Packaging legislation.
Gain an overview of the current and upcoming rules on producer responsibility for packaging, including the Directive, the current Executive Order, and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation applicable from 12 August 2026.
Packaging Directive
The EU’s revised Packaging Directive sets out requirements relating to extended producer responsibility, product design, consumption reduction, and the achievement of environmental targets for the recycling of used packaging materials.
Executive Order on Packaging
Executive Order on certain requirements for packaging, extended producer responsibility for packaging, and other waste collected together with packaging waste.
Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) establishes requirements for packaging design and sustainability, the prevention and reduction of packaging waste, reuse and recycling, producer responsibility, and harmonised rules for packaging on the EU internal market.
Producer responsibility for packaging means that companies that put packaging on the market are legally and financially responsible for it when it becomes waste. The rules are based on the EU’s polluter pays principle. This places responsibility for the collection, management and treatment of packaging waste on the companies that put the packaging into circulation, rather than on citizens and municipalities.
The legislation provides the framework for companies’ obligations and sets out requirements relating to registration, reporting, payment and documentation.
The aim is to reduce packaging waste, promote reuse and high-quality recycling, and support the development of more sustainable packaging solutions. The rules are also intended to contribute to a more harmonised EU market, ensuring that companies are subject to consistent requirements across Member States.
Environmental targets
All areas of producer responsibility are subject to targets for the collection of used products and materials in each Member State. The quantities collected are also subject to minimum requirements for the percentage by weight of each material category that must be recycled and recovered. The recycling and recovery targets apply both to each EU Member State and to each producer or producer responsibility scheme.
Recycling targets for packaging materials
| Material type | Original targets (% by weight) | Current targets (% by weight) from 2025 | Future targets (% by weight) from 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All packaging | 55 | 65 | 70 |
| Plastic | 25 | 50 | 55 |
| Wood | 15 | 25 | 30 |
| Ferrous metals | 50 (incl. Al) | 70 | 80 |
| Aluminium (non-ferrous) | - | 50 | 60 |
| Glass | 60 | 70 | 75 |
| Paper | 60 | 75 | 85 |
| Cardboard | 60 | 75 | 85 |
Kilde: EUROSTAT og Emballage-direktiv 2018/852 |
Genveje
EUs informationssider om emballage
European Commission pages on packaging and packaging waste
Legislation on single-use plastics.
Read EU and national legislation on producer responsibility for single-use plastics.
Legislation on Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Read EU and national legislation on producer responsibility for electrical and electronic equipment.
Legislation on Batteries
Læs EU og national lovgivning vedrørende producentansvar for batterier
Lovgivning for biler
Læs EU og national lovgivning vedrørende producentansvar for biler