EU packaging regulation takes effect with PFAS restrictions and phased compliance

The European Union's most ambitious overhaul of packaging law in three decades took legal effect on 12 August, when the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) replaced the 1994 directive that had governed the sector since the single market's early years. The regulation does not impose every requirement at once; instead it staggers obligations across the coming years, beginning with a restriction on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in packaging that comes into contact with food.

Businesses placing packaged goods on the EU market must now hold a declaration of conformity demonstrating that their food-contact packaging meets the new PFAS thresholds. The rule applies to manufacturers, importers and distributors alike, and covers both the packaging itself and any components such as labels, adhesives or inks that could migrate into food. The European Commission published updated guidance this month in a frequently asked questions document that sets out how national authorities should handle the transition.

Why PFAS came first

PFAS, often called forever chemicals because they persist in the environment and accumulate in living organisms, have been detected in drinking water, soil and human blood across Europe. The Commission's impact assessment for the regulation identified food packaging as a significant exposure pathway. By targeting these substances first, the co-legislators, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, signalled that health protection takes precedence over the recyclability and reuse targets that dominate later phases of the law.

The thresholds are set at 25 parts per billion for any individual PFAS measured with targeted analysis, 250 parts per billion for the sum of targeted PFAS, and 50 parts per million for total fluorine as a screening indicator. Companies that cannot meet these limits must either reformulate their packaging or withdraw it from the market. The Commission has indicated that derogations will be narrow and time-limited, granted only where no technically feasible alternative exists for a specific medical or safety application.

A compliance declaration, not a licence

The declaration of conformity is a self-certification document, not a pre-market approval. The economic operator, typically the packaging manufacturer or the brand owner placing the product on the market, must draw it up, keep it for ten years and make it available to market surveillance authorities on request. It must identify the packaging, the applicable PPWR requirements, the standards or technical specifications used, and the results of any testing. False declarations expose the signatory to penalties under national law, which member states are required to finalise by 12 February 2027.

The Commission's FAQ makes clear that the declaration obligation applies from day one. However, it also states that enforcement "should not disrupt trade flows, supply chains or consumer access to goods." This phrasing reflects a deliberate political choice: the regulation is a regulation, directly applicable in all 27 member states, but the Commission wants to avoid a cliff-edge that could empty supermarket shelves or trigger trade disputes at internal borders.

Enforcement philosophy: support before sanctions

The Commission's guidance to national market surveillance authorities is unusually explicit about tone. Authorities "should, rather than following a sanction-oriented approach, support the responsible economic operators in complying with the new rules, for instance with awareness-raising, requests for information or requests for corrective action with a reasonable timeline for adaptation." The text, reproduced verbatim from the FAQ, suggests that the first interaction between an inspector and a non-compliant company will be a request for information or a corrective action plan, not a fine or a recall order.

Only if the operator fails to act within the given timeline can the authority escalate to measures such as prohibiting the packaging from being made available on the market, ordering its withdrawal or recalling units already supplied. This graduated approach mirrors the enforcement ladder used for the REACH chemicals regulation and the General Product Safety Regulation, both of which prioritise bringing products into compliance over removing them from circulation.

Member states still need to set penalties

While the PPWR is directly applicable, the regulation leaves the level and structure of financial penalties to national legislatures. Article 63 requires each member state to lay down rules on penalties that are "effective, proportionate and dissuasive" and to notify the Commission of those rules by 12 February 2027. Until then, authorities can rely on existing penalty frameworks under national packaging laws, but the specificity of the new obligations, particularly the PFAS thresholds and the declaration of conformity, may require fresh legislative instruments in several capitals.

Industry associations have warned that divergent national penalty regimes could create an uneven playing field. A French company facing a maximum fine of €150,000 for a first offence might calculate compliance costs differently from a Polish competitor facing a ceiling of €500,000. The Commission has encouraged member states to coordinate through the Administrative Cooperation Group for market surveillance, but coordination is voluntary and the regulation does not mandate harmonised fines.

Implementing acts will shape the next decade

The PFAS restriction and the declaration of conformity are only the first visible pieces of a much larger regulatory architecture. The Commission is currently drafting implementing acts on recycled content methodology and calculation rules, empty space ratios for e-commerce and grouped packaging, design-for-recycling criteria, labelling specifications for material identification and reuse systems, and the definition of "high-quality recycling" that will determine whether a packaging format counts toward the 2030 and 2040 targets.

These acts will be adopted under the examination procedure, giving the European Parliament and the Council a right of scrutiny but not a veto. The timeline is aggressive: the recycled content methodology is expected by late 2026, the empty space rules by mid-2027, and the design-for-recycling criteria by end-2027. Each will trigger new compliance deadlines for businesses, many of which will need to invest in new production lines, collection infrastructure or data systems.

Reuse targets remain the biggest unknown

The regulation sets mandatory reuse targets for 2030 and indicative targets for 2040 across several packaging categories: 10% for takeaway beverage cups, 10% for transport packaging (excluding cardboard), 5% for grouped packaging, and 10% for beverage packaging (excluding wine and spirits). The 2030 figures are binding; the 2040 figures will be reviewed in 2028 based on market developments, technological progress and life-cycle assessments.

The beverage industry, in particular, has argued that the reuse targets conflict with the recyclability targets and could increase overall environmental impact if reusable containers are not returned at sufficiently high rates. The Commission's own impact assessment acknowledged that the net benefit of reuse depends on return rates, transport distances and washing energy. The 2028 review clause was inserted precisely because the co-legislators recognised the uncertainty. Until then, companies must prepare for both compliance paths.

What businesses should do now

For any company placing packaged goods on the EU market, the immediate priority is to verify that food-contact packaging meets the PFAS thresholds and to compile the declaration of conformity. Supply chain mapping is essential: many brand owners do not know the full chemical composition of the packaging they source, especially for imported components. Testing laboratories are reporting backlogs as demand for PFAS analysis surges.

Beyond the August deadline, companies should monitor the implementing act pipeline closely. The recycled content methodology will determine how much post-consumer recycled plastic counts toward the 2030 targets (30% for contact-sensitive PET, 10% for other contact-sensitive plastics, 30% for single-use plastic beverage bottles, 35% for other plastic packaging). The empty space ratio, likely capped at 50% for e-commerce and grouped packaging, will force a redesign of shipping cartons and void-fill systems. Labelling rules will require harmonised pictograms for material identification and, where applicable, reuse instructions.