This is the detailed version.
If you want the short answer on what to do now, read the practical guide instead.
Everything below assumes you already know the deadline has passed and you are working out exactly what applies to you.
What PPWR is, and what it replaced
PPWR replaces the older Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive and upgrades it from a directive, which Member States could interpret loosely, to a regulation that applies uniformly across the EU from day one. Regulation (EU) 2025/40 came into force in February 2025 and applies generally from 12 August 2026.
It covers all packaging placed on the EU market regardless of where it was manufactured. If you ship refurbished phones to consumers in Germany, France or Finland, your packaging is in scope.
Internal transfers can also bring packaging into scope. If you use transport packaging your company did not manufacture to move devices or parts between two of your own processing or repair sites, that packaging is considered placed on the market and PPWR applies.
The regulation runs to 2038 in terms of its full ambition. The obligations that landed on 12 August 2026 are specific, immediate and not optional.
Enforceable from 12 August 2026
The Declaration of Conformity
Each packaging type first placed on the EU market from 12 August 2026 must have a signed Declaration of Conformity backed by technical documentation. This is a standalone obligation. It is not linked to CE marking, and it is not something a supplier handles on your behalf by default.
Establish first who the manufacturer is under PPWR. If that is your company, the Declaration and the technical documentation are your responsibility. Manufacturers must also ensure series production remains in conformity, and consider whether changes to the design, the characteristics or the referenced standards require reassessment.
What can and cannot be delegated
A third party such as a laboratory or certification scheme may carry out the conformity assessment on the manufacturer's behalf. An authorised representative may draft the Declaration. But the manufacturer cannot delegate the obligation to draw up the technical documentation, and remains legally responsible for compliance. No contract transfers that responsibility.
Scope of a single Declaration
One Declaration can cover a complete packaging unit. A body, closure and label do not each need a separate assessment, provided the single Declaration includes relevant information on every component. Different sizes may share one Declaration where the size difference does not affect compliance with Art. 5–12.
Existing stock
Existing stock does not have to be destroyed, remanufactured or relabelled merely because it was produced or held in stock but not placed on the market by 12 August 2026. For that stock, the identification and manufacturer information required by Art. 15(5) and Art. 15(6) may be supplied in an accompanying document. Packaging already placed on the market before 12 August 2026 may remain there even if it does not comply.
There is an important limit for new production. For packaging manufactured after 12 August 2026, an accompanying document may be used only where it is not possible to put the identifier and the manufacturer's name and address on the packaging itself. That is assessed case by case, taking account of dimensions, shape and functional characteristics.
The technical dossier
The dossier must include:
- Manufacturing drawings and conceptual design schemes
- Descriptions of materials, production processes and intended use
- A list of harmonised standards applied during design
- Test reports or calculations supporting recyclability and minimisation claims
Retention. Five years, unless the packaging is placed on the market as reusable, in which case ten.
Traceability. At packaging type, model or production batch level. It does not require every item or component to be marked. One component of a packaging unit is enough, and standard items such as adhesive tapes and generic bags are normally traceable by production batch.
Missing information for older packaging is not an automatic dead end. Where information for packaging manufactured before 12 August 2026 is missing or insufficient, the manufacturer must make best efforts: request it from the former supplier, ask the successor company after a takeover or merger, or carry out its own assessment.
Substance restrictions
Heavy metals
Art. 5(4) limits the combined concentration of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium to 100 mg/kg in packaging or any packaging component. The Commission FAQ recommends CEN report CR 13695-1/2000 for measuring and verifying compliance. Ask your supplier for a test report or Certificate of Analysis that identifies the method used. Without adequate evidence you cannot sign a valid Declaration.
Substances of concern
Art. 5(1) requires manufacturers to minimise the presence and concentration of substances of concern in packaging materials, components and emissions. That obligation applies from 12 August 2026. The FAQ says the assessment should follow Annex C of EN 13428:2004. The standard may still be used until an updated harmonised standard becomes available, but it no longer creates a presumption of conformity with the PPWR substances-of-concern rules.
The manufacturer question
This is the part most refurbished tech operators have not thought through, and it determines everything else.
Case 1: custom-made packaging
Where your company orders packaging made to its specifications, your company is the manufacturer. If the packaging carries no name or trademark, the decisive question is who placed the order and decided the design specifications. Custom packaging is designed around a specific product, so that power rests with the orderer. An operator that specifies dimensions and materials is the manufacturer, whether or not its logo appears.
As a general rule, if one branded name or trademark appears on the packaging, the owner of that mark is the manufacturer regardless of who physically produces it. A narrow micro-enterprise exception applies where the supplier is established in the same Member State. Cases with different companies' marks require an assessment of who controls the specifications.
Case 2: generic standardised packaging
For unbranded standardised boxes bought off the shelf, the company that physically manufactures them is normally the manufacturer. If those boxes are imported from outside the EU, the EU buyer is normally the importer under Art. 18, not the manufacturer.
The importer must confirm the third-country manufacturer carried out the Art. 38 conformity assessment and drew up the Declaration, check that the Art. 15(5) and Art. 15(6) identification requirements are met, ensure the required documents accompany the packaging, and add its own name, registered trade name or trademark, postal address and electronic contact details to the packaging or an accompanying document. The FAQ confirms these duties also apply to generic and unbranded imported packaging materials.
Documentation from outside the EU. Manufacturers outside the EU are not uniformly prepared to provide PPWR-compliant technical information. Getting the right test reports, material breakdowns and manufacturing documents from overseas suppliers is possible, but it takes time and active management. Many operators have not started.
Manufacturer and producer are different roles
The manufacturer carries the Declaration and technical documentation duties. The producer is the company that first makes packaging or packaged products available on the territory of a Member State, and carries EPR registration, reporting and fee obligations there. A company can be one, both or neither. Establish the manufacturer role first, then the producer role market by market.
Producer registration and EPR
EPR is not new and it is not waiting for PPWR. National packaging EPR schemes have existed for years under the previous directive, separately in each Member State. A company making packaging or packaged products available to consumers in a Member State for the first time may already owe registration and fees there today, and many cross-border sellers have never registered.
PPWR harmonises the registration and reporting data, deadlines and frequency, reporting detail, producer definition and criteria for fee eco-modulation. Member States still retain wide flexibility, and the harmonised registers phase in over the coming years, so existing national duties continue meanwhile.
Selling across Germany, France, Finland and the Netherlands means four separate registrations, and in most cases registration must precede the first shipment into each market. Under Art. 39(2), the Declaration must also be drawn up in, or translated into, the languages required by each Member State where the packaging is placed or made available.
Marketplaces make this visible
Under Art. 45, an online platform that lets consumers conclude distance contracts with producers must obtain the producer's registration details for the Member State where the consumer lives, plus a self-certification that the relevant packaging EPR obligations are met, before allowing that producer to use the platform. The platform must make best efforts to assess whether the information is complete and reliable. For operators selling through marketplaces this is a practical enforcement route that does not depend on a regulator taking an interest first.
No general micro-enterprise exemption
Producers making less than 10 tonnes available in a Member State in a calendar year have lighter reporting, and Member States may set lower administrative fees for smaller producers, but registration still stands. A separate narrow rule applies where the company that has packaging designed or manufactured under its own name or trademark is a micro-enterprise and its supplier is established in the same Member State. The supplier is then treated as the manufacturer. Whether it is also the producer still depends on the producer definition and the Member State where the packaging is first made available.
Cost structure
Fees are calculated on the weight of packaging made available on the territory of a Member State. A durable box bought once and used for several journeys is one unit made available; four single-use boxes are four units. That follows from the number of units purchased and first made available, and does not depend on whether the durable box is classified as reusable under PPWR.
Where the customer does operate a reuse system, EPR still applies. The FAQ confirms EPR covers both single-use and reusable packaging, that the obligation stays with the producer, and that the reuse system must include procedures supporting those obligations when packaging in the system becomes waste, as Annex VI, Part A requires.
Designed for reuse versus placed on the market as reusable
Most operators assume the classification travels with the packaging. It does not. Art. 11 sets out when packaging is considered reusable. The first condition is that it has been conceived, designed and placed on the market with the objective of being reused multiple times. Design is only one part of that test.
The system is the other half. Art. 26 requires the economic operator that first makes reusable packaging available in a Member State to ensure a compliant reuse system is in place there. Art. 27 requires operators that use reusable packaging to participate in one or more reuse systems and ensure those systems comply with Annex VI, Part A.
The same physical packaging can therefore be treated differently in two customers' hands. One may use it within a collection, reconditioning and redistribution system and place it on the market with the objective of repeated use. Another may buy the same design and use it once, without any system. The second case does not become reusable packaging merely because the supplier designed it to last.
That classification changes the compliance work. Packaging placed on the market as reusable must meet Art. 11, be supported by the Art. 26 and Art. 27 system arrangements in Annex VI, Part A, and, when Art. 12(2) applies, carry the reusable packaging label and digital data carrier. The system must support rotation counting and reporting unless a derogation applies. Documentation retention becomes ten years rather than five.
The evidence also splits. The FAQ says the manufacturer must demonstrate in the technical documentation, at the time of placing the packaging on the market, that both the design and the related reuse system allow the minimum number of rotations to be met. A supplier can provide the design-side evidence. Only the operator running the system can supply the system evidence, including collection, reconditioning, redistribution and rotation data.
Claims
Reusability is a packaging property regulated by PPWR, so Art. 14 applies to environmental claims about it. A supplier can accurately describe the design function as designed for reuse where it can substantiate that design and does not present it as proof of the full regulatory classification. Claiming packaging is reusable, or implying a reuse system exists when none does, is a different claim and needs evidence for the complete regulatory position.
Art. 14 allows claims about packaging properties regulated by PPWR only where they concern performance exceeding the applicable minimum requirements, and specify whether the claim relates to the packaging unit, part of it, or all packaging placed on the market by the operator. Claims outside PPWR's scope also need assessing under consumer law, including the Empowering Consumers Directive (EU) 2024/825.
Single-use versus durable: the scorecard
How the two approaches compare across the obligations covered above.
| Dimension | Single-use or custom OEM | Durable, EU mono-material, supplier-documented |
|---|---|---|
| EPR units for four journeys | Four boxes purchased and made available | One box purchased once, used four times, regardless of reusable classification |
| Recyclability readiness, 2030 or later | Multi-material or hard-to-separate packaging is at higher risk under the coming grades | Mono-material is better positioned, though the grading methodology is still pending |
| Digital carrier, if placed as reusable | No duty unless the operator places it as reusable within a reuse system | Carrier already fitted; system and duty sit with the operator. Operator-less open-loop systems are exempt |
| Reuse system responsibility | The operator using the packaging carries it, if placed as reusable | The operator using the packaging carries it. The supplier provides design, not system |
| Technical documentation workload | The manufacturer may need to assemble design, material and test evidence from several suppliers | Supplier provides the design-side dossier; the operator adds reuse-system evidence where applicable |
| Supply chain and manufacturer role | For custom packaging, the orderer that decides the specifications is the manufacturer | An EU-manufactured, regulation-aware supplier gives a shorter, more legible documentation chain |
Enforcement and non-compliance
Non-compliant packaging will not automatically be banned. Under Art. 62, a Member State must first require the operator to end the non-compliance. That means a warning and a reasonable opportunity to take corrective action. Prohibition, recall or withdrawal follow only if the non-compliance persists.
The Commission directs market surveillance authorities to support responsible operators rather than take a sanction-oriented approach. That support may include awareness-raising, requests for information, and requests for corrective action with a reasonable timeline.
There is no routine notification step. Manufacturers do not have to notify competent authorities merely because packaging is placed on their territory. Authorities make contact when they carry out a check. Notification is required only when a manufacturer or distributor becomes aware that packaging it placed on the market is non-compliant.
The more immediate risk is commercial. B2B partners, marketplaces and enterprise buyers are already asking for Declarations as part of procurement qualification. If you cannot produce one when asked, the result may be a lost contract, a delisted product or a paused shipment.
2028 onwards
Several of these dates are conditional on implementing or delegated acts that have not been adopted. Where that is the case, the clock has not started.
Harmonised sorting labels
From 12 August 2028, or 24 months after the Art. 12(6) or Art. 12(7) implementing acts enter into force, whichever is later, packaging must carry a physical label with easily understandable pictograms indicating material composition. Those acts were due by 12 August 2026 and had not been adopted when the August FAQ was published, so the 24-month clock had not started. A QR code may be added voluntarily for further detail, but the core requirement is the physical pictogram. Art. 12(12) allows packaging manufactured in the EU or imported before the applicable deadline to be made available for up to three years after the requirement enters into force. If you are designing packaging now, leave space for the label.
Labels and data carriers for reusable packaging
Reusable packaging placed on the market from 12 February 2029, or 30 months after the Art. 12(6) act enters into force, whichever is later, must carry a label stating that it is reusable. Information on the reuse system and collection points must be available through a QR code or other standardised open digital data carrier supporting tracking and the calculation of trips and rotations. Reusable sales packaging must also be clearly distinguished from single-use at the point of sale. Art. 12(3) exempts open-loop systems without a system operator from the label and data carrier, and Annex VI separately exempts them from rotation reporting. This applies only where packaging is placed on the market as reusable.
Recyclability grades A to C
Binding recyclability performance criteria apply from 1 January 2030, or two years after the design-for-recycling delegated act enters into force, whichever is later. That act is due by 1 January 2028. Packaging will need a grade of A, B or C to be placed on the EU market. Multi-material packaging combining laminated board, plastic film inserts and adhesives may be harder to qualify than mono-material packaging or components that separate easily, but the detailed criteria are still pending. Packaging placed on the market before the applicable date may remain there. This is assessed for each packaging unit, not once for an entire design.
Packaging minimisation
Art. 10(1) and 10(2) apply from 1 January 2030. Packaging must be reduced in weight and volume to the minimum necessary to ensure functionality. Until the end of 2029, the essential requirements from the previous directive continue to apply.
Empty space in transport and e-commerce packaging
For grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging, empty space must not exceed 50% of total internal volume. Applies from 1 January 2030, or three years after the Art. 24(2) implementing act enters into force, whichever is later. That act establishes the calculation methodology and is due by 12 February 2028. Space filled by bubble wrap, paper cuttings, foam fillers and similar materials counts as empty space.
Digital marking and the Digital Product Passport
The direction is clear, the detail is not. ECHA is still studying which substances of concern in packaging are relevant, and there is no definitive list. The Commission will develop the implementing act for the digital-labelling methodology after that input. Consumer electronics are also expected to require a Digital Product Passport under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. Where both regimes require digital information, the same data carrier may be used. Leave room for digital integration without treating the substances list or marking method as settled.
Reuse targets
Art. 29(4)(d) exempts cardboard boxes, including corrugated cardboard boxes, from the Art. 29 reuse targets. The exemption list must be read strictly and is limitative in material, format and use. It covers boxes only and does not extend to interlayers, although the FAQ says interlayers are not among the formats listed in Art. 29(1) and are therefore not subject to those targets in the first place. An exemption from the targets is not an exemption from the wider reuse rules. Art. 11 and the Art. 26 and Art. 27 system duties apply where packaging is placed on the market as reusable. Art. 11 has applied since 11 February 2025. Commission guidance says reusable packaging placed on the market after that date had to comply, but competent authorities could check compliance only after 12 August 2026. The minimum number of rotations is not yet fixed and awaits the act under Art. 11(2), due by 12 February 2027.
Sources
Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation
Work through it with us
If you want to know what this means in practice for your current packaging setup, we are happy to go through it with you.
This article reflects Regulation (EU) 2025/40 and the European Commission's PPWR Frequently Asked Questions, 2nd edition, August 2026. The regulation includes delegated and implementing acts that are still being developed. Operators should verify current requirements with their legal and compliance advisers. RePack is not a legal services provider.