Understand how the EU PPWR impacts UK producers

The EU PPWR impacts all producers placing goods on the market in the EU and NI. Understand what it is and how UK producers could be impacted.

26 June 2026

What new measures does the PPWR contain?

The PPWR is an ambitious regulation that contains numerous regulatory measures which affects all packaging within the EU market. Key intervention areas contained within the text includes recyclability of packaging, recycled content, labelling requirements and waste minimisation. These include:  

• All packaging to be recyclable by 1 January 2030, in line with recyclability criteria that will be released beforehand. From 1 January 2035, all packaging will also have to be recycled at scale. 
• Contact sensitive PET plastic packaging must contain 30% recycled content by 2023, and 50% by 2040. Single-use drinks containers must contain 30% and 65% recycled content by the same dates, and for all other plastic packaging the target sit at 35% and 65%.  
• By 2028, there will be a number of harmonised labelling obligations. Mandatory information will include packaging material composition, reusability information and recycled content.  
• Further packaging bans – or ‘restrictions’ – include single-use packaging for fruit and vegetables, sachets of sauces and condiments, and miniature toiletry bottles found in the hotel sector by 1 January 2030.  
• By 2030 10%, and by 2024 40%, of all drinks and beverage containers sold to consumers must be sold with a reuse suitable format.  

There are a number of derogations and clauses attached to the measures – for instance certain exemptions for packaging around licensed human medicines or around food intended for infants.  

How does this affect individual EU member states?

The move to a regulation from a directive means the legislation is directly applicable in all EU Member States (MS), and article 4 of the text means MS cannot prohibit, restrict or impede the placing on the market of packaging that complies with the regulations' requirements. 

However, the regulation also allows MS to maintain or introduce national packaging measures too, as long as they don’t conflict with the PPWR and are ‘proportionate and non-discriminatory’. This means compliance with the PPWR across EU nations may be slightly different.  

How will the PPWR work?

Although the details have yet to be established, the regulation sets out some broad compliance activities that producers will need to perform.  

After August 2026 we expect details on registration and reporting to have been outlined, and by mid-2027 a full register of obligated businesses to have been produced. This will tie in with already established Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes in each MS that will be required to: 

• Allocate a share of packaging producer funds to financing reduction and prevention actions
• Modulate EPR fees based on packaging recyclability performance grades (mandatory) and recycled content (voluntary)  

Impact of the PPWR on producers

The soon-to-be reformed PPWD (the previous version of the new regulation) was originally transposed into pre-Brexit UK law in the late 1990s. Being a Directive meant a certain amount of discretion in its implementation - for instance, the UK introduced market-based recycling evidence notes (PRN/PeRNs) which was at odds with most of its European counterparts. 

However, now the new PPWR has been passed in the EU, the differences in EU packaging policy compared to the UK will become even more pronounced, especially considering the UK’s unique Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework. 

The impacts for producers trading in the EU and the UK may be significant, so businesses should start preparing for the changes the PPWR may bring to their operations as soon as possible.  

Impact of the PPWR on the UK

Because the existing directive was transposed into UK law before exiting the EU, under the Northern Ireland Protocol the changes resultant of the PPWR being enacted into a regulation will likely need to be implemented there, to an extent.

This is because government believes that UK manufacturers and producers of packaging will almost certainly ensure all of their packaging products conform with the new EU legislation, regardless of where it is sold, to ease financial and administrative burdens.

Although some of the proposed reforms may align with developing UK regulations, many will not, meaning government and the devolved administrations should consider how the two sets of legislation interact.

We expect further information on this in due course.

What should you do now?

The impact of the PPWR will depend on the final details in the enacted regulation and the activities of any given organisation. It is likely to have varying degrees of impact within a supply chain.

As a minimum, producers should take steps now to fully understand their packaging portfolio via robust data collection to provide the insights necessary to drive their packaging strategy. This will put them in the best position to analyse the impacts of UK packaging EPR legislation and the upcoming EU PPWR on their business. Our packaging data analytics are a great place to start.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about how this may impact your organisation, please contact your account manager directly who will be happy to help you.

External resources

You can find a range of resources about the PPWD on the official website of the EU.