What the acronym stands for
PPWR stands for Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. It is the name the European Commission, national authorities and the industry all use for this law.
PPWR · Regulation (EU) 2025/40 · Applying since 12 August 2026
PPWR compliance for your packaging, automated and with an expert at your side
Since 12 August 2026 every packaging unit has to meet the substance limits and carry its declaration of conformity, and 2030 brings recyclability, recycled content and empty space. Dcycle brings components, substances and supplier data into one record per packaging unit, tells you what is missing by article of the regulation and gets the declaration ready. A Dcycle PPWR specialist runs the project with you.
- One record per packaging unit
- Gaps by PPWR article
- Supplier portal in 7 languages
- Dedicated PPWR specialist
GDPR compliant. Your data stays in Europe.
2,000+ companies already run their sustainability data on Dcycle
What you get asked
Who asks for your PPWR data and where it gets stuck
A packaging unit has three or four components, each from a different supplier. It almost always breaks in the same place: the data is spread across emails, PDFs and spreadsheets.
Retail and distribution customers The PPWR declaration of conformity for every packaging unit you supply. It is built by hand, unit by unit, from documents from several suppliers. A declaration of conformity per packaging unit, shared with a link or QR code.
Quality and regulatory Proof that food-contact packaging stays under the PFAS and heavy metal limits. The supplier says it complies but sends no values and no declaration. Substance declarations per unit; the gap analysis flags what is missing and you request it from the supplier right there.
Procurement Which suppliers have answered and what is still missing from each. Each supplier gets one email per SKU and half of them reply. Each supplier linked to its packaging units, with one survey and a status: not invited, invited, active.
Leadership How many packaging units will fail in 2030 on recyclability, recycled content or empty space. Nobody has the whole catalogue in one view. A dashboard with critical gaps, recyclability grades, average recycled content and supplier progress.
National registers and EPR schemes Producer registration and the packaging placed on each country’s market. Every country has its own register, formats and restrictions. Target markets per packaging unit: Dcycle shows each country’s obligations, such as EPR.
Show me with my data30 minutes with a specialist, no commitment
Product
From packaging unit to declaration of conformity
Packaging unit
Every packaging unit with its components, substances and gaps
Each packaging unit has its own record: type, weight, whether it is food contact, and linked files such as the technical sheet or the PFAS evidence. Below it, the bill of materials with the weight, material and recycled content of each component, flagged when the value comes from the supplier. Under Substances you declare PFAS (total fluorine, highest single PFAS and sum of PFAS) plus lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium VI. The gap analysis tells you what fails, with its article, its deadline and the components affected.
- Bill of materials with weight, material and recycled content
- PFAS and heavy metals with the Art. 5 values
- Every gap with its article, deadline and affected components
- Request supplier data straight from the analysis
Suppliers
Your suppliers provide the data, not your team
Import your suppliers or add them one by one, assign each one its packaging units and invite them whenever you are ready. The table shows every supplier’s status: not invited, invited or active. Each supplier answers one survey covering all its units, from a portal in 7 languages. You see how many fields are filled and how many required ones are missing, and once you validate it the data is applied to its packaging units.
- Import suppliers or add them one by one
- Status per supplier: not invited, invited, active
- Survey with required fields: draft, submitted, validated
- Once validated, the data flows to its packaging units
Dashboard
Your whole packaging catalogue on one dashboard
How many packaging units you have, their average recycled content, how many meet the substance requirements and how many suppliers have answered. Below, gaps by severity, supplier data collection, units by status and the spread of recyclability grades.
- Critical gaps, warnings and compliant units
- Supplier progress, from not invited to validated
- Units by status: draft, assessed, compliant, non-compliant
- Recyclability grades across the catalogue
Request a demo30 minutes with a specialist, no commitment
Expert guidance
The platform automates, a PPWR specialist works with you
Not a months-long consultancy project: Dcycle does the repetitive work, and a specialist from Dcycle’s PPWR team is assigned to your project to get every packaging unit to its declaration.
- 1Free evaluation with your data30 minutes, no commitment. We review your current packaging and you leave with a personalised plan to meet PPWR without rework.
- 2A PPWR specialist assigned exclusively to youOne person from Dcycle’s PPWR team knows your project end to end and is your point of contact.
- 3Live in 1 to 2 weeksWe connect your systems, import your packaging catalogue (CSV or technical sheets), link your SKUs and you add your suppliers.
- 4Automated packaging and supplier data collectionYour suppliers answer in the portal and the gap analysis shows you, unit by unit, what is missing and whom to ask.
- 5A declaration of conformity per packaging unitOne declaration per packaging unit covering all its SKUs, ready to share with customers or auditors through a link or a QR code.
I want to know more30 minutes with a specialist, no commitment
What PPWR is
The EU packaging and packaging waste regulation
PPWR is Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste: it governs how every piece of packaging placed on the EU market is designed, managed and recycled.
- 2025/40
Regulation number
Published in the Official Journal on 22 January 2025, in force since 11 February 2025. It replaces Directive 94/62/EC.
- 27
Member States, one rule
A regulation, not a directive: it applies directly across the EU, with no national transposition.
- 12/08/2026
General application
Since that day the substance limits, technical documentation and EU declaration of conformity apply.
What it aims for
Less packaging waste and all packaging recyclable by 2030: reduction targets, minimum recycled content, recyclability criteria per unit, and registration and reporting duties.
How it sits with national packaging law
PPWR does not repeal national rules. Where it does not contradict them, for example in how extended producer responsibility is organised, the national regime still applies. Where it does, the regulation prevails.
Why country by country stops working
Design, substance and labelling requirements are the same in all 27 countries. You need structured, traceable packaging data at EU level, even though registration and EPR stay national.
I want to know more30 minutes with a specialist, no commitment
Key dates
What already applies and what comes next
General application has been in force since 12 August 2026. These are the next milestones.
| Date | What changes |
|---|---|
| Since 12 August 2026 | PFAS limits in food-contact packaging and heavy metal limits in all packaging. Technical documentation and an EU declaration of conformity per packaging unit. |
| 1 January 2028 | The Commission sets, by delegated act, the design-for-recycling criteria and the method behind the recyclability grades. |
| August 2028 | Harmonised label showing material composition (or 24 months after the implementing act, if later). |
| 1 January 2029 | Deposit return systems for single-use plastic bottles and metal beverage cans up to 3 litres. |
| 1 January 2030 | Recyclable packaging (grade A, B or C), minimum recycled content in plastic, a 50% cap on empty space, bans on certain single-use plastic formats and reuse targets. |
| 2035 | Packaging has to be recycled at scale, not only recyclable on paper. |
| 2038 | Grade C is no longer enough: only grade A or B packaging is allowed. |
| 2040 | Higher minimum recycled content in plastic, up to 65% in beverage bottles. |
I want to know more30 minutes with a specialist, no commitment
What it requires
PPWR obligations, one by one
Substances: PFAS and heavy metals
Food-contact packaging: at most 25 ppb of any single PFAS, 250 ppb as a sum of PFAS and 50 ppm of total fluorine (Art. 5(5)). All packaging: lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium VI below 100 mg/kg combined (Art. 5(4)).
Recyclability
From 2030 only recyclable packaging can be placed on the market, graded A, B or C under the design-for-recycling criteria. From 2038, only A or B.
Minimum recycled content
Mandatory shares of recycled plastic in plastic packaging from 2030, higher from 2040. Details in the table below.
Minimisation and empty space
Weight and volume reduced to the minimum needed. From 2030 grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging cannot exceed 50% empty space (Art. 24).
Banned formats and reuse
From 2030 certain single-use plastic formats are banned (Art. 25 and Annex V), and there are reuse targets, for example 40% for transport packaging (Art. 29).
Harmonised labelling
One label across the EU showing material composition, so consumers know where each piece of packaging goes.
Extended producer responsibility
Registration as a producer in every Member State where you first make packaging available, and membership of an EPR scheme. Without an establishment there, you need an authorised representative.
Declaration of conformity
The manufacturer draws up the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity for each packaging unit and hands it to whoever asks along the chain.
Packaging waste reduction
Each Member State has to cut packaging waste per person by 5% by 2030, 10% by 2035 and 15% by 2040 against 2018, and passes that on through national rules.
Recyclability grades
- A
95% or more
Recyclability assessed by weight. Always allowed.
- B
80% or more
Always allowed.
- C
70% or more
Allowed from 2030 to 2037. Below 70%, packaging is not considered recyclable.
Minimum recycled content in plastic packaging
| Plastic packaging | From 2030 | From 2040 |
|---|---|---|
| Contact-sensitive, PET | 30% | 50% |
| Contact-sensitive, other plastics | 10% | 50% |
| Single-use beverage bottles | 30% | 65% |
| All other plastic packaging | 35% | 65% |
I want to know more30 minutes with a specialist, no commitment
Who it affects
What changes in each sector
It applies to any company placing packaging on the EU market: manufacturers, importers, distributors and e-commerce platforms, based in the EU or outside it.
Food and beverage
The sector with the most primary and secondary packaging: PET and glass bottles, cans, multi-material trays and films. PFAS limits since 2026, recycled content in plastic and single-use formats banned in 2030, such as plastic for fruit and vegetables under 1.5 kg.
Retail and fashion
Every sales and transport pack counts: shipping boxes and mailers, textile polybags, carrier bags, hangers and tags. Each packaging unit will need its recyclability grade and its documentation.
Cosmetics and personal care
Multi-material packaging (glass jar, dispenser pump, folding carton, flexible tube) that tends to grade low on recyclability. PPWR pushes the redesign of the lowest-graded formats.
E-commerce and marketplaces
From 2030, at most 50% empty space in shipping boxes, void fill included. Marketplaces have their own verification duties, and when the seller is outside the EU, obligations fall on importers and authorised representatives.
Logistics and transport
Pallets, stretch films, corner protectors and reusable boxes are covered. A logistics operator’s obligations depend on its role (manufacturer, importer, distributor or fulfilment provider), and transport packaging has reuse targets in 2030.
Pharma and healthcare
Packaging in direct contact with medicines and medical devices has its own exemptions and timelines on recyclability and recycled content. Secondary and tertiary packaging (boxes, leaflets) follows the general rules.
I want to know more30 minutes with a specialist, no commitment
Why Dcycle
Spreadsheets and consultants, or Dcycle
What changes when each packaging unit’s data lives in one record.
| With spreadsheets and consultants | With Dcycle | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the data lives | Excel, emails and PDFs per supplier | One record per packaging unit with components, substances and files |
| How suppliers are asked | One email per SKU | One survey per supplier covering all its units |
| What each unit is missing | Manual review, article by article | Gap analysis with article, deadline and components |
| Where each value comes from | Hard to reconstruct | Traceability: supplier, internal entry or platform calculation |
| Declaration of conformity | One document per unit, by hand | One per packaging unit, covering all its SKUs, with link and QR |
| Getting started | A months-long project | 1 to 2 weeks, with a dedicated PPWR specialist |
Show me with my data30 minutes with a specialist, no commitment
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about PPWR
Which companies does PPWR apply to?
Any company placing packaging on the EU market: manufacturers, importers, distributors and e-commerce platforms. It does not depend on where the company is based, but on the market where the packaging is sold.
When does it enter into force?
PPWR (Regulation (EU) 2025/40) entered into force on 11 February 2025 and has applied generally since 12 August 2026. The remaining obligations are phased in through 2040: harmonised labelling in 2028; recyclability, recycled content and empty space in 2030; and stricter requirements in 2035, 2038 and 2040.
What penalties can apply for non-compliance?
PPWR leaves penalties to each Member State, which must make them effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Besides fines, authorities can require non-compliant packaging to be corrected, withdrawn or taken off the market.
Does it apply if I sell across several EU countries?
Yes. PPWR applies directly, but each Member State keeps its own producer register and reporting system. In Dcycle you assign target markets to each packaging unit and see every country’s obligations from a single platform.
How does PPWR fit with CSRD and ESRS?
PPWR produces packaging and recyclability data you can reuse in your CSRD report, especially under ESRS E5 on resource use and circular economy. With Dcycle, the same data feeds every framework.
How fast can I be operational with Dcycle?
In 1 to 2 weeks from signature. We connect your systems, import your packaging catalogue and get the gap analysis running, with a PPWR specialist assigned to your project. You do not need a months-long project with external consultants.
How is pricing structured?
Pricing scales with your packaging volume and the number of countries you operate in. In the evaluation we give you a fixed quote tailored to your situation, with no surprises.
How is PPWR different from national packaging law?
National packaging laws mostly organise extended producer responsibility, registration and collection schemes. PPWR, which applies directly, harmonises design, substances, recyclability, recycled content, labelling and reuse across the EU. It does not repeal national law: where there is no conflict, the national rules still apply.
Do I need to register anywhere new?
National producer registers stay in place. Check which role you have under PPWR (manufacturer, importer or distributor) in each country where you sell, and whether your registered details still hold. The declaration of conformity for each packaging unit is documented separately from registration.
Who enforces PPWR and how?
Each Member State designates its competent authorities for registration, EPR and market surveillance, and sets penalties in national law. Authorities can also require non-compliant packaging to be corrected, withdrawn or taken off the market.
Is Dcycle a consultancy?
No. Dcycle is a platform that automates packaging and supplier data collection, the gap analysis and the declaration of conformity. On every project, a specialist from Dcycle’s PPWR team works with your team from the evaluation to each packaging unit’s declaration.
What if my supplier has no PFAS lab report?
In the portal, the supplier states whether the substance is present and whether it meets the limit, and attaches its declaration of conformity as evidence. If it declares PFAS without values, the gap analysis flags it and suggests requesting a lab report with the Article 5(5) values.
Free evaluation
Book 30 minutes with a PPWR specialist
Bring a real packaging unit from your catalogue: we look at the data you have and the gaps it has, and you leave with a personalised plan to meet PPWR.
- 30 minutes
- No commitment
- Personalised plan