This is the finalised Packaging Waste Regulation – more recycling and reuse, less plastic packaging

More responsibility and obligations to companies. This is offered by the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation PPWR approved in spring 2024 after tight negotiations.

The aim of the PPWR is to reduce the volume of packaging waste in the EU. The total volume of waste in the Member States has increased every year. In 2021 some 188,7 kilograms of waste per inhabitant was generated in the EU, which is almost 32 kilograms more than in 2011. The PPWR aims especially at reducing the amount of plastic packaging waste. In addition, it should significantly increase high quality packaging recycling.

More recycled plastic in packaging

These are important goals and the means to achieve them are extremely ambitious. The PPWR obliges packaging manufacturers to increase the share of recycled plastic in plastic packaging. A plastic packaging should contain 35 percent of recycled plastic in 2030 and a decade later this share should be 65%. Contact material packaging and plastic bottles have their own content requirements. Contact material packaging means packaging that is in contact with food.

Single-use beverage packaging must contain 30 percent of its weight of recycled plastic by 2030 and 65 percent in 2040.

Contact material packaging made of PET plastic must contain 30 percent of recycled plastic by 2030 and in 2040 the share of recycled plastic must already be half of the weight. Other contact material packaging than PET plastic must contain 10 and 25 percent of recycled plastic by 2030 and 2040.

Where to find contact material grade recycled plastic?

Not all recycled plastic is suitable for food packaging due to safety and hygiene reasons. Although the recycled plastic content objectives for contact material packaging are more moderate than for other plastic packaging, these new objectives challenge companies to develop food contact material grade recycled plastic.

Regulation increases also for biodegradable plastic. Packaging made of biodegradable materials such as biodegradable plastic must be recyclable within three years of the entry into force of the regulation without any impact on the recyclability of other waste flows. This means that it must be possible to sort and recycle biodegradable materials with other plastic.

Ban on use of certain plastic packaging

As part of the goal to reduce packaging waste the PPWR bans certain single-use plastic packaging from 2030 onwards.

Among the banned packaging are plastic packaging for fresh fruit and vegetables, single-use group packaging at point of sales, such as plastic film, single-use packaging in restaurants and cafes, single-use cosmetic packaging in hotels and extra light weight plastic bags. The producers of such packaging must now search for alternative packaging solutions. The Commission will publish guidelines on the exemptions to the bans within two years of the entry into force of the regulation.

Less empty space in packaging

Regular plastic bags may remain in shops, but their use within the EU is to be reduced so that a maximum of 40 pieces per inhabitant would be used by the end of 2025.

In addition, the needless use of packaging material is to be reduced. It is the responsibility of packaging manufacturers and importers to ensure that there is a maximum of 50% of empty space out of the packaging size in grouped, transport and web sales packaging. Packaging containing unnecessary walls or layers to make the packaging look bigger, should not be put on the market.

Dual system for deposit bottles in Finland

The PPWR brings about reuse obligations to beverage, grouped and transport packaging. Small companies will have exemptions and under certain conditions a Member State could be released from obligations. It is not yet known what kind of exemptions Finland will be granted.

In 2030 ten percent of beverages must be sold in reusable packaging. In 2040 the aim is to sell 40 percent of beverages in reusable packaging, but this is not a binding requirement such as the 2030 objective.

There is some flexibility in the 10 percent reuse objective, if the Member State achieves the waste prevention objectives and exceeds the recycling objective by five percentage points. Currently it seems that Finland will not achieve these prerequisites. Therefore, the Finnish beverage bottle deposit system should be altered so that a separate system parallel to the current one would be developed.

For grouped packaging in the form of boxes, 10 percent must be reusable by 2030 and 25 percent by 2040.

These objectives do not concern carton boxes. The objectives oblige the party putting the beverages on the market and do not concern milk, milk products, easily perishable beverages, wines or spirits.

Transport packaging with 100 percent reuse objective

The objectives for transport packaging are also binding for 2030 and indicative for 2040. The reuse objective for transport packaging within the EU is 40 percent in 2030 and 70 percent in 2040. The reuse objective for transport packaging in internal transfers within a company inside the EU and within a country is a full 100 percent. There will be an exemption to this concerning plastic films and fastening straps. The objectives do not concern transport packaging of hazardous materials, big machinery or tailor-made packaging for commodities, flexible food contact material packaging and carton boxes.

Exemptions for micro enterprises

There are other exemptions to the reuse objectives which help especially small businesses. The objectives exempt companies that put on the markets less than 1000 kilograms of packaging per year and micro enterprises with less than 10 employees. Member States can also release companies from reuse objectives if certain previously mentioned recycling and waste reduction objectives are fulfilled. Companies are obliged to report on the progress in fulfilling their reuse objectives to the competent authority.

The regulation aims to promote the circulation of packaging with further means. To help sorting, a packaging must contain a pictorial image indicating the packaging material. Reusable packaging should have an indication of reusability. This indication could be for example behind a QR code.

Take away purchases in reusable packaging

Companies selling take away products should, within two years of the entry into force of the regulation, offer consumers the opportunity to use their own receptacles when buying take away. Within three years the customer should be offered the option to buy take away in reusable packaging. These options should not be more expensive for the customer.

By 2030 some 10 percent of products should be offered in reusable packaging, but this objective is indicative. In addition, from 2030 shops should reserve one-tenth of their sales space for refill stations of food and other products.

New costs for producers

The new PPWR increases the Member States’ reporting obligations to the Commission. This leads to increasing obligations and measures for businesses. On the other hand, moving from a directive to a regulation means a more uniform policy regarding EPR and recycling within the whole union.

The PPWR leads to new costs for companies with EPR. These costs for producers include the costs of the sorting labels applied on packaging waste bins, the costs of waste composition studies and a certain share of funds steered to waste prevention and reduction measures.

Certain objectives remain to be specified later or enter into force with a delay. Rinki keeps companies with EPR abreast the implementation of the regulation.

 PPWR and EPR

• The obligations of packaging EPR have mostly targeted packaging waste collection and recycling, which is organised by producer organisations in Finland and funded by companies with packaging EPR. The new EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation transfers the emphasis of EPR by increasing the requirements on packaging manufacturing and recyclability.
• The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation i.e. PPWR will replace the Packaging Waste Directive when enforced. A regulation is more powerful, because it must be transposed into national legislation as such. The new regulation aims at harmonizing the EU countries’ packaging market.
• The European Parliament and the Council composed of Member States reached an agreement on the contents of the regulation in March 2024, and in April the EP approved the regulation in its plenary session. The PPWR will get its final approval from the EP and Council of Ministers in the autumn 2024 and it will enter into force in the Member States after approval.

PPWR and packaging waste reduction targets

• 5 % less packaging waste per inhabitant by 2030
• 10 % less by 2035
• 15 % less by 2040 compared to 2018 statistics.