The European Union wants to combat the flood of waste more decisively. Packaging waste is to be further reduced, the circular economy strengthened and standardised requirements for packaging created across Europe. To this end, the EU is focusing on a fundamental change in packaging law: Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste - the PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation) for short. It comes into force on 12 August 2026 and replaces the previous EU Packaging Directive 94/62/EC. All companies that place packaging on the market within the EU, such as manufacturers, importers, retailers and operators of online marketplaces, are affected.

There is a decisive structural difference between the new EU regulation and previous legislation: while Directive 94/62/EC had to be transposed into national law - in Germany by the Packaging Act (VerpackG) - the PPWR applies directly and uniformly in all member states as an EU regulation. Special national regulations are therefore considerably restricted.

The German Packaging Act does not completely lose its significance as a result. The German legislator is planning a Packaging Law Implementation Act (VerpackDG), which will regulate national responsibilities, control mechanisms and enforcement issues. The familiar structures of extended producer responsibility - such as registration obligations, system participation and data reporting - will basically remain in place, but will be adapted to the European system.

New actor definitions

It is also significant that the PPWR redefines the roles along the supply chain and deviates from the German Packaging Act. The „producer“ is no longer necessarily the person who produces the packaging, but the person who first opens the supply chain in a member state - i.e. importers or distributors can also fulfil this role. The obligations of extended producer responsibility are associated with this role. The PPWR also distinguishes between producers who manufacture packaging or packaged products, suppliers who deliver packaging or packaging material to producers and importers who bring packaging or products from third countries into the EU. They are responsible for the conformity of the packaging through inspection and testing obligations. Distributors who supply goods without being importers or producers must comply with labelling requirements and check whether the manufacturer is entered in the manufacturer register. The fulfilment service provider is responsible for warehousing, packaging and/or addressing or shipping the goods without being the owner. It must ensure that the packaging meets the requirements of the PPWR from storage to dispatch. In principle, a company can take on several roles at the same time and must then fulfil all the corresponding obligations.

Significant changes from 12 August 2026

Conformity assessment (Art. 38 PPWR): The obligation to assess the conformity of all packaging is completely new. Producers are responsible for ensuring that their packaging fulfils the requirements of Art. 5-12 PPWR - including sustainability requirements such as regulations on the substances contained and the minimum recycled content of plastic packaging as well as labelling obligations. The procedure concludes with an EU declaration of conformity for each type of packaging. The German Packaging Act did not have a comparable obligation.

Labelling obligations (Art. 12, 15, 18 PPWR): The PPWR introduces harmonised labelling requirements - until now, there were no uniform requirements in the EU. Consumers across Europe are to be informed about material composition, sorting, reusability and waste separation. The general consumer labelling requirements will be specified by implementing acts and will apply from 12 August 2028 at the earliest, but will be mandatory from 12 August 2026: Producers must provide an identification number (type, batch or serial number) as well as their name and contact details on all packaging - also possible via a QR code. Importers are subject to similar obligations. Existing stocks that were placed on the market before the deadline are protected.

Extended producer responsibility and producer register (Art. 40-47 PPWR): The extended producer responsibility (EPR) instrument is being harmonised, expanded and tightened across Europe. In future, manufacturers will have to register in every member state in which they make packaging available for the first time. In Germany, the existing LUCID register will initially be continued. The previous German differentiation between packaging with and without a system participation obligation will be retained.

Appreciation

The objectives of the PPWR are sensible, but ambitious. It is quite realistic that the PPWR will contribute to greater standardisation of packaging and higher recycling rates, but at the cost of higher regulatory requirements. Implementation can be complex and cost-intensive, especially for small and medium-sized companies. Although EU-wide harmonisation is intended to create legal clarity in the long term, the additional compliance effort outweighs this in the short term. The costs of converting packaging, new processes, legal advice, certifications and ongoing compliance will be passed on to customers, at least in part. However, a drastic price increase is not to be expected; moderate additional costs are more likely, which will vary depending on the sector.