
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