PPWR current status: what applies, what is deferred, what is missing
The PPWR has applied since 12 August 2026 — but most obligations only bite between 2028 and 2038, and four Commission acts are overdue. The September 2026 status, the built-in postponement mechanism and the full deadline map through 2040.
PPWR current status: what applies, what is deferred, what is missing
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste has applied since 12 August 2026. Anyone concluding that the whole rulebook is now live is planning against the wrong reality: of its roughly 70 articles, only a small number have immediate effect today. The bulk of it — recyclability, recycled content, labelling, reuse targets, empty space ratio — sits on dates between 2028 and 2038 and, less commonly noticed, on acts the Commission has yet to adopt.
That is the point most overviews leave out. The PPWR ties many obligations not to a fixed date but to the later of two events: a calendar date, or a period running from the entry into force of the relevant implementing or delegated act. If the Commission is late, the obligation on business moves with it. And the Commission is already late. This article sets out the position as at 3 September 2026: what binds today, what is sliding, which acts are missing — and what that means for the data work that underpins any digital product passport in any case.
Key takeaways
- The PPWR has applied since 12 August 2026 (Article 71). The text itself carves out exactly one exception: Article 67(5) applies from 12 February 2029.
- What binds today is mainly the substance and operator duties: Article 5 (substances in packaging), Articles 15 to 22 (obligations of manufacturers, importers, distributors, fulfilment service providers), Articles 38 and 39 (conformity assessment and the EU declaration of conformity), and Article 14 (environmental claims).
- Four Commission acts are overdue: the producer register format under Article 44(14) (due 12 February 2026), the harmonised label under Article 12(6), the material composition methodology under Article 12(7), and waste receptacle labelling under Article 13(2) (all three due 12 August 2026).
- As at 3 September 2026, exactly one act supplementing the PPWR has been published in the Official Journal: Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2026/429 of 25 February 2026, exempting certain economic operators using pallet wrappings and straps from the reuse requirements of Article 29.
- The built-in postponement mechanism: wording such as “from 12 August 2028 or 24 months from the entry into force of … whichever is the latest” means every day the Commission is late pushes the corporate obligation back by a day. This affects Articles 6, 7, 12 and 24 among others.
- For the empty space ratio the deadline slips even with a punctual Commission. Article 24(1) refers to 1 January 2030 or three years after the act under paragraph 2, which is due by 12 February 2028 — arithmetically the obligation lands no earlier than 12 February 2031.
- The next hard Commission deadline is 31 December 2026: three implementing acts on recycled content under Article 7(8), (9) and (10). They determine whether the 2030 quotas remain plannable.
- Parts of the old Packaging Directive 94/62/EC continue to apply — depending on the provision until 31 December 2028, until 31 December 2029, or until 30 months after the labelling act (Article 70).
What actually binds since 12 August 2026
Article 71 is terse: the Regulation enters into force on the twentieth day following publication and “shall apply from 12 August 2026”. So there is no staggered start of application — the Regulation applies as a whole. What is staggered are the obligations inside the individual articles, and the distinction has practical consequences: anyone placing packaging on the market today falls within the regime, even though most substantive requirements arrive later.
Directly binding today:
- Article 5 — substances in packaging. Minimisation of substances of concern, a maximum of 100 mg/kg for the sum of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium, and the PFAS limits for food contact packaging. No transitional period, no pending act. Details in the article on PPWR Article 5.
- Articles 15 to 22 — obligations of economic operators. Who counts as manufacturer, importer, distributor or fulfilment service provider, which records must be kept and for how long, and when obligations transfer to another operator. See PPWR obligations by role.
- Articles 38 and 39 — conformity assessment and the EU declaration of conformity, together with the technical documentation under Annex VII. See the PPWR declaration of conformity.
- Article 14 — environmental claims. Voluntary sustainability claims on packaging are permitted only where they go beyond the requirements of the Regulation.
- Article 4 — free movement. Member States may not obstruct compliant packaging with diverging national requirements. Article 70(4) sets out a time-limited exception for national format restrictions under Annex V points 2 and 3, which may remain until 1 January 2030.
- Article 11(1) — reusability criteria for packaging placed on the market from 11 February 2025.
In practice: the compliance file has to stand today, the product requirements arrive later.
The built-in postponement mechanism
This is the part almost universally missing from summaries — and it explains why “will the PPWR be postponed?” is the wrong question. The postponement is already written into the text.
Numerous obligations carry a double condition. Article 12(1) puts it this way: the harmonised label applies “from 12 August 2028 or 24 months from the date of entry into force of the implementing acts adopted pursuant to paragraph 6 or 7 of this Article, whichever is the latest”.
Work that through. The acts under Article 12(6) and (7) were due by 12 August 2026. Had they entered into force on time, the 24-month period would have landed precisely on 12 August 2028 — the two conditions would coincide. Because they are missing, every month the Commission is late pushes the corporate labelling obligation back by the same month. If the act appears in, say, March 2027, the obligation bites not in 2028 but in spring 2029.
The same construction appears in several places:
| Obligation | Calendar date | Alternative period | Act due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Article 6(2)(a) — design for recycling | 1 January 2030 | 24 months after the delegated act (Art. 6(4)) | 1 January 2028 |
| Article 6(2)(b) — recycled at scale | 1 January 2035 | 5 years after the implementing act (Art. 6(5)) | 1 January 2030 |
| Article 7(1) — minimum recycled content | 1 January 2030 | 3 years after the implementing act (Art. 7(8)) | 31 December 2026 |
| Article 12(1) — harmonised label | 12 August 2028 | 24 months after the act (Art. 12(6)/(7)) | 12 August 2026 (overdue) |
| Article 12(2) — labelling of reusable packaging | 12 February 2029 | 30 months after the act (Art. 12(6)) | 12 August 2026 (overdue) |
| Article 13(1) — waste receptacle labelling | 12 August 2028 | 30 months after the act (Art. 13(2)) | 12 August 2026 (overdue) |
| Article 24(1) — 50 % empty space ratio | 1 January 2030 | 3 years after the act (Art. 24(2)) | 12 February 2028 |
The last row deserves its own remark. Even if the Commission meets its deadline exactly and adopts the act on 12 February 2028, the three-year period only ends on 12 February 2031. Because that is later than 1 January 2030, the calendar date is effectively meaningless. Anyone scheduling the empty space ratio for 2030 is planning roughly a year too early.
Conversely, where the Commission delivers on time the calendar date governs. For recycled content under Article 7, an act adopted by 31 December 2026 leads to 31 December 2029 — so 1 January 2030 stands.
Which acts are missing — status 3 September 2026
A search of the Official Journal for Regulation (EU) 2025/40 returns, at the time of writing, exactly one supplementing act: Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2026/429 of 25 February 2026 (OJ L, 2026/429, 6 May 2026), exempting certain economic operators using pallet wrappings and straps from the reuse requirements of Article 29. Everything else is outstanding.
Overdue:
| Act | Legal basis | Due since | Effect of the delay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Format for entry in the producer register | Art. 44(14) | 12 February 2026 | The Member States’ 18-month period for setting up the register (Art. 44(1)) has not started |
| Harmonised labelling of packaging | Art. 12(6) | 12 August 2026 | The labelling obligation under Art. 12(1) and (2) slides with it |
| Methodology for stating material composition | Art. 12(7) | 12 August 2026 | as above |
| Harmonised labelling of waste receptacles | Art. 13(2) | 12 August 2026 | The Member State duty under Art. 13(1) slides with it |
| Standardisation request on compostable packaging | Art. 9(6) | 12 February 2026 | Harmonised standards for the 2028 obligations are missing |
Next due:
| Act | Legal basis | Due by |
|---|---|---|
| Methodology for calculating and verifying recycled content | Art. 7(8) | 31 December 2026 |
| Sustainability criteria for bio-based feedstock | Art. 7(9) | 31 December 2026 |
| Methodology for assessment and verification under Art. 7 | Art. 7(10) | 31 December 2026 |
| Standardisation request on packaging minimisation | Art. 10(3) | 12 February 2027 |
| Delegated act on reusability criteria | Art. 11(2) | 12 February 2027 |
| Guidance on Annex V (format restrictions) | Art. 25(6) | 12 February 2027 |
| Tourism correction factor for waste prevention targets | Art. 43 with Art. 56(7)(c) | 12 February 2027 |
| Delegated acts on design-for-recycling criteria | Art. 6(4) | 1 January 2028 |
| Methodology for the empty space ratio | Art. 24(2) | 12 February 2028 |
The finding is unambiguous: the PPWR bottleneck currently sits with the law-making, not with business. That is not a reason to relax — it is a reason to hang your milestones on acts rather than on years.
The full PPWR timeline
| Date | What happens | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 11 February 2025 | Cut-off for reusability criteria; grandfathering of older trade mark and design rights; governing version of SME Recommendation 2003/361/EC | Arts. 10, 11, 25, 29, 33 |
| 12 August 2026 | PPWR starts to apply | Art. 71 |
| 31 December 2026 | Three implementing acts on recycled content | Art. 7(8)–(10) |
| 12 February 2027 | Refill offer in the hospitality sector; several standardisation requests and guidance documents | Arts. 32, 10, 11, 25, 43 |
| 12 February 2027 | Labelling duty for packaging covered by EPR schemes | Art. 12(9) |
| 1 January 2028 | Delegated acts on design for recycling | Art. 6(4) |
| 12 February 2028 | Compostability obligations; reuse offer in hospitality; empty space methodology; requirements for sales packaging | Arts. 9, 33, 24 |
| 12 August 2028 | Harmonised label (or 24 months after the act); repeal of Decision 97/129/EC | Arts. 12, 13, 70(2) |
| 31 December 2028 | End of the continued application of several provisions of Directive 94/62/EC | Art. 70(1) |
| 1 January 2029 | Mandatory collection targets; deposit and return systems at a 90 % collection rate | Arts. 49, 50 |
| 12 February 2029 | Labelling of reusable packaging; Art. 67(5) starts to apply | Art. 12(2), Art. 71 |
| 31 December 2029 | End of the continued application of further provisions of Directive 94/62/EC | Art. 70(1) |
| 1 January 2030 | Design for recycling (performance grades A–C); minimum recycled content; packaging minimisation; ban on the formats in Annex V; 40 % reuse target; implementing act on recycling at scale | Arts. 6, 7, 10, 25, 29 |
| 31 December 2030 | Increased Member State recycling targets (70 % overall) | Art. 52 |
| 12 February 2031 | 50 % empty space ratio assuming a punctual act | Art. 24 |
| 12 February 2032 | Commission reviews (empty space, Annex V, waste prevention and recycling targets) | Arts. 24, 25, 43, 52 |
| 1 January 2035 | Recycling at scale as a condition of market access | Art. 6 |
| 1 January 2038 | Only performance grade A or B packaging may be placed on the market | Art. 6 |
| 1 January 2040 | Increased recycled content quotas; 70 % reuse target to be strived for | Art. 7(2), Art. 29 |
What continues from the old Packaging Directive
Article 70 repeals Directive 94/62/EC but keeps four blocks running for a limited time. Anyone already reporting nationally under the old law should know these transitions:
- Article 8(2) of Directive 94/62/EC (marking) applies until 30 months after entry into force of the act under PPWR Article 12(6) — so, likewise, indefinitely while that act is outstanding.
- Article 9(1) and (2) as regards the essential requirements in Annex II point 1 first indent: until 31 December 2029.
- Article 5(2) and (3), Article 6(1)(d) and (e), and Article 6a: until 31 December 2028.
- Article 12(3a) to (4) (reporting): until 31 December 2028, with data transmission to the Commission until 31 December 2029.
Two older decisions expressly remain in force until the Commission repeals them by delegated acts under Article 5(8): 2001/171/EC (glass packaging) and 2009/292/EC (plastic crates and pallets in closed loops). Decision 97/129/EC on the material identification system, by contrast, is repealed with effect from 12 August 2028.
What this means for planning
1. Hang milestones on acts, not on years
A project plan with the line “labelling by 08/2028” is already wrong today. The correct version reads: “labelling 24 months after publication of the act under Article 12(6) — publication outstanding, monitored monthly”. It sounds laborious and it is the only way to avoid being wrong twice: first by investing too early, then by being caught out by a short-notice publication.
2. The 24-month windows are tighter than they look
Two years sounds comfortable. But it has to cover design changes, prepress, approvals, sell-through of existing stock and the migration of master data across every channel. Anyone starting only when the act is published consumes the entire window.
3. The data work is unaffected by the postponement
Material composition per packaging component, recycled content with evidence, supplier substance data, weights and volumes: every one of the deferred obligations needs this, and it is already a precondition for the technical documentation under Annex VII. The postponement affects the labels, not the data foundation.
4. The register question still runs nationally
Because the format under Article 44(14) is missing, the Member States’ 18-month period has not begun. National registration duties exist independently of that — via LUCID in Germany, via BDO in Poland. Waiting for an EU register means waiting for the wrong thing. See extended producer responsibility for packaging.
PPWR and the digital product passport
The link runs through Article 12. The label under paragraph 1 may be applied by digital means, and paragraph 7 expressly requires the Commission to set the methodology for stating material composition “through standardised, open digital marking technologies”. By 1 January 2030 a second methodology follows: the indication of substances of concern — at minimum name and concentration — likewise through digital marking technologies.
The direction of travel is therefore set, even though the technical specifications are missing. Packaging data will be retrievable via a carrier, and Article 12(5) requires that where both product and packaging information must be provided, a single common data carrier is used. Anyone building the ESPR product passport anyway should model the packaging layer from the outset — a second code alongside the first is not an option under that provision.
Frequently asked questions
Is the PPWR being postponed?
Not as a whole — it has applied since 12 August 2026. Individual obligations are being deferred, automatically, through the mechanism in the articles themselves: where an obligation applies “from date X or N months after the act, whichever is the latest”, Commission delay moves the obligation with it. No political decision is required for that.
Which obligations must I meet today?
The substance requirements in Article 5, the role-based duties in Articles 15 to 22, conformity assessment and the EU declaration of conformity under Articles 38 and 39 with the technical documentation in Annex VII, and the rules on environmental claims in Article 14. National registration and licensing duties come on top.
Does the labelling obligation apply from 12 August 2028?
Only if the implementing act under Article 12(6) or (7) had entered into force by 12 August 2026. It did not. What governs is therefore the 24-month period from entry into force of the act, and that date is not yet fixed.
Is there an exemption for small companies?
Only in specific places, and never for the substance requirements. Microenterprises within the meaning of Recommendation 2003/361/EC in the version in force on 11 February 2025 can be exempted from individual provisions — for instance under Article 25(4) for certain Annex V formats and under Article 33(4) for the reuse offer in hospitality. Articles 5 to 12, 38, 39 and 44 contain no such exemption.
Which PPWR acts have appeared so far?
As at 3 September 2026, one: Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2026/429 of 25 February 2026 on pallet wrappings and straps. All the implementing acts provided for in the Regulation are outstanding.
From when can I no longer place certain single-use formats on the market?
From 1 January 2030 under Article 25(1) in conjunction with Annex V. Until then, Article 70(4) allows Member States to maintain their own restrictions adopted before 1 January 2025 for the formats in Annex V points 2 and 3 — regional differences are therefore expressly permitted until 2030.
Read next
- Digital product passport in 15 minutes
- PPWR regulation: EU packaging rules explained
- PPWR Article 5: PFAS limits and heavy metals
- PPWR declaration of conformity: fields and template
- PPWR labelling requirements: which label applies when
- PPWR obligations: manufacturer, importer, distributor
- Extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging
- ESPR regulation: ecodesign requirements
- How to implement a DPP: checklist
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR)
- Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2026/429 — pallet wrappings and straps
- Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste
- Decision 97/129/EC — material identification system
- Decision 2001/171/EC — exemption for glass packaging
- Decision 2009/292/EC — exemption for plastic crates and pallets
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR)