Learn About PPWR Legislation (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation)

The EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is a key part of the European Commission’s circular economy agenda. The regulation impacts the entire packaging supply chain, including labels, which play a crucial role in a package’s sustainability. The regulation is built on five pillars—recyclability, compostability, recycled content, packaging reuse, and eco-modulation, also known as extended producer responsibility (EPR). These five pillars will increasingly influence how packaging is designed, labeled, and managed across the EU.

The PPWR is fundamentally about designing packaging that can be recycled into high-quality raw materials. The regulation requires all packaging on the market to be fully recyclable, meaning it must be designed for quality material recycling, and be able to be collected, sorted, and recycled at scale without contaminating other waste streams. Starting in 2030, packaging will be evaluated and given a recyclability grade of A, B, or C. Grade A packaging must be at least 95% recyclable, while Grade B must be at least 80%. Any packaging scoring below 70% will be considered non-recyclable and banned from the market. By 2035, the European Commission may update these requirements based on advancements in sorting and recycling technologies.

Polytag works with businesses to be PPWR-ready by implementing our unique tag-and-trace invisible UV QR codes to measure real-time recycling data for all packaging products. Under the PPWR, all packaging used on the EU market must be designed for recycling (DfR) by January 2030; and EPR (extended producer responsibility) fees must be eco-modulated based on an EU-wide recyclability performance score. Start working with Polytag to optimise your value chain now.