PPWR – Everything businesses need to know

Practical PPWR obligations for businesses

The applicable obligations depend on the packaging and on the role of the business. The following areas are particularly relevant:

1. Design packaging in accordance with PPWR requirements

Packaging must comply with the PPWR requirements applicable to it. These include, in particular, requirements concerning recyclability, recycled content, reusability and certain substances. Packaging must also be developed, manufactured and distributed so that its volume and weight are limited to the minimum necessary. The required safety and hygiene of the goods must be taken into account.

Businesses should therefore review material combinations, packaging design, weight and dimensions at an early stage. The specific requirements that apply depend on the type of packaging concerned and the relevant date of application.

2. Determine your own role in the supply chain

The PPWR distinguishes between several economic operators. A particularly important question is who qualifies as the producer in the individual case. Under the VerpackDG, producers must register before making packaging available for the first time or, in certain cases, before unpacking it.

The assessment should be carried out for each relevant route to market. This is particularly important for imports, cross-border online sales, own-brand products, service packaging and the unpacking of packaged products. A blanket assessment of the business as a whole may be insufficient where different packaging flows exist.

3. Ensure registration and system participation

Producers must register with the Central Agency Packaging Register (Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister). In Germany, the ZSVR is the competent registration authority. In the case of packaging subject to system participation, participation in one or more systems must take place before the packaging is made available or, where applicable, before it is unpacked.

Under the VerpackDG, packaging subject to system participation includes sales packaging and grouped packaging, primary production packaging and transport packaging that typically becomes waste predominantly at private households or comparable places of origin, as well as service packaging. The assessment is based on the overall market for packaging of the same type.

4. Collect and report data

Producers of packaging subject to system participation must submit information on the type of material, weight, participating system and participation period to the ZSVR. The reported data must match the information provided to the system.

A simplification applies to producers that, in the preceding calendar year, made available in Germany or unpacked in the covered cases a total of less than ten tonnes of packaging subject to system participation: instead of submitting reports without delay, they must submit annual information by 1 June of the following year. The obligation to maintain an accurate data basis remains unchanged.

5. Organise take-back and recovery

Take-back and recovery obligations apply to packaging that is not subject to system participation. Subject to the statutory requirements, producers may fulfil their extended producer responsibility individually or collectively through another producer responsibility organisation.

The VerpackDG provides for authorisations for individual fulfilment and for other producer responsibility organisations. Depending on the packaging flow, documentation, material-flow and recovery evidence may also be required. Businesses should therefore clarify at an early stage which take-back route applies to their packaging.

6. Maintain evidence and conformity documentation

The PPWR provides for a conformity assessment procedure for packaging. The required documentation must demonstrate in a traceable manner that the applicable requirements have been met. This includes the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity.

The documentation should clearly reflect the specific packaging design, the materials used and the requirements assessed in each case. A general declaration without a link to the packaging concerned is not sufficient for a robust assessment.

Good to know: key points in the PPWR

Recyclable packaging

The PPWR requires all packaging placed on the market to be recyclable. However, the requirements for placing packaging on the market according to performance grades will be specified in stages: from 1 January 2030 or 24 months after the entry into force of the relevant delegated acts, whichever is later, packaging may only be placed on the market if it achieves performance grade A, B or C. From 1 January 2038, only performance grades A and B will be permitted.

Recyclability is assessed on the basis of the criteria for design for recycling and, at a later stage, also on the basis of recycling at scale. The Commission lays down the details in delegated and implementing acts. Until the delegated act on recyclability applies, the ZSVR publishes a minimum standard each year by 1 September in agreement with the German Environment Agency.

Minimum recycled-content requirements for plastic packaging

Article 7 PPWR sets minimum recycled-content requirements for the plastic component of packaging. From 1 January 2030 or three years after the entry into force of the legal act on the calculation and verification method, whichever is later, the following values apply:

• 30% for contact-sensitive packaging with PET as its main component, excluding single-use plastic beverage bottles;

• 10% for contact-sensitive packaging made from plastics other than PET, excluding single-use plastic beverage bottles;

• 30% for single-use plastic beverage bottles; and

• 35% for other plastic packaging.

From 1 January 2040, the values increase to 50%, 25%, 65% and 65% respectively. The proportions are calculated for each packaging category and packaging format as an average per manufacturing plant and year. Article 7 contains exemptions, including for certain packaging for medicinal products, medical devices, food and dangerous goods, as well as compostable plastic packaging.

Compostable packaging

From 12 February 2028, permeable tea and coffee bags, corresponding permeable bags for other beverages, single-serve units for tea or coffee systems that soften during use, and labels affixed to fruit and vegetables must be compatible with the prescribed standards for industrial composting. Where a Member State so requires, the standards for home composting must also be met.

For further packaging, Member States may lay down additional compostability requirements under the conditions of Article 9 PPWR. From that date, other packaging made from biodegradable materials must be designed for material recycling without impairing the recyclability of other waste streams.

Certain single-use packaging from 2030

From 1 January 2030, restrictions apply to the packaging formats listed in Annex V PPWR. These include certain single-use plastic grouped packaging, single-use plastic packaging for fresh unprocessed fruit and vegetables weighing less than 1.5 kg, certain single-use plastic packaging in the hospitality sector, single-serve portions for condiments and similar products, certain single-use packaging for cosmetic and hygiene products in the accommodation sector, and very lightweight plastic carrier bags.

The PPWR provides for exemptions or national discretion for several categories. It is therefore always necessary to check whether the specific intended use and any of the regulated exemptions apply.

Packaging volume and empty space

From 1 January 2030, producers or importers must design packaging so that its weight and volume, taking account of its shape and material, are reduced to the minimum necessary for its functionality. Compliance must be demonstrated in the technical documentation.

For grouped packaging, transport packaging and packaging for e-commerce, a maximum empty-space ratio of 50% generally applies from 1 January 2030 or three years after the entry into force of the calculation method, whichever is later. Filling material counts as empty space. For sales packaging, empty space must already be limited to the minimum necessary for packaging functions from 12 February 2028.

Labelling and digital information

From 12 August 2028 or 24 months after the entry into force of the relevant implementing acts, whichever is later, packaging must generally bear a harmonised label indicating its material composition. Exemptions apply in particular to certain transport packaging and packaging in deposit-refund and return systems.

A QR code is not universally required for every item of packaging. However, from the relevant date of application, further information on reusable packaging must be provided via a QR code or another standardised and open digital data carrier. The PPWR provides for digital labelling for packaging containing substances of concern.

Packaging subject to system participation

The VerpackDG classifies sales packaging and grouped packaging, primary production packaging and transport packaging as packaging subject to system participation where, based on the overall market for packaging of the same type, it typically becomes waste predominantly at private households or comparable places of origin. Service packaging is also included.

This means that the designation of a package alone is not decisive. Transport packaging or primary production packaging may also be subject to system participation if the statutory requirements are met. The actual classification should therefore be based on the packaging type and its typical place of origin as waste.

Service packaging

For service packaging, the obligation to participate in a system may only be transferred to a pre-distributor if the statutory requirements are met. Upon transfer, the corresponding producer obligations pass to the pre-distributor that is subject to the obligation. However, the originally obligated producer must also register itself separately.

Businesses that use service packaging should therefore check whether a transfer is permissible in the specific procurement case and what evidence the pre-distributor must provide. Registration of the business itself must be considered separately.