A new European Union packaging regulation introduces waste reduction targets and will require all packaging placed on the EU market is recyclable and carries recycling labeling.
The regulation also introduces new requirements for packaging minimization, minimum recycled content in plastic packaging, re-use targets for packaging, and bans certain packaging formats, according to a USDA summary.
In March 2024, the Council of the European Union and European Parliament concluded negotiations on the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Regulation, the report said. The current text is going through a legal review but is now de facto final and is expected to be formally adopted in by this summer, according to the USDA summary.
Following formal adoption, the text will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force 20 days after publication and will start to apply 18 months after the entry into force.
PPWR requires each member state to progressively reduce the packaging waste generated per capita compared to a 2018 baseline level by at least 5% by 2030, 10% by 2035 and 15% by 2040, the USDA summary said.
The PPWR also details recycling targets of packaging waste that member states must meet, according to the report. The PPWR also mandates that all packaging placed on the EU market will be recyclable.
Starting Jan. 1, 2030, the regulation will ban single-use plastic packaging for less than 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) of prepacked fresh fruit and vegetables, according to the USDA summary.
In addition, within 36 months following the regulation’s entry into force, sticky labels attached to fruits and vegetables will be required to be compostable in industrially controlled conditions in bio-waste treatment facilities and shall be compatible, when required by the member states, with home composting standards.
