Environment & Climate Change

Rules for extended producer responsibility are laid down, requiring producers to contribute financially to the costs of collecting, sorting and recycling packaging waste.

Producers of packaging must register with a national packaging register in the Member States where they supply packaging or packaged products and are required to report information on quantities and types of packaging supplied.

Among the different deadlines set for different matters, the Regulation determines the year 2030 for the fulfilment of a set of obligations and objectives, among which the following stand out:

• Assurance by the manufacturer or importer that packaging placed on the market in the Union is designed to reduce its weight and volume to the minimum necessary to ensure its functionality, considering the shape and materials of which it is made.
• Refraining from placing packaging on the market in certain formats and for certain functions.
• Inclusion, for any plastic part of the packaging placed on the market, of a minimum percentage of recycled content from post-consumer plastic waste.
• Introduction of recyclability performance class classifications, expressed in grades A, B or C with a tendency to eliminate from the market packaging that obtains a grade C classification;
• Provision by economic operators and final distributors, respectively, of 10% of grouped packaging and 10% of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, in reusable packaging within the scope of a reuse system;
• Reuse, as part of a reuse scheme, of at least 40% of transport packaging or sales packaging used to transport products, including products distributed via e-commerce, in certain forms within the EU.

Even before 2030, important obligations are also set, namely:

• From 12 August 2026, restrictions on the placing on the market of FCM packaging, which may not contain certain substances or exceed certain thresholds as specified in the Regulation.
• Until 12 February 2028, final distributors operating in the HORECA sector and making cold or hot drinks or ready-to-eat food available in the territory of a Member State, in takeaway packaging, shall offer consumers the possibility of obtaining the products in reusable packaging covered by a re-use system.

The Regulation establishes the criteria for packaging to be considered recyclable or reusable.

Thus, a package will be considered recyclable when it is:

• Designed to recycle materials of sufficient quality to be used as a substitute for primary raw materials;
• It can be separated and separately collected, sorted into specific waste streams and recyclable on a large scale.

In turn, packaging can be considered reusable when it meets a set of criteria, including:

• Have been conceived, designed and placed on the market with the aim of being reusable multiple times;
• Be able to be emptied or discharged without causing damage that prevents subsequent operation and reuse; and
• Comply with the requirements relating to consumer health, safety and hygiene.

All packaging is now required to have a harmonised EU-wide label indicating the material composition of the packaging for correct waste separation. It is also foreseen that reusable packaging will be required in the future to have a label indicating its reusability and information on collection points and reuse instructions.

Packaging manufacturers must issue a declaration of conformity before placing the packaging on the market, confirming compliance with the sustainability requirements of the Regulation. This statement must follow a specific format, contain prescribed information, and be available to authorities upon request.

The Regulation will apply from 12 August 2026, with the exception of Article 67(5) which applies on 12 February 2029.

The European Commission should adopt delegated and implementing acts to set out detailed requirements of the Regulation.