PPWR from August 2026: What the New EU Packaging Regulation Really Means for Your Shipping
On 12 August 2026, the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR, Regulation (EU) 2025/40) becomes directly applicable across all member states. It changes what a packaging decision is even allowed to rest on. Reaching for the cheapest box today only pushes the real cost further down the line, because from that date what counts is no longer how packaging looks, but whether its claims can be supported.
We get a lot of questions about this from online retailers. Here is the practical overview, without the legal fine print.
What changes on 12 August 2026
The PPWR entered into force in February 2025 and applies, after a transition period, from 12 August 2026. From then on, companies must hold a declaration of conformity and technical documentation for every type of packaging they use. Packaging becomes a decision that has to be planned and evidenced from the start, rather than a final step at the end of the supply chain.
Recyclability has to be provable
The core of the regulation is provable recyclability. From 2030, only packaging in recyclability grades A to C may be placed on the market, and from 2038, only A and B. Packaging that is recyclable in theory but ends up in residual waste in practice does not meet this standard. What is required is evidence that the material genuinely returns to an existing collection stream.
This is exactly where we start. Our packaging is made from more than 97 percent recycled paper and can be disposed of entirely in the paper stream, with nothing for your customers to separate. The insulation is cellulose based. There is no composite that complicates recovery.
Empty space becomes a compliance question
The regulation also limits empty space in transport, grouped and e-commerce packaging. Oversized boxes filled with cushioning material become a regulatory matter. The right size used to be a question of cost and appearance. From August 2026 it is part of the rules. Anyone who fits packaging to the product, rather than the other way around, has the advantage here.
What you can usefully do now
Start by mapping which packaging types you actually use and for what. For each one, check whether you could prove that it is recyclable and which collection stream it ends up in. Look at how much empty space your shipments carry. And plan the switch early, because a solution that holds up needs lead time.
The cheap route today is rarely the cheap route across the coming years. We help you set up your packaging so it meets the upcoming requirements on its own terms. Get in touch: https://www.supaso.eu/kontakt