EU Packaging Waste: Prevention, Collection and Recycling Targets under the PPWR

Packaging waste is any packaging or packaging material that is waste, except production residues (Art. 3(1)(25) PPWR), and since 12 August 2026 Regulation (EU) 2025/40 sets how Member States prevent, collect and recycle it: 5 % less per capita by 2030, 70 % recycled by the end of 2030 and 90 % separate collection of single-use plastic beverage bottles and metal beverage containers by 2029. The Regulation entered into force on 11 February 2025 and applies generally from 12 August 2026 (Art. 71). Each of the three targets binds the Member States and sits in its own article: Art. 43 for prevention, Art. 50 for deposit collection and Art. 52 for recycling.

Chapter VIII of the PPWR, the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, sets the waste rules: return and separate collection systems (Art. 48), mandatory collection objectives (Art. 49), deposit and return systems (Art. 50), recycling targets (Art. 52) and the extended producer responsibility that finances them (Art. 44 to 47). The Regulation (CELEX 32025R0040, OJ L, 2025/40, 22.1.2025) replaces Directive 94/62/EC, whose target and data provisions run on until 31 December 2028.

This page defines packaging waste, maps who carries which duty since 12 August 2026, sets out the three targets with the latest Eurostat figures, explains the Art. 48 incineration and landfill ban and the Art. 49 collection objectives, shows how producers finance collection, lists the dated and the pending rules and compares Germany and France. Case-by-case questions go to the competent authority of the Member State concerned.

Compiled by the PackagingRegulation.org Editorial Team from the Regulation's text on EUR-Lex and the cited official sources. Every date and article reference is checked; see our methodology and fact-checking.

What Is Packaging Waste under the PPWR?

Under Article 3(1), point (25), of the PPWR, packaging waste is any packaging or packaging material that is waste, with the exception of production residues, whatever its material. Packaging waste is packaging that has become waste; only production residues are excluded. The six materials with their own recycling targets in Art. 52(1) PPWR, namely plastic, wood, ferrous metals, aluminium, glass, and paper and cardboard, fall under this one definition.

Which waste terms does the PPWR leave to other law? Article 3(1), second subparagraph, imports seven terms from Article 3 of Directive 2008/98/EC, the Waste Framework Directive (OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3), among them waste management, treatment and preparing for re-use. The PPWR adds its own term for the quality of recycling: high-quality recycling produces recycled materials of equivalent quality to the original materials, used as a substitute for primary raw materials (Art. 3(1)(41)). The four imported terms that shape packaging waste rules most directly are listed below.

• Collection: Art. 3, point (10), of Directive 2008/98/EC.
• Separate collection: point (11), the term behind the Art. 48 systems and the 90 % deposit target of Art. 50(1) PPWR.
• Recycling: point (17), the operation the Art. 52 recycling targets measure.
• Extended producer responsibility scheme: point (21), the scheme that Art. 45(1) PPWR applies to packaging.

Does the PPWR replace the Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC?

Yes: Article 70(1) of the PPWR repeals Directive 94/62/EC with effect from 12 August 2026, but parts of it continue, among them its target and data provisions until 31 December 2028 and the data transmission to the Commission until 31 December 2029. The surviving provisions of Directive 94/62/EC (OJ L 365, 31.12.1994, p. 10) are Art. 5(2) and (3), 6(1)(d) and (e), 6a and 12(3a) to (4), under Art. 70(1)(c) and (d) PPWR.

The 2025 and 2030 recycling targets now sit in Art. 52(1) PPWR, carried over from the Directive as amended in 2018. What carries over article by article is compared in PPWR vs the Packaging Directive 94/62/EC.

Packaging Waste Obligations since 12 August 2026: Who Does What

Since 12 August 2026 four groups carry packaging waste duties under the PPWR: Member States organise collection and meet the targets, producers and their PROs pay for it, waste management operators treat and report, and the Commission monitors progress. Member States hold five of the ten duties in the table, and two of those start later: the collection objectives by 1 January 2029 and the receptacle labels from 12 August 2028 at the earliest. Waste management operators report each year through the electronic registry of Art. 35(1) of Directive 2008/98/EC and pass producers or PROs the data they need for their own Art. 44(10) reports (Art. 23 PPWR).

EU Packaging Waste Targets: Prevention, Deposit Collection and Recycling

The PPWR binds each Member State to three packaging waste targets: at least 5 % less packaging waste per capita by 2030 than in 2018 (Art. 43(1)), 90 % separate collection of single-use plastic beverage bottles and metal beverage containers by 1 January 2029 (Art. 50(1)), and 70 % recycling by 31 December 2030 (Art. 52(1)). The table summarises the PPWR packaging waste reduction targets, the deposit return systems under the PPWR, the PPWR recycling targets by material and the EU packaging waste statistics that measure progress.

Eurostat puts EU-27 packaging waste at 180.99 kg per inhabitant in 2024, above the 173.64 kg of 2018, the base year of Art. 43(1) PPWR (env_waspac, update of 21 October 2026). The difference is 7.35 kg, or about 4.2 % above the base year; this is arithmetic on Eurostat figures, not an official Art. 43 assessment. The EU recycling rate was 67.0 % in 2024 and 67.4 % in 2023 (env_waspacr), measured against the 65 % target for 2025 and the 70 % target for 2030. The 2024 reference year has gaps: data for Bulgaria and Hungary run to 2022, and for Romania and Sweden to 2023, with a lag of about 22 months between reference year and publication.

Packaging Waste Collection under Articles 48 and 49 of the PPWR

Article 48 of the PPWR obliges Member States to set up systems for the return and separate collection of all packaging waste from end users, open to every economic operator and to imported products across the whole territory, including public spaces and business premises (Art. 48(1), (5)). Article 48 sets four further rules on how collected packaging waste is handled, listed below.

• Collect packaging that meets the Art. 6(4) design-for-recycling criteria for recycling, without incineration or landfill (Art. 48(1)).
• Give priority access to recyclates for the same or similar applications at collection and sorting (Art. 48(2)).
• Co-collect waste streams only where recyclability is unaffected and the output quality stays comparable (Art. 48(3)).
• Require the sorting of residual waste before disposal or energy recovery, at the Member State's option (Art. 48(4)).

Which packaging may no longer be incinerated or landfilled?

Packaging that complies with the design-for-recycling criteria of Art. 6(4) must be collected for recycling and may not be incinerated or landfilled, except residues from treating separately collected packaging waste where recycling is not feasible or not the best environmental outcome (Art. 48(1) PPWR). The ban sits in the second subparagraph of Art. 48(1) PPWR, in the chapter on packaging waste. Article 6 supplies only the design-for-recycling criteria that decide which packaging the ban covers; the ban itself is written in Art. 48.

When does the ban start to bite? The design-for-recycling criteria come from delegated acts that the Commission must adopt by 1 January 2028 under Art. 6(4) PPWR, and none is adopted as of 24 October 2026. Article 48 sets no separate date for the ban. Which packaging the ban reaches therefore depends on the content of those delegated acts once they exist. The only PPWR delegated act adopted so far is Delegated Decision (EU) 2026/429, on a different subject.

What must the mandatory collection objectives cover by 1 January 2029?

By 1 January 2029 each Member State sets mandatory collection objectives consistent with the recycling targets of Art. 52 and the recycled content targets of Art. 7 (Art. 49 PPWR). The two reference points are the 70 % overall recycling target for 31 December 2030 and the 2030 recycled content percentages for plastic packaging in Art. 7(1). Article 49 is a single article without paragraphs. Member States also include a dedicated packaging chapter in their waste management plans and waste prevention programmes under Articles 28 and 29 of Directive 2008/98/EC (Art. 42 PPWR).

How Does Packaging EPR Finance Packaging Waste Collection?

Producers, or the producer responsibility organisations acting for them, finance the return and waste management of their packaging waste under Art. 48(1) and (5) and Art. 50, free of charge for consumers (Art. 47(3)(b) PPWR). Article 45(1) applies the EPR schemes of Articles 8 and 8a of Directive 2008/98/EC to packaging, and Chapter VIII Section 3 adds the packaging-specific rules. Registration, reporting and fees are explained under EU packaging EPR.

Which costs go beyond collection and treatment? EPR contributions also cover the labelling of waste receptacles under Art. 13 and the compositional surveys of mixed municipal waste (Art. 45(2) PPWR). Member States further ensure that EPR schemes and deposit and return systems allocate a minimum share of their budget to waste reduction and prevention actions; the Regulation sets no percentage (Art. 51(3)).

Article 55(1) of the PPWR lists the information that end users receive from producers, PROs or public authorities appointed under Art. 8a(2) of Directive 2008/98/EC. Point (d), the meaning of the labels and symbols affixed under Art. 12, applies from 12 August 2028 or the date of application of the relevant Art. 12 provision, whichever is the latest.

When Do the Packaging Waste Rules Apply?

The packaging waste rules of Chapter VIII apply since 12 August 2026, the Member State targets fall due between 31 December 2025 and 2040, and three sets of Commission acts that shape collection and reporting are not adopted as of 24 October 2026. The table lists every dated packaging waste obligation, oldest first, with its status.

What is still pending on 24 October 2026?

Three sets of Commission acts on packaging waste are not adopted as of 24 October 2026: the Art. 6(4) design-for-recycling delegated acts due by 1 January 2028, the Art. 13(2) receptacle-label acts that were due by 12 August 2026, and the Art. 56(7) data and reporting acts due by 12 February 2027. The Art. 6(4) acts set the criteria that trigger the Art. 48(1) ban, and each mandate is tracked in PPWR delegated acts and implementing acts.

The receptacle-label acts under Art. 13(2) are overdue. The Art. 13(1) duty of the Member States to label waste receptacles therefore starts on 12 August 2028 or 30 months after the adoption of those acts, whichever is the latest.

The Art. 56(7) implementing acts cover the data calculation and format, the carrier bag methodology and the tourism correction factor, and they are to replace Decision 2005/270/EC (OJ L 86, 5.4.2005, p. 6), the basis of the 2018 per capita baseline. Member State packaging databases follow within 12 months of the adoption of those acts (Art. 57(1)). The previous early warning report, COM(2023) 304 of 8 June 2023, found 10 Member States at risk of missing both 2025 targets and 19 at risk for the plastic target; the adoption of the next report under Art. 41 will be reported in PPWR news.

How Is Packaging Waste Managed in the 27 Member States?

The PPWR applies directly in every Member State, but each state runs its own collection system, deposit rules and competent authority, notified to the Commission by 12 July 2025 (Art. 40(3) PPWR). The competent authorities enforce Chapter VIII together with Art. 6(10), 29(1) to (7) and (9) and 30 to 34 (Art. 40(1)). The table compares PPWR in Germany, PPWR in France and PPWR in the 27 member states as a whole for collection and deposit rules. Germany runs a mandatory single-use deposit under VerpackDG § 46 that already writes the 90 % separate collection rate for 1 January 2029 into national law. France has no mandatory national deposit system after the government decision of 4 September 2026; a voluntary territorial deposit is proposed, not law, as of 24 October 2026.

How Does Packaging Waste Connect to the Rest of the PPWR?

Packaging waste targets depend on the product rules of the PPWR: recyclable design decides what may be landfilled, recycled content creates demand for collected material, harmonised labels guide sorting, and reusable packaging counts toward the recycling targets. The table links the PPWR legal text, the PPWR timeline, PPWR Article 6 recyclability, the PPWR Article 7 recycled content targets, the PPWR labelling requirements, the PPWR reuse targets and PPWR compliance.

UK packaging waste rules and other non-EU regimes are not covered on this site.

Packaging waste and the Single-Use Plastics Directive

Directive (EU) 2019/904 already requires 77 % separate collection of single-use plastic beverage bottles by 2025 and 90 % by 2029 (Art. 9(1)), and the PPWR amends that Directive without repealing it (Art. 67 PPWR). The Directive (OJ L 155, 12.6.2019, p. 1) lists the bottles in Part F of its Annex, and the PPWR uses the same bottles of up to 3 l for its single-use plastic beverage bottles (Art. 3(1)(54) PPWR). Both acts are compared in PPWR vs the Single-Use Plastics Directive.

What the Commission guidance says about packaging waste

Commission Notice C/2026/3084 (OJ C, 10.6.2026) and the Commission's PPWR FAQ are non-binding readings of the Regulation, and where either differs from the text of Regulation (EU) 2025/40, the Regulation wins. The Notice is published on EUR-Lex, and the FAQ, 2nd edition (August 2026), on the Commission's environment site. Both documents are compared in PPWR guidance and FAQ.

Packaging waste questions answered

Is food packaging waste covered by the PPWR?

Yes: discarded food packaging is packaging waste under Art. 3(1)(25) PPWR and counts toward the same targets; food waste itself is not covered on this site.

Is there a separate target for plastic packaging waste?

Yes: plastic packaging has its own recycling target of 50 % by 31 December 2025 and 55 % by 31 December 2030 (Art. 52(1)), against an EU rate of 42.4 % in 2024. Eurostat counts 35.9 kg of plastic packaging waste generated and 15.3 kg recycled per inhabitant in 2024, and every rule for the material is collected under plastic packaging under the PPWR.

Does the 5 % reduction target apply to each company?

No: Art. 43(1) sets the reduction per capita for each Member State, not for each company. The 2018 baseline is the packaging waste reported under Decision 2005/270/EC (Art. 43(1)).

Does the EU set a packaging waste fee per kilogram?

No: the PPWR sets no fee per kilogram; producers pay through national EPR schemes. Fee modulation by recyclability grade becomes mandatory only 18 months after both the Art. 6(4) and the Art. 6(5) acts (Art. 6(8)).