EU packaging regulation (PPWR) checker: which duties apply to your packaging and by when? Free, private

Which EU packaging rules (PPWR) reach your packaging, and by when?

Pick the packaging, its material, your role and where you are established. You get a dated timeline (producer registration, PFAS limits, label, recyclability, recycled content, the 50 percent empty-space rule), whether an EU operator stands behind it, and the duties still open.

A first read of Regulation (EU) 2025/40. Dates were written from memory and can move with EU delegated and implementing acts. It is not legal advice.

What the packaging is

Main material

Your role

Where you are established

Do you sell into the EU?

Is an EU producer, importer or authorised representative named for it?

Is your firm a microenterprise (under 10 staff and under 2 million euro turnover)?

Reference date (blank = today)

Heavy metals and PFAS limits are met (supplier declarations in hand)

Technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity exist

You are registered as a producer in each EU country you sell into, with an authorised representative where you sell from abroad

You check that producers you serve are registered

Your drinks containers are inside a deposit-return system

The harmonised material and sorting label is planned or on the packaging

The packaging is designed for recycling against the criteria

Recycled content in plastic packaging is documented

Packaging weight and volume are minimised

Shipping boxes leave 50 percent or less empty space

Reuse targets for transport packaging are met

Restricted single-use formats are avoided

Choose the packaging, material, your role and where you are established, then click Check my packaging.

Result

Timeline of duties for your packaging and role

Applies from	Status	Duty	Basis

What it does, and what it leaves to you

Scope: packaging placed on the EU market, including shipping packaging an online seller sends to EU buyers and the packaging around imported goods.
Timeline: duties are filtered by packaging use, material and role and ordered by the date they apply from. The first read lists the main duties; it is not every article of the Regulation.
Not decided: whether your packaging meets the recyclability grade, the exact recycled-content percentage per format, national registration fees and deadlines, national penalties, and sector-law conformity.

Common questions

Does the EU packaging regulation (PPWR) apply to my online shop?

Yes if you ship packaged goods to EU buyers. Regulation (EU) 2025/40 covers packaging of every kind placed on the EU market, including shipping cartons and mailers used by online sellers outside the EU, who need producer registration and an authorised representative in each country they sell into.

When does the PPWR start to apply?

In general from 12 August 2026. Most design duties (recyclability, recycled content in plastic, minimisation, the 50 percent empty-space limit for e-commerce packaging) follow from 1 January 2030, and the harmonised label from August 2028.

What is the 50 percent empty-space rule?

Grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging may leave at most 50 percent of its volume empty, which is aimed at oversized shipping boxes. It applies from 1 January 2030.

Do I need an authorised representative to sell packaged goods into the EU from outside?

A producer not established in an EU country where it sells needs an authorised representative there for producer registration and recycling financing. A seller shipping direct to buyers is treated as the producer.

Is my data uploaded anywhere?

No. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is sent; a test in the code asserts there are no network calls.