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PPWR

Stronger packaging, smarter recycling: The PPWR’s impact

Part of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is about transforming how we approach packaging from design to disposal. With new rules focusing on recyclability, collection systems, and waste infrastructure, the PPWR aims to fast-track the transition to a circular economy. Here’s what you need to know about how these changes will reshape packaging for the better.

Two principles for recyclability

One of the core principles of the PPWR is making sure that packaging isn’t just recyclable in theory but also in practice. This means:

  1. Recyclable by design: Packaging must be created in a way that makes recycling technically possible. Products using incompatible materials or overly complex designs (like multilayer plastics that can’t be separated) may face tighter restrictions or even be phased out. The goal is to simplify packaging so it can be easily processed by modern recycling facilities.

  2. Recycled in practice: Even the most recyclable packaging is pointless without robust systems to collect, sort, and process it. To tackle this, the PPWR focuses on ensuring that real-world recycling infrastructure can handle the packaging we use daily.
Recyclable packaging

Recyclability: Designed for the real world

To encourage businesses to embrace eco-design, extended producer responsibility (EPR) fees will be adjusted based on a packaging’s recyclability. Businesses using easy-to-recycle materials will benefit from lower fees, giving producers a financial incentive to innovate toward eco-friendly designs.

While the specific recyclability criteria will be laid out in secondary legislation, the goal is clear: by 2035, at least 55% of all packaging materials should be recycled.


Infrastructure: The backbone of recyclability

Achieving these goals will require significant upgrades to infrastructure. The PPWR emphasizes the need for comprehensive systems to manage packaging waste at every stage:

  • Collection and sorting: Member States (MS) must make sure that robust systems are in place to collect and sort all consumer packaging waste. This includes improving curbside collection, upgrading sorting facilities, and even investing in technology that can identify and separate recyclable materials more efficiently.
  • Harmonized symbols: The PPWR will introduce standardized symbols on packaging and waste bins. This "match-and-dispose" system will help consumers sort their waste correctly, reducing contamination in recycling streams and boosting overall efficiency.

This approach not only improves recycling rates but also ensures that packaging designed for recycling doesn’t end up incinerated or in landfills.

Recycling targets: A challenging road ahead

Interestingly, the PPWR doesn’t make drastic changes to current recycling targets but rather maintains the already challenging goals that Member States are struggling with at the moment.

  • Current challenges: Many Member States are still working towards meeting the 2025 recycling targets for plastic packaging, grappling with issues like low collection rates and inconsistent sorting practices.
  • Stricter calculations: A 2018 revision to the Packaging Directive introduced a stricter calculation method for recycling rates. Only materials that successfully enter the recycling process (e.g., plastics converted into pellets) are counted, meaning anything lost during sorting or cleaning doesn’t qualify. This stricter method has lowered reported recycling rates by up to 30%, highlighting the gap between collection and actual recycling.

The PPWR keeps these existing benchmarks intact but highlights the need to capture valuable materials at multiple points in the value chain, ensuring they are efficiently and effectively recycled. To achieve this, Member States will introduce mandatory collection targets by 2029, aiming to maximize the collection of packaging materials to meet recycling and recycled content targets.

Packaging recycling targets

The path ahead

The PPWR is a bold step toward aligning packaging design with the realities of recycling. By focusing on infrastructure, harmonized systems, and practical recyclability, it provides a much-needed framework to tackle packaging waste head-on.

Scaling up infrastructure, implementing harmonized systems across diverse Member States, and meeting existing targets will require significant collaboration and investment, however. In order to reach the defined targets in time, immediate action is required.

Ultimately, the PPWR signals a shift from business-as-usual to a more sustainable future. One where packaging no longer represents waste but instead becomes a resource for the circular economy.


To learn more about PPWR, visit our Knowledge Hub.

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