Your PPWR baseline report

Top 3 priorities

Article 12 labelling — preparation

Harmonised EU labelling is not checkable yet: the implementing act that fixes the pictograms and the marking thresholds is due 12 August 2026. What follows is what national law already requires today, plus how much of the data needed to produce a marking exists.

For example: SKU-001 · rPET → PET 01

Markets not yet covered by this engine: DE · ES. They are not assessed here — absence of a finding is not a clean bill of health.

PPWR regulatory timeline

1. 2025-02-11
   PPWR enters into force

   Regulation (EU) 2025/40 becomes binding on 11 February 2025 — twenty days after publication in the Official Journal. Most obligations trigger on later transitional dates.
2. 2026-08-12
   PPWR general application

   From 12 August 2026 the bulk of PPWR applies: substances of concern (Art. 5), manufacturer obligations (Art. 15), Declarations of Conformity (Art. 39), and producer registration / authorised representatives (Art. 44 & 45).
   Art. 5, 15, 39, 44 & 45
3. 2026-08-12
   Se aplică obligația de reciclabilitate

   Începând cu 12 august 2026, orice ambalaj introdus pe piața UE trebuie să fie reciclabil (articolul 6 alineatul (1)). Trei termene ulterioare sunt adesea confundate cu acesta: criteriile de proiectare pentru reciclare, clasele de performanță A / B / C obligatorii de la 1 ianuarie 2030 și componenta „reciclat la scară largă” de la 1 ianuarie 2035.
   Art. 6 & Annex II
4. 2026-08-12
   Declarations of Conformity required

   From 12 August 2026, every packaging placed on the EU market must ship with an EU Declaration of Conformity drawn up to the Annex VIII model template, asserting compliance with the eleven essential requirements in Annex II Part 1.
   Art. 39 & Annex II, Annex VIII
5. 2026-08-12
   Article 12 implementing act due

   The Commission had to adopt the implementing act fixing the harmonised pictograms and material codes by 12 August 2026. It has not been adopted and no draft exists, so the harmonised label will not exist on that date and national schemes (Triman/Info-tri, CONAI…) continue to apply. Artwork planning keys off this act: once it lands, every reference has to be re-laid-out.
   Art. 12
6. 2027-02-12
   Harmonised methodologies adopted

   By 12 February 2027 the Commission must publish the methodology for measuring packaging minimisation (Art. 10), guidelines on the Annex V packaging-format bans (Art. 25) and the reuse-target calculation methodology (Art. 29).
   Art. 11
7. 2027-02-12
   Regimuri naționale de sancțiuni

   Până la 12 februarie 2027, statele membre trebuie să fi stabilit sancțiunile aplicabile încălcărilor și să le fi notificat Comisiei. PPWR nu prevede niciun plafon armonizat și niciun procent din cifra de afaceri: cuantumurile sunt naționale — Germania, de exemplu, prevede între 10 000 și 200 000 € de la acea dată.
   Art. 68
8. 2028-01-01
   Revizuirea derogărilor privind conținutul reciclat

   Înainte de 1 ianuarie 2028, Comisia revizuiește derogările de la cerințele privind conținutul reciclat prevăzute la articolul 7 alineatul (5), în temeiul articolului 7 alineatul (12).
   Art. 7
9. 2028-02-12
   Obligații privind ambalajele compostabile

   Începând cu 12 februarie 2028, formatele desemnate la articolul 9 — pliculețele de ceai și cafea, etichetele adezive pentru fructe și capsulele de cafea de unică folosință acolo unde un stat membru impune acest lucru — trebuie să fie compostabile în condiții industriale.
   Art. 9
10. 2028-08-12
    Harmonised labelling obligations

    From 12 August 2028, packaging must carry harmonised material-composition and disposal pictograms under Article 12. Where another EU act mandates a Digital Product Passport for the packaged product, the same data carrier must convey both packaging and product information.
    Art. 12
11. 2029-01-01
    Deposit Return Systems operational

    By 1 January 2029 every Member State must operate a Deposit Return System achieving at least 90% separate collection of single-use plastic and metal beverage containers up to 3 L (Art. 50). Member States already above 80% with a credible 90%-by-2028 strategy may apply for an exemption.
    Art. 50
12. 2030-01-01
    Below-Grade-C packaging banned

    From 1 January 2030, packaging that does not reach Grade C recyclable by weight, per Annex II) may no longer be placed on the EU market. Article 6 defines only grades A, B and C.
    Art. 6 & Annex II
13. 2030-01-01
    Recycled content targets (plastic) apply

    From 1 January 2030, the minimum post-consumer recycled (PCR) content thresholds in Article 7 apply to plastic packaging — headline values: PET contact-sensitive 30%, non-PET contact-sensitive 10%, single-use plastic beverage bottles 30%, other plastic packaging 35%.
    Art. 7
14. 2030-01-01
    Reuse targets and refill obligations apply

    From 1 January 2030, Article 29 reuse targets bind: 40% for transport packaging within the EU, 10% for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage sales packaging, 10% for HORECA. Refill stations should occupy ≈10% of the sales area in stores larger than 400 m² (Art. 30).
    Art. 29 & 30
15. 2030-01-01
    Annex V packaging-format bans

    From 1 January 2030, the packaging formats listed in Annex V cannot be placed on the EU market — including SUP grouped/multi-pack outers, SUP packaging for unprocessed fruit or vegetables under 1.5 kg, SUP HORECA single-serve disposables and SUP single-serve hotel toiletries (Art. 25).
    Art. 25 & Annex V
16. 2030-01-01
    Se aplică minimizarea ambalajelor

    Începând cu 1 ianuarie 2030, fiecare unitate de ambalaj trebuie redusă la greutatea, volumul și numărul minim de straturi compatibile cu funcționalitatea și siguranța (articolul 10). Până atunci, orientările Comisiei păstrează EN 13428:2004 ca reper desemnat pentru ambalajul de vânzare.
    Art. 10 & Annex IV
17. 2030-12-31
    First per-capita waste-prevention milestone

    By 31 December 2030 each Member State must reduce per-capita packaging waste by 5% compared with the 2018 baseline (Art. 43).
    Art. 43
18. 2035-01-01
    Reciclat la scară largă

    Începând cu 1 ianuarie 2035, ambalajul trebuie de asemenea reciclat la scară largă — cel puțin 55 % la nivelul UE pentru categoria sa din anexa II, 30 % pentru lemn — sau la cinci ani de la intrarea în vigoare a actelor de punere în aplicare relevante, dacă aceasta este ulterioară.
    Art. 6 & Annex II
19. 2035-12-31
    Al doilea prag de prevenire a deșeurilor

    Până la 31 decembrie 2035, fiecare stat membru trebuie să reducă cu 10 % deșeurile de ambalaje pe cap de locuitor față de referința 2018 (art. 43).
    Art. 43
20. 2038-01-01
    Grade C packaging banned

    From 1 January 2038, packaging graded C under Article 6 may no longer be placed on the EU market — only grades A and B remain admissible.
    Art. 6 & Annex II
21. 2040-01-01
    Second recycled-content threshold

    From 1 January 2040, the second wave of recycled content thresholds in articolul 7(1) applies — headline values: PET contact-sensitive 50%, non-PET contact-sensitive 25%, single-use plastic beverage bottles 65%, other plastic packaging 65%.
    Art. 7
22. 2040-01-01
    Increased reuse targets

    From 1 January 2040, the second wave of reuse targets in Article 29 binds, with higher percentages for transport, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage packaging.
    Art. 29
23. 2040-12-31
    Final per-capita waste-prevention milestone

    By 31 December 2040 each Member State must reduce per-capita packaging waste by 15% compared with the 2018 baseline (Art. 43).
    Art. 43