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On January 22, 2025, EU's long-waited Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) was finally published on the Official Journal of the European Union. This Regulation aims to enhance the sustainability of all packaging and packaging waste, including waste reduction measures and targets and ambitious essential requirements to reduce excessive packaging, improve recyclability and minimise the complexity of packaging, etc. The PPWR shall enter into force on February 11, 2025 and apply from August 12, 2026.
The PPWR applies to all packaging placed on the market and all packaging waste. Cups, food containers, sandwich bags or other items which can perform a packaging function are not considered to be packaging.
One of the key aspects of PPWR involves the requirements for substances in packaging (Detailed in Article 5). This measure aligns with the objectives of Chemical Strategy for Sustainability to ensure the sound management of chemicals throughout their life-cycle and the transition to a toxic-free and circular economy. In general, the regulation stipulates that packaging placed on the market shall be so manufactured that the presence of hazardous and harmful substances is minimized.
Establish new restrictions
To phase out hazardous and harmful substances in packaging, the European Commission shall, assisted by ECHA, prepare a report on the presence of substances of concern in packaging and packaging components. This report will then be submitted to European Parliament, European Council and relevant committee for further measures by:
Adopting new restrictions in EU REACH Restriction List (Annex XVII) for substances in packaging materials which primarily affect human health or the environment; or
Establishing restrictions as a part of design for recycling criteria for substances in packaging that negatively affect the re-use and recycling of packaging materials.
PFAS in food-contact packaging
PPWR also introduces provisions to limit the presence of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in food-contact packaging. Starting from August 12, 2026, food-contact packaging shall not be placed on the market if it contains PFAS in a concentration equal to or above the following limit values:
25 ppb for any PFAS as measured with targeted PFAS analysis (polymeric PFAS excluded)
250 ppb for the sum of PFAS measured as the sum of targeted PFAS analysis (polymeric PFAS excluded)
50 ppm for PFASs (polymeric PFAS included)
In the meantime, EU is in the process of evaluating the universal PFAS restriction proposal by ECHA’s scientific committees. The final outcome may extend this PFAS restriction to more sectors beyond food packaging with far-reaching implications.
The PPWR also includes the existing restrictive measures for chemicals under EU REACH (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006) and FCM Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004). The sum of the concentrations of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium resulting from substances present in packaging or packaging components shall not exceed 100 mg/kg.
The text of PPWR can be accessed here.
