The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is an EU law aimed at reducing packaging waste and making packaging more recyclable and reusable. It has been adopted by the entire European Union, with surrounding countries adopting similar types of sustainability laws, including Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

What are the requirements, and how does it apply?

PPWR is intended to benefit consumers by reducing unnecessary packaging and packaging waste. It was designed to encourage more recyclable and reusable packaging, improve the use of recycled materials, and make disposal information clearer and more consistent for consumers. It should also help reduce the overall environmental impact of packaging as well as shift more of the responsibility from consumers toward the companies that design, produce, and place packaging on the market. This shift in responsibility might force changes to packaging and materials, which initially could increase costs for businesses and potentially be passed on to consumers.

PPWR was formally adopted on December 19, 2024, and entered into force on February 11, 2025. But its general requirements apply from August 12, 2026.

The PPWR requirements broadly cover:

  • Manufacturers and importers placing packaging or packaged products on the EU market.
  • Distributors and retailers selling packaged products in the EU.
  • Businesses using packaging for transport, e-commerce, food service, etc.
  • Packaging producers and companies responsible for packaging design or materials.
  • EU member states and their waste-management or recycling systems.

In short: if a business puts packaging or packaged products onto the European Union market, PPWR may apply, even if they’re based outside the European Union.

Enforcement is going to come into effect now that general PPWR requirements start applying on August 12, 2026, and for organizations that don’t comply with PPWR, the consequences may include:

  • Fines, where each EU country is allowed to set its own penalties, as long as they’re effective and dissuasive.
  • Products or packaging are being withdrawn or recalled from the market.
  • Being prohibited from placing non-compliant packaging on the EU market.
  • Authorities can require you to correct the packaging and provide technical documentation.

Why is PPWR compliance challenging?

However, not all products are created equal. A simple package made from a small number of well-understood, recyclable components is much easier to make PPWR-compliant than a package whose performance depends on multiple materials being permanently bonded together.

For example:

It would be comparatively straightforward to assess and optimize a simple shampoo bottle made from a mono-material HDPE/PET bottle with a compatible cap, minimal components, clear material identification, and established recycling infrastructure. Or a glass jam jar using one main, well-established recyclable material, with a separate metal lid that can be readily identified and processed.

By contrast, a bag of chips would be much harder to assess and optimize because it typically uses several very thin layers of different materials that are bonded together to keep the chips fresh and crisp. A coffee pod could be equally challenging to make PPWR-compliant because it can combine several different materials, such as plastic or aluminum, a filter, coffee grounds, and sometimes additional layers or coatings, into a small package. Those layers make the packaging lightweight and effective, but also make recyclability and demonstrating PPWR compliance much more challenging.

If you’re a large CPG/FMCG, food, beverage, cosmetics, household-products, or similar organization with thousands of SKUs, multiple packaging components, suppliers, regions, and product teams, a software solution can be the more compelling strategic choice. PPWR compliance becomes an output of a broader specification-management capability, rather than a standalone compliance exercise, and often ties in with an organization’s overall digital transformation.

PPWR compliance software: what are the options?

Several software vendors have already developed solutions that help organizations comply with the PPWR framework, because operational knowledge shouldn’t live in a Spreadsheet. Here is a non-exhaustive list of suitable vendors:

LevelSolutionShort descriptionProsCons
BasicPPWR ConnectFocused PPWR compliance, packaging data, DoCs, recyclability and EPR.Simple, focused, relatively quick to adoptLess suited to complex enterprise environments
Basic / MidPPWRifyPPWR-focused packaging/product management, DoCs, reporting and labeling.Broad PPWR functionality; focused approachMore specialized than enterprise platforms
MidPAQRPackaging data collection, supplier collaboration and automated DoCs.Strong supplier-data workflow; good PPWR focus; auditabilityPrimarily centered on packaging compliance
Mid / AdvancedPackaPackaging management, structured packaging data, supplier documentation, PPWR and EPR.Strong packaging focus; useful for consumer-goods organizationsLess broad than a full enterprise specification platform
Advanced / EnterpriseSpecrightEnterprise specification management platform that creates a structured source of truth for all packaging, materials and supplier data, supporting PPWR and other compliance requirements.Excellent fit for complex global packaging portfolios; strong specification management; component-level data; product lifecycle management; supplier collaboration; integrations; highly configurable; can support PPWR as part of a broader product-data strategyBroader than a PPWR-only solution; organizations primarily looking only for regulatory reporting may not need all of its capabilities
Advanced / EnterpriseosapiensEnterprise compliance platform covering PPWR alongside regulations such as EUDR and CSRD.Strong regulatory-compliance automation; broad coverage; attractive for organizations wanting multiple compliance workflows in one platformLess centered on specification management and packaging/product data as the core system of record

How is PPWR different from EPR?

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is essentially the “who pays for the packaging waste?” part of the equation.

While PPWR rules about how packaging is designed and what it must be like, EPR rules make producers financially and/or operationally responsible for the packaging they put on the market. That also includes the collection, sorting, and recycling.

So, for example, if you sell 1 million packaged products in France, PPWR determines whether your packaging meets the required standards, while EPR determines your obligations and fees for the packaging waste you generate.

While the two are closely connected, PPWR is the packaging regulation, while EPR is the producer-responsibility system. Depending on the country. EPR is not an alternative to PPWR; it’s a different type of regulation.

  • 🇪🇺 EU: PPWR sets packaging design/material requirements, while EPR schemes handle producer responsibility and waste costs.
  • 🇬🇧 UK: Primarily uses EPR for packaging, with additional packaging requirements such as recycled-content and recyclability rules. It doesn’t have one single regulation equivalent to PPWR.
  • 🇺🇸 US: No single federal equivalent to PPWR. Packaging regulation is largely state-by-state, with several states introducing EPR laws and other packaging requirements.
  • 🇨🇦 Canada: Primarily provincial EPR systems, rather than one national PPWR-style regulation.
  • 🇦🇺 Australia: Uses a combination of mandatory packaging requirements and voluntary industry schemes, including the Australian Packaging Covenant.
  • 🇯🇵 Japan: Has specific packaging recycling legislation and producer responsibilities, rather than one broad PPWR-style regulation.

So the important takeaway for a multinational company is: you can’t simply comply with EPR or PPWR and assume you’re covered globally. You need to look at each market’s combination of packaging design requirements + EPR + labeling, and reporting obligations.