Exporters have about 17 months to comply with the European Union’s (EU) new regulation on packaging aimed at preventing and reducing packaging waste and its adverse effects on human health and the environment.
EU’s Regulation 2025/40, or the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) which entered into force last Feb. 11, promotes more reuse and refill systems as it seeks to make all packaging on the EU market recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030.
In a bulletin, the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) said PPWR’s application is from Aug. 12, 2026 and its full implementation will be rolled out over the next 15 years.
Under the EU’s new regulation, by Jan. 1, 2030, all packaging sold in the EU must be recyclable, with minimum recycled content requirements for plastics.
“Packaging may only be placed on the market if it is recyclable according to grades A (higher or equal to 95% recyclability) or C (higher or equal to 70% recyclability). Recyclability of lower than 70%, the packaging will be considered technically non-recyclable, and its placing on the market will be restricted,” the DTI-EMB said.
Likewise, reusable packaging should be exclusively used for transport packaging between different sites of the same business or between different businesses within the same EU country.
For other types of transport packaging, including e-commerce, at least 40 percent should be reusable by 2030, increasing to at least 70 percent by 2040.
Grouped packaging, which is used to group sales units together, must have at least 10 percent reusable packaging by 2030 and at least 25 percent by 2040, it said.
“For alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, excluding milk, wine, and some spirits, at least 10% of the packaging should be reusable by 2030, with this figure rising to at least 40% by 2040. Cardboard packaging is excluded from all reuse targets,” it added.
From Aug. 12, 2028, packaging has to be marked with a yet to be established harmonized label containing information on its material composition to facilitate consumer sorting. The label shall be based on pictograms and be easily understandable, including for persons with disabilities.
The DTI-EMB advised exporters to the EU to ensure that their packaging materials are recyclable, reusable, and have the necessary proportion of recycled content to comply with the new EU PPWR.
“Packaging weight and volume should be kept to a minimum, labels should be updated to reflect material composition and recycling guidelines, and hazardous materials such as PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances), lead, cadmium, mercury, and hexavalent chromium should be checked to make sure they are within the allowed limits,” it said.
“Furthermore, exploring sustainable packaging options and comprehending compliance expectations may be substantially aided by careful coordination and collaboration with EU importers. Maintaining records to demonstrate compliance is recommended,” it added.
By Jan. 1, 2035, packaging must be recycled-at-scale, meaning widely collected and recycled across the EU. “At scale” means annual quantity of recycled material equal or greater than 55 percent, or 30 percent in the case of wood.
From 2038, packaging may only be placed on the market if it meets higher recyclability grades (A or B). Increased recycled content requirements for plastic packaging will be imposed from 2040, according to the regulation.