The New EU Packaging Regulation

Packaging production plays an essential economic role in the European Union (EU). However, with the EU Green Deal, which aims to achieve a climate-neutral Europe by 2050, this industry is facing new challenges.

Although more and more packaging is being produced, only a small proportion is currently reused or recycled. This leads to rising packaging waste, increased emissions, biodiversity loss, and environmental pollution. In 2021, an estimated 188.7 kg of packaging waste was generated per EU resident—an increase of 10.8 kg per person compared to 2020 and the largest increase in 10 years (Statista, 2024). Forecasts suggest that packaging consumption could rise to 209 kg per capita by 2030 (press release European Parliament, 2024).

In addition, the implementation strategies of the individual EU member states vary and could thus lead to barriers in the internal market: different national regulations, limited administrative resources, and incomplete implementation and enforcement of EU regulations in the respective member states.

The new EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulations (PPWR) have been proposed to reduce the negative environmental impact of packaging in the European Union and, at the same time, promote the circular economy for packaging without harming companies in their competition (see Regulation page 3), the new EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulations (PPWR) have been proposed.

Each type of packaging requires vast amounts of resources such as water, chemicals, energy, wood, and textiles. In addition, packaging production regularly generates sludge and wastewater containing harmful chemicals and air emissions of greenhouse gases, heavy metals, and particulates. These have a devastating impact on the ecosystem and contribute to a deterioration in the quality of life. Therefore, It is essential to address the recyclability of product packaging to eliminate the negative impact on the environment.

The EU Packaging Regulation applies to all packaging placed on the market within the European Union, regardless of the material used. It also applies to all packaging waste, irrespective of where it is generated (PPWR, Article 2).

The EU plans to bring the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulations (PPWR) into force in 2024. Following approval by the European Parliament in April 2024, the draft PPWR will now be translated into the 24 official languages of the EU. The final approval of the final version by the new Parliament is planned to approve the final version in fall 2024.The regulations should then take effect 18 months after they come into force (Press release, Council of the European Union, 2024).

The new EU packaging regulation formulates measures covering the entire packaging life cycle concerning its labeling and environmental sustainability. The main objectives of the PPWR are (blog Deutsche Recycling, 2023):

1. Reduction of packaging waste
2. Design requirements for recyclable packaging
3. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) and fees
4. Restrictions on packaging formats

This is intended to promote a cost-effective circular economy for packaging and increase the use of recycled materials.

The PPWR defines reduction targets for packaging waste (e.g., 5% by 2030). The overarching intention is that by 2030, all packaging should be designed to be either recyclable or reusable and economically viable (PPWR, Article 1). To give the economic players concerned sufficient time, January 1, 2030, has been set as the implementation target for the measures.

The planned measures include EU-wide labeling requirements. Producers and producer responsibility organizations should thus increasingly contribute to raising consumer awareness regarding the prevention and management of packaging waste.

Therefore, packaging manufacturers shall provide the following information via a QR code, labels, or other digital data carriers affixed to the packaging (PPWR, Article 11):

1. The material composition of the packaging
2. Recyclability of the packaging
3. Information on the proportion of recycled material in the packaging

This information is intended to ensure greater transparency through the traceability of packaging flows. Uniform labels must also be applied to waste containers and packaging to make it easier for consumers to separate waste. A digital data carrier that provides all relevant information about the packaged product and its packaging is the basis for this. This digital data carrier also prevents too many labels from being applied to packaging.

In addition to the requirements set out above, the regulation also contains numerous other aspects, such as packaging design or format (PPWR, Articles 5 and 6), deposit and return systems (PPPWR, Articles 43 and 44), extended producer responsibility (PPWR, Article 40) and compostability of packaging materials (PPWR, Article 8).

• Deutsche Recycling (2024): Blog PPWR - what you should know about the regulation now
• European Commission (2022): Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on packaging and packaging wasteamending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and Directive (EU) 2019/904 and repealing Directive 94/62/EC
• European Commission (2024): The European Green Deal
• European Parliament (2024): Press release New EU rules: less packaging, more reuse and recycling
• Council of the European Union (2024): Press release Packaging: Council and Parliament strike a deal to make packaging more sustainable and reduce packaging waste in the EU
• Statista (2024): Amount of packaging waste generated, recovered, and recycled per capita in the European Union (EU-27) from 2010 to 2021 (in kilograms)