PPWR 2025/40: Packaging Obligations from August 12, 2026

Who is the “manufacturer” of packaging under the PPWR?

Art. 3 of Reg. (EU) 2025/40 defines the manufacturer as the natural or legal person who manufactures packaging or packaged products. However, where an operator has packaging or packaged products designed or manufactured under their own name or trade mark, that operator is the manufacturer, even without producing them physically. This applies even if another trade mark is visible on the packaging or on the packaged product. The exception is a micro-enterprise supplied by a packaging supplier located in the same Member State. In that case, the supplier is the manufacturer.

In practice, apart from the micro-enterprise exception, a company that purchases boxes, bags, bottles or any other type of container from a supplier and fills them with its own product, affixing its own brand, is, in all respects, the manufacturer of the packaging for PPWR purposes. Not the supplier who printed the box. Not the producer of the base material. The manufacturer is whoever transformed that packaging into a consumer product identified with their own name.

This definition directly affects the following categories of operators:

• Manufacturing SMEs that package their own products (food, cosmetics, detergents, household articles, toys) and market them under their own brand;
• Importers that affix their own brand to packaged products purchased from non-EU suppliers, thereby becoming manufacturers of both the product and the packaging for regulatory purposes;
• Retailers with own-brand products (private label) whose products are packaged by contract manufacturers: the production contract does not transfer the PPWR documentation responsibility to the contractor if the brand on the packaging belongs to the retailer;
• Distributors that repackage bulk goods for retail or horeca channel resale.

The PPWR packaging Regulation covers four categories, each with specific requirements: sales packaging (primary, in direct contact with the consumer), grouped packaging (secondary), transport packaging (tertiary) and service packaging (bags, trays, takeaway boxes provided at the point of sale). The basic documentation obligations, technical file and DoC, apply across all categories.

PPWR packaging obligations from 12 August 2026

Five main requirements must be met from 12 August 2026 for all packaging placed on the EU market.

1. Chemical substance restrictions in packaging

Reg. (EU) 2025/40 establishes mandatory limits for two categories of hazardous substances, with distinct scopes of application.

Heavy metals — all packaging: the total concentration of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and hexavalent chromium (Cr VI) in packaging or its components must not exceed 100 mg/kg by weight. The limit applies to all types of packaging regardless of material, category and end use. Verification is documentary and must be included in section 4 of the technical file.

PFAS — food-contact packaging: prohibited to place on the market food-contact packaging exceeding the following thresholds:

• 25 µg/kg (ppb) for each individual PFAS (measured by targeted analysis, excluding polymeric PFAS);
• 250 µg/kg (ppb) for the sum of all PFAS (excluding polymeric PFAS);
• 50 mg/kg (ppm) for total PFAS, including polymeric PFAS.

In operational terms, the Regulation provides that verification begins with total fluorine analysis. If the result is below 50 mg/kg, the material is considered compliant and no further analysis is required. If the value is equal to or above 50 mg/kg, targeted analysis of individual PFAS must be carried out to verify compliance with the 25 and 250 µg/kg thresholds. Analytical results must be documented in section 4 of the technical file.

2. Packaging technical file

The technical file is the central document of the PPWR compliance system. It is autonomous with respect to the technical file for the product contained in the packaging, must be prepared before the packaging is placed on the market and kept for 5 years from the date the packaging was placed on the market in the case of single-use packaging and for 10 years in the case of reusable packaging. The mandatory 8-section structure is described in the table below.

3. Declaration of Conformity (DoC) for packaging

The Declaration of Conformity for packaging, provided for in Art. 39 of the PPWR and following the model structure set out in Annex VIII, is a formal and legally binding document that does not replace the product DoC. Whoever signs it assumes full responsibility for the conformity of the packaging with the requirements of the Regulation. It must be drawn up or translated into the language of the Member State where the packaging is placed on the market. The topic is examined in detail in the dedicated section later in this article.

4. Packaging identification

On the packaging, or on accompanying documents where technically impossible, the name, registered trade mark and physical contact details of the manufacturer must be indicated. A web address is not sufficient: the Regulation requires verifiable physical contact details. The batch or serial number is also required for traceability purposes.

5. EPR system alignment

Operators already registered with a national EPR scheme for packaging are already in the extended producer responsibility system. However, the PPWR packaging Regulation redefines the requirements that national EPR schemes must meet, including updated calculation methods, collection and recycling targets by material category and eco-modulation obligations for contributions based on packaging recyclability. Registration with the national EPR scheme is a necessary but not sufficient condition: it is necessary to verify that the declared packaging categories, the quantities placed on the market and the contribution system are aligned with the new PPWR requirements.

The PPWR technical file: 8-section structure

The technical file is not a standardised form: it is a structured dossier that demonstrates, in a verifiable manner, the conformity of the packaging with the requirements of the Regulation. The 8 mandatory sections are as follows:

The packaging Declaration of Conformity: who is the responsible party?

The packaging DoC does not replace the product DoC. A company placing a CE-marked packaged product on the market, for example a household appliance or a toy, must prepare both the product DoC (under the applicable sector directives) and the packaging DoC under Art. 39 of the PPWR, following the model structure set out in Annex VIII. The two declarations cover distinct regulatory obligations, but they are not necessarily separate documents. Where the packaging or the packaged product is subject to more than one Union act requiring an EU declaration of conformity, Art. 39(3) of the PPWR provides, where appropriate, for a single EU declaration of conformity in respect of all such acts. The single declaration may consist of a dossier made up of the individual declarations. According to the European Commission FAQs, the manufacturer assesses whether to draw it up and, if it does, clearly distinguishes the packaging from the packaged product.

The Regulation identifies the parties who may sign the packaging DoC:

• The packaging manufacturer (whoever places it on the market under their own name or brand), who is the primarily responsible party;
• The manufacturer’s authorised representative in the EU, where the manufacturer is established outside the European Union and has issued a specific written mandate that includes signing the DoC among the delegated responsibilities.

EPR registration: PPWR conformity is not automatic

National EPR schemes for packaging have been operational in EU Member States for decades and cover the vast majority of operators placing packaging on the national market. Registration with the national scheme and payment of the environmental contribution continue to be the basic requirement for packaging EPR.

The PPWR packaging Regulation does not replace national EPR schemes, but redefines the requirements they must meet. The main changes concern: EU-level harmonised reporting, updated criteria for calculating recycling targets by material category, eco-modulation of contributions based on packaging recyclability and traceability of volumes placed on the market.

It is therefore necessary to verify that one’s EPR registration correctly reflects all packaging categories actually placed on the market, the actual quantities for the last 12 months and any need to update periodic declarations. Operators handling food-contact packaging must also separately verify conformity with the PFAS prohibition, a requirement that national EPR schemes do not certify.

PPWR deadlines from 2026 to 2040

The PPWR packaging Regulation has been in force since 11 February 2025 and applies from 12 August 2026. Several obligations, however, apply from later dates set in the individual articles, up to 2040. The full timeline is essential for planning product and process adjustments in advance:

Market surveillance and risk profile for operators

Reg. (EU) 2025/40 is directly applicable in all Member States without national transposition. Member State market surveillance authorities are competent for controls. The national penalty regime must be laid down by each Member State by 12 February 2027 (Art. 68 of the Regulation) and must provide for “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” penalties.

On the operational side, documentary non-conformity with the PPWR packaging Regulation exposes operators to risks that go beyond monetary penalties: customs holds for packaging imported from third countries and sales interruption in the event of a market withdrawal ordered by the authority. Operators with the greatest risk exposure are importers of packaged products from non-EU countries, SMEs in the food-contact sector with packaging potentially affected by the PFAS prohibition, and brand owners who have packaging produced by contractors.