Editorial Policy: Independence, Sources, Provider Matching and Corrections

PackagingRegulation.org publishes its reference on the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), Regulation (EU) 2025/40, under three commitments: editorial independence, facts from named primary sources, and dated corrections.

Every page carries the byline "PackagingRegulation.org Editorial Team" and a "checked on" date. The Regulation, in force since 11 February 2025 and applying generally from 12 August 2026, is the subject of every page, and every page explains the PPWR, the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.

Compiled by the PackagingRegulation.org Editorial Team from the Regulation's text on EUR-Lex and the cited official sources; see our methodology and fact-checking. This reference explains the rules; it is not legal advice for an individual case.

Is PackagingRegulation.org Independent of the Commission, Authorities and Providers?

Yes: PackagingRegulation.org is not affiliated with the European Commission, any national authority, any producer responsibility organisation or any provider, and no company pays for a mention, a ranking or a placement.

Only bodies designated in a legal act or approved or licensed by an authority are named, and always with the instrument. The Stiftung Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister, for example, is named as the register authority under Art. 44 PPWR and § 6(6) VerpackDG, and it runs the LUCID register. A body that has no such designation or approval is not named, however well known it is in the packaging sector, and no body is named because it asked to be.

Which Primary Sources Does PackagingRegulation.org Use for the PPWR?

A fact appears on PackagingRegulation.org only when a primary source holds it, and six kinds of source are used.

The Regulation decides and guidance explains. National values come only from the national gazette or the competent authority, never from a Commission per-country summary. News, trade press and provider blogs may point to a source but are never the source of a fact. A value that only such a report supports stays off the page until a primary source confirms it, and each source in the table is cited by its instrument and reference, so that a reader can open the same document.

How Are Binding Rules, Guidance, Proposals and Pending Acts Labelled?

Every statement on PackagingRegulation.org carries its legal weight: binding rules are cited by article and instrument, Commission guidance is labelled non-binding, proposals are labelled "proposed" with their procedure stage and date, and dates that depend on a Commission act are written "whichever is later".

Where guidance and the Regulation differ, the Regulation wins and the page says so. The Commission's PPWR FAQ (non-binding), section XIII, describes the final-distributor beverage exemption as a sales area "of less than 100 m2", while Art. 29(10) PPWR says not more than 100 m2, and the page states the Regulation's value.

How Does Provider Matching Work Without Influencing Content?

PackagingRegulation.org is funded by matching readers who ask for help with independent providers, and that match never decides what a page says.

The provider types are compliance consultants, EPR authorised representatives, multi-country EPR services, testing labs and compliance software. A request passes to independent providers only when the reader asks for it. The match never touches the content, the order of pages, which bodies are named or which dates are written. No provider has been chosen yet, and commercial providers are never named, ranked or linked.

How Does PackagingRegulation.org Correct Errors and Recheck Pages?

When a fact on PackagingRegulation.org is wrong, the page is corrected and the correction is dated on that page, and the "checked on" date of the page is updated. Errors are reported to editorial@packagingregulation.org, and readers who prefer a form can contact PackagingRegulation.org instead. A report is checked against the primary source, and the page changes only when that source confirms the error.

Pages are rechecked when one of five sources changes, and the page then shows the new check date:

• an act or corrigendum in the Official Journal;
• a delegated or implementing act adopted under the PPWR;
• an update to Commission guidance or the FAQ;
• a procedure step on a pending proposal;
• a change in a national gazette or register.

Dated changes to acts and proposals also appear in PPWR news.

What Does PackagingRegulation.org Not Publish?

PackagingRegulation.org does not publish five things: legal advice for an individual case, unverified values, provider names or rankings, rules of non-EU regimes, and claims about who reviewed a page.

• No legal advice and no statement that a product complies; questions about a case go to the competent authority.
• No unverified value, not even hedged.
• No commercial provider named, ranked or linked.
• No rules of non-EU regimes such as the UK, US, Canada, Australia or India, and no consumer recycling advice.
• No named expert or reviewer.

How Does This Policy Connect to the Methodology, About and Privacy Pages?

Three pages complete this policy: the methodology for how facts are checked, the about page for who publishes the reference, and the privacy policy for the data the forms collect.

How are facts checked against these sources?

Each fact is matched to the source and reference in the table above and recorded with the date it was checked. The steps are set out in the fact-checking methodology.

Where is the publisher described?

The about page describes PackagingRegulation.org as an independent reference on the EU packaging regulation and how it is funded. Funding and the publisher are explained in About PackagingRegulation.org.

How is personal data from the forms handled?

The provider match, newsletter and contact forms collect only what a request needs, and the site sets no tracking cookies. Retention and your rights are set out in the privacy policy.