Directive 94/62/EC: Packaging Rules and the 2026 PPWR Shift

Directive 94/62/EC sets the packaging requirements that apply across the European Union: every piece of packaging placed on the EU market must meet essential rules on design, composition, reusability, and recoverability, stay under a combined 100 ppm limit for four heavy metals, and be covered by an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme in each member state where it is sold. Adopted on 20 December 1994, the directive was written to keep national packaging rules from turning into trade barriers between member states, and it applies throughout the EU and the wider European Economic Area, so Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein transpose it as well. From 12 August 2026, Regulation (EU) 2025/40 — the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, or PPWR — replaces the directive with stricter, directly applicable rules, though several transitional provisions of the old text remain in force through 2028 and 2029.¹

What Packaging Is Covered

The directive applies to all packaging placed on the market and all packaging waste, whatever the material and whatever the sector. Plastic, glass, paper, metal, wood, textiles, and composites are all in scope. The law sorts packaging by function rather than by material:²

Primary or sales packaging — the container the end consumer handles at purchase, such as a bottle or a box.
Secondary or grouped packaging — an outer layer bundling several sales units, like a cardboard tray of six bottles, which can be removed without affecting the product.
Tertiary or transport packaging — wrapping, pallets, and crates used to protect goods during shipping. Road, rail, ship, and air containers are explicitly excluded.

Manufacturers, importers, and distributors each carry responsibility for the packaging they place on the market.

Essential Requirements Under Annex II

Annex II sets binding rules that packaging must satisfy before it can legally be sold in the EU. They cover three things: how the packaging is made, whether it can be reused, and how it can be recovered at end of life.³

Composition and Minimisation

Weight and volume must be limited to the minimum needed to keep the product safe, hygienic, and acceptable to the consumer. Extra layers or oversized containers that serve no protective function are not permitted. The materials themselves must minimise the presence of hazardous substances, because those substances end up in emissions, ash, or leachate when the waste is later incinerated or landfilled.²

Reusable Packaging

Packaging marketed as reusable must clear three conditions at once. The physical design has to withstand multiple trips through the supply chain under normal use. It must be cleanable and refillable in a way that meets health and safety standards for workers. And once it finally becomes waste, it still has to qualify as recoverable. A reusable crate that cannot eventually be recycled or composted fails the test.

Recovery and Recyclability

Every piece of packaging must be designed for at least one end-of-life pathway. Recyclable packaging must allow a meaningful percentage of its weight to be turned into new products. Compostable packaging must biodegrade without contaminating the organic waste stream. Packaging processed for energy recovery must deliver enough heat value to make incineration worthwhile.³

Compliance with harmonised European standards published in the Official Journal creates a legal presumption that packaging meets these essential requirements. CEN standard EN 13427, for example, sets out practical guidelines companies can follow to demonstrate conformity.⁴

The 100 ppm Heavy Metal Limit

Article 11 caps four toxic metals: lead, cadmium, mercury, and hexavalent chromium. Their combined concentration must not exceed 100 parts per million by weight in any packaging or packaging component. The threshold was phased in over five years and has been fully in force since 1999.²

The limit applies to the finished packaging, not only the base material, so pigments, stabilisers, and inks can quietly push the total over the ceiling. Regular laboratory testing is the standard way to catch problems before goods reach the market.

Exemption for Plastic Crates and Pallets

Commission Decision 2009/292/EC allows plastic crates and plastic pallets to exceed 100 ppm, but only in a closed loop. The excess metals must come solely from recycled material in a controlled recycling process, not from any intentional addition. The recycled feedstock must come from other plastic crates or pallets, and any new material added is capped at 20% by weight.⁵

Exempted items must be permanently and visibly marked. Member states must ensure that at least 90% of dispatched crates and pallets are returned to the manufacturer or an authorised representative, and units no longer fit for reuse must be recycled back into the same loop or disposed of under a procedure authorised by national authorities. Companies operating under the exemption are required to keep detailed inventory records tracking every unit entering and leaving the chain.⁵

Lead crystal glass also qualifies for an exemption on similar closed-loop logic, under a separate set of conditions.

Marking and Material Identification

Article 8 established a numbering and abbreviation system for identifying the material used in packaging: plastics, paper, cardboard, metals, wood, textiles, and glass each have their own codes. Under the directive, using the system is voluntary. Where codes are applied, they must appear on the packaging or an attached label and stay legible after transport and handling.²

Because adoption has been inconsistent, sorting facilities see a mix of marked and unmarked packaging, which is one of the practical problems the PPWR sets out to fix with mandatory harmonised labels.

Declaration of Conformity and Technical File

Compliance under the directive runs on self-certification. The responsible party signs a Declaration of Conformity stating that the packaging meets all essential requirements and that a full technical file exists to back that statement up. The file has to include material descriptions, manufacturing process details, laboratory test results for the four heavy metals, and supplier declarations verifying that individual components are themselves compliant.

For reusable packaging, the file must also carry evidence that the packaging can withstand multiple use cycles and be cleaned and refilled safely. Signed supplier declarations matter here: they push liability for undisclosed hazardous materials back down the chain to whoever actually introduced them.

A market surveillance authority can request the file at any time, and it must be produced promptly. Failure to deliver the documentation can result in fines or a ban on sale of the product.

Extended Producer Responsibility

The directive requires each member state to set up a system making producers financially responsible for their packaging waste, but leaves the details to national governments. The result is a patchwork: a company selling packaging in several EU countries has to register separately in each one, on that country’s timetable, and pay country-specific fees.

Germany’s regime is among the most demanding. Producers must register with the LUCID Packaging Register, which is publicly searchable, and contract with an approved dual system operator. Actual packaging volumes for the prior year have to be reported by 15 May.⁶

Other member states run comparable systems through different operators: Citeo or Leko in France, CONAI and its material consortia in Italy, Ecoembes in Spain, Afvalfonds in the Netherlands, BDO in Poland. Fees are almost always based on the type and weight of packaging material, with plastics attracting the highest rates.

Enforcement and Market Surveillance

Neither the directive nor the PPWR fixes EU-wide penalty amounts. Both require member states to introduce measures that are effective, proportionate, and dissuasive, which is why the financial consequences of non-compliance vary by country. In Germany, failure to register with LUCID can trigger a sales ban and fines up to €200,000.

Under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance, national authorities can carry out unannounced on-site visits, enter premises or transport used by a business, demand documents and supply-chain data, and purchase product samples anonymously for laboratory testing. Economic operators must have their EU declarations of conformity and technical documentation ready to hand over on request.⁷

Consequences of non-compliance range from administrative fines under national packaging law to product delistings by online platforms and outright market access bans by competent authorities.

What Changes Under the PPWR From 12 August 2026

Regulation (EU) 2025/40 entered into force on 11 February 2025 and applies from 12 August 2026, replacing Directive 94/62/EC. Because it is a regulation rather than a directive, it applies directly and uniformly across all member states, without national transposition. That alone removes a large part of the inconsistency cross-border sellers dealt with under the old framework.⁸

Minimisation and Empty Space

Packaging must be designed so that its weight, shape, and volume are the minimum necessary for its function. From 12 August 2026, e-commerce parcels are subject to a 40% empty space cap. By 2030, grouped, transport, and e-commerce packaging cannot exceed 50% empty space.⁹

PFAS Limits in Food-Contact Packaging

From 12 August 2026, the PPWR bans per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in food-contact packaging. The rules cover takeaway containers, pizza boxes, paper cups, wrappers, and moulded fibre trays. Three thresholds apply at once:¹

No more than 25 ppb for any single targeted non-polymeric PFAS compound.
No more than 250 ppb for all targeted non-polymeric PFAS compounds combined.
No more than 50 ppm total organic fluorine, which captures polymeric PFAS.

There is no grace period. Packaging manufactured before the deadline that exceeds these limits cannot be sold after 12 August 2026. The restriction covers accidental cross-contamination from recycled fibres, which is a real concern for anyone sourcing recycled paperboard. Suppliers should be ready to provide a Declaration of Conformity referencing both the PPWR and Regulation (EC) 1935/2004 on food-contact materials.

Mandatory Recycled Content in Plastic Packaging

The PPWR introduces mandatory minimum percentages of post-consumer recycled content in plastic packaging. By 2030, targets run from 10% to 35% depending on polymer type and application, with contact-sensitive packaging such as PET beverage bottles at 30%. By 2040, the range rises to 25%–65%. Targets are calculated as averages per manufacturing plant per year, and only material discarded after consumer use counts.

Reuse and Refill Targets

Phased reuse targets apply to specific categories. By 1 January 2030, at least 40% of transport packaging such as boxes, trays, and plastic crates must be reusable within a reuse system, and at least 10% of beverage distributor packaging must be reusable. By 2040, those figures rise to 70% and 40%. Food-service businesses face their own timetable: from February 2027, restaurants and takeaway outlets must let customers bring their own containers; from February 2028, they must offer food in reusable packaging; from 2030, at least 10% of products must be available in reusable packaging. Online sellers must offer a reusable shipping option at checkout from 2030, and it cannot be presented as less attractive than the single-use default.

Harmonised Labels

Article 12 of the PPWR replaces the voluntary Article 8 marking system with mandatory harmonised labelling. All packaging must carry a label showing its material composition. By August 2028, packaging must also display a pictogram indicating the correct waste container. Reusable packaging needs its own label by February 2029. Information on recycled content, bio-based plastic proportions, and substances of concern will be delivered through QR codes or other digital data carriers, with substances-of-concern labelling required by 1 January 2030. The Commission published a Technical Proposal for EU Harmonised Waste Sorting Labels in January 2026.¹⁰

Updated Declaration of Conformity

Under Article 39 and Annex VIII, the Declaration of Conformity must follow a prescribed structure and include a unique identifier for the packaging type, manufacturer details, the legal reference to the PPWR, any harmonised standards applied, and an authorised signatory. It must be translated into the languages required by each member state where the packaging is sold. Technical documentation retention rises to five years for single-use packaging and ten years for reusable packaging, and the file must include design and manufacturing drawings, test reports, calculations, and explanations of how each applicable requirement is met.¹

EPR Fee Modulation and E-Commerce Reach

The PPWR standardises the national landscape by mandating producer registers in every member state under Article 44 and requiring EPR fees to be modulated based on how recyclable the packaging actually is. Packaging that scores well on recyclability performance grades pays less; packaging that is hard to recycle pays more. Online marketplaces that handle logistics for third-party sellers are explicitly named as responsible actors, and non-EU companies shipping directly to EU consumers must appoint an authorised representative within the EU, which closes an enforcement gap under the old directive.¹

Transitional Overlap With the Directive

The switch is not a clean break. Several provisions of Directive 94/62/EC keep running on a transitional basis after 12 August 2026:

Essential requirements under Annex II, first indent: Article 9(1) and (2) continue to apply until 31 December 2029.
Marking and identification: Article 8(2) stays in force until 30 months after the Commission adopts the implementing act for the new harmonised labels.
Recycling and recovery targets: Article 6(1)(d) and (e) and Article 6a continue until 31 December 2028.
Data reporting: parts of Article 12 remain active until 31 December 2028 or 2029, depending on the specific obligation.

In practice, both frameworks run in parallel during the transition, and businesses need to track which requirements come from which instrument until the last transitional provisions expire at the end of 2029.¹

1
EUR-Lex. Regulation EU 2025/40 – PPWR
2
EUR-Lex. European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC – Full Text
3
EUR-Lex. European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994 on Packaging and Packaging Waste
4
Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Packaging and Packaging Waste
5
EUR-Lex. Decision 2009/292/EC
6
Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister. ZSVR Home
7
EUR-Lex. Market Surveillance and Compliance of Products
8
European Commission. Packaging Waste
9
EUR-Lex. Packaging and Packaging Waste (From 2026)
10
EU Policy Lab. From Evidence to Action – Publishing the Technical Proposal for EU Harmonised Waste Sorting Labels