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Packaging is something we encounter dozens of times a day without giving it much thought. It protects our food and delivers our online orders, but what happens to that packaging once we have finished with it is becoming increasingly important. New European packaging rules are designed to tackle that problem by changing how packaging is made, used and eventually recycled. The legislation may sound complicated, but its overall aim is much simpler: reduce unnecessary packaging and make what remains easier to reuse and recycle.
What Is PPWR?
The new legislation is called the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, usually shortened to PPWR. It entered into force in February 2025 and began applying across the European Union on 12 August 2026, replacing the previous Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. Some requirements already apply, while many others will be introduced gradually over the coming years.
PPWR covers packaging made from all types of materials and sets rules for its entire lifecycle, from design and manufacturing to reuse and recycling. In simple terms, Europe wants businesses to think about what happens to packaging after a consumer has opened it, rather than treating disposal as none of their business.
Packaging Will Be Designed With Recycling In Mind
One of the biggest changes is a greater focus on recyclability. Under PPWR, all packaging placed on the EU market will eventually need to be recyclable, with new recyclability requirements introduced from 2030. Packaging will be assessed according to how effectively its materials can be recovered and recycled.
For consumers, the principle is straightforward: packaging should increasingly be designed so that the materials it contains can actually be collected, sorted and turned into something useful again.
This is particularly relevant to materials such as paper and cardboard, which already have established collection and recycling systems. Good packaging design can help preserve the quality of these recyclable fibres by avoiding unnecessary combinations of materials that are difficult to separate.
Recycling Labels Should Become Clearer
Knowing whether something can be recycled is only useful if consumers know where to put it. PPWR therefore introduces harmonised packaging labels across the EU. From 12 August 2028 (or later if the necessary implementing rules take longer to introduce), packaging will begin carrying standardised labels providing information about its material composition. Waste containers will also receive corresponding labels to help consumers identify where different packaging materials belong.
Instead of having to decipher a collection of unfamiliar symbols, consumers should eventually have a more consistent system showing what packaging is made from and how to dispose of it correctly.
Less Unnecessary Packaging
Anyone who has received a tiny product inside an enormous delivery box will understand this part of the legislation. PPWR requires businesses to minimise the weight and volume of packaging while still ensuring it can perform essential jobs such as protecting a product. By February 2028, businesses filling sales packaging will also need to reduce empty space to the minimum necessary.
Further rules will tackle excessive space in grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging. A maximum empty-space ratio of 50% will apply from 2030 or three years after the relevant calculation rules come into force, whichever is later. Even filling materials such as bubble wrap, air cushions and paper cuttings count as empty space under the regulation.
The aim is not just to make parcels smaller. Using less unnecessary packaging means fewer raw materials are required in the first place and can also make products more efficient to transport.
Reuse And Refill
Recycling is only one part of the new system. PPWR also aims to increase the amount of packaging that can be reused before it becomes waste.
The regulation introduces reuse requirements for certain types of packaging and establishes rules around what can genuinely be described as reusable. To qualify, packaging must be designed with the intention of being reused multiple times and be capable of being emptied, refilled and used safely again.
For consumers, this could mean encountering more packaging designed for return and refill systems rather than immediate disposal. The hope is that some packaging could avoid entering the recycling system at all.
What Packaging Is Made From Matters
PPWR also looks more closely at the materials used to produce packaging. Plastic packaging, for example, will be subject to minimum recycled-content requirements, while food-contact packaging now has limits on certain PFAS, often called ‘forever chemicals’.
Together, these measures should encourage manufacturers to think about packaging as a complete system. A package needs to protect its contents, but increasingly it must also use appropriate materials, avoid unnecessary weight and complexity, and have a realistic route towards reuse or recycling afterwards.
For paper-based packaging, this creates an opportunity for continued innovation. Fibre is renewable and widely recycled, but coatings, adhesives and combinations with other materials can affect how easily a finished package can be processed. Designing with the end of a package’s life in mind is therefore just as important as choosing the material itself.
What Does PPWR Mean For The UK?
PPWR is European Union legislation, so it does not replace the UK’s own packaging regulations. However, British businesses selling packaged products into the EU will need to comply with the applicable European rules. UK consumers may therefore also encounter packaging redesigned around PPWR, particularly where companies sell the same products in both UK and European markets. The UK, meanwhile, has its own packaging reforms, including Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging.
The changes should (eventually) be much easier to recognise for consumers: clearer recycling information, less wasted space, packaging designed to be recycled and more opportunities for reuse.
The bigger change is happening behind the scenes. Packaging is increasingly being designed not only around the product it contains, but around what happens after that product reaches the consumer. Materials that can be effectively collected, recycled and returned to use have an important role to play in that system.
Consumers shouldn’t really need to know exactly what the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation says. They should just find it easier to make the right choice when the packaging reaches their hands.
Sources
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/extended-producer-responsibility-for-packaging
