EU PPWR Compliance Guide for PET Sheets & Blister Packaging

2026 Edition · Practical requirements, staging and documentation for EU-bound PET, rPET and GAG packaging

At a glance

Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR) replaces Directive 94/62/EC and applies directly in all 27 Member States from 12 August 2026, with staged obligations running to 2040.

Three shifts matter most: a Regulation replaces a Directive (one EU-wide threshold, no low-standard entry point); recyclability becomes a market-access condition rather than a claim; and compliance must be evidenced through technical documentation and an EU Declaration of Conformity — there is no PPWR certificate.

  1. What the PPWR Is — and Why It Changes the Rules

The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR) — replaces the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC) after nearly 30 years.

Two structural changes matter more than any single threshold:

1. A Regulation, not a Directive. The PPWR applies directly and uniformly in all 27 Member States, with no national transposition. There is now one EU-wide compliance threshold — and no low-standard entry point to route shipments through.

2. Evidence, not claims. Compliance is demonstrated through conformity assessment, technical documentation (Annex VII) and an EU Declaration of Conformity (Annex VIII). There is no such thing as a "PPWR certificate".

Note on phasing. 12 August 2026 is the general application date, but not every obligation starts on that day. Recycled-content quotas, recyclability grading, format bans and reuse targets take effect in stages through 2030, 2035, 2038 and 2040. Planning should follow that schedule, not a single deadline.

  2. Core Requirements for PET & rPET Blister Packaging

2.1 Substance restrictions — from 12 August 2026

Scope matters. The PFAS restriction applies only to food-contact packaging. Medical device blisters, pharmaceutical blisters and electronics inserts fall outside the scope of that restriction — this is a scope question, not an exemption to be claimed. The 100 mg/kg heavy-metal limit, by contrast, applies to every packaging unit without exception.

If total fluorine exceeds 50 mg/kg, the manufacturer or importer must provide evidence on the origin of the fluorine (PFAS or non-PFAS) to support the technical file.

2.2 Minimum recycled content — 2030 and 2040

Minimum share of post-consumer recyclate (PCR), calculated as an annual average per manufacturing plant:

Three points that decide whether a figure actually qualifies:

· Only post-consumer material counts. Production scrap, in-house regrind and industrial pre-consumer waste are not creditable.

· Plastic components below 5 % of the total packaging unit weight are exempt — a useful rule for minor parts such as labels, closures or inserts.

· Exemptions apply to direct-contact pharmaceutical packaging, certain medical device packaging, infant formula and special-medical-purpose food packaging, compostable plastic packaging, and packaging for the transport of dangerous goods. A further exemption applies where adding recyclate would breach food-contact legislation (Regulation (EC) 1935/2004).

2.3 Design for Recycling and recyclability performance grades

The PPWR grades recyclability performance by the share of a packaging unit that is recyclable, by weight:

Grade	Recyclable share	Market access
A	≥ 95 %	Permitted
B	≥ 80 %	Permitted
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