The New EU Packaging Rules Are Here: What PPWR Means for Packaging Materials29 August 2026 |

Papironova Lens , Regulatory & Material Insight

Europe has entered a new phase in packaging regulation.

From 12 August 2026, Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on Packaging and Packaging Waste , commonly known as the PPWR , applies across the European Union.

The regulation changes the way packaging is expected to be designed, specified, sourced and ultimately recovered. For manufacturers, importers, brand owners and packaging converters, material selection can therefore no longer be based only on price, appearance and technical performance.

Regulatory compatibility is becoming part of the material specification itself.

From Packaging Waste to Packaging Design

The PPWR covers packaging and packaging waste across materials and origins and introduces requirements affecting the entire packaging lifecycle.

Its direction is clear: Europe wants packaging that uses fewer resources, generates less unnecessary waste and can function more effectively within a circular material system.

Among the major areas addressed by the regulation are:

• recyclability and design-for-recycling;

• packaging

  minimisation;

• restrictions on substances of concern;

• recycled content requirements for certain plastic packaging;

• reuse and refill systems;

• harmonised packaging information and labelling;

• extended producer responsibility; and

• greater accountability for economic operators placing packaging on the EU market.

Not every requirement becomes applicable at the same time. The PPWR establishes a phased implementation framework extending through the coming years, making it important for businesses to distinguish between requirements already applicable and future compliance milestones.

A Major Immediate Change: PFAS in Food-Contact Packaging

One of the most relevant changes for the paper and food-packaging industries is already applicable.

From August 2026, food-contact packaging containing PFAS above the limits established by the PPWR may no longer be placed on the EU market.

PFAS have historically been used in certain paper and board applications because of their resistance to grease, oil and moisture , including applications such as takeaway packaging, bakery papers, fast-food wrappers and similar food-service formats.

The new restriction therefore has a direct implication for material sourcing:

Grease resistance alone is no longer an adequate specification. The chemistry used to achieve that performance matters.

For buyers of food-contact paper and board, documentation regarding coatings, barriers and chemical composition should increasingly form part of supplier qualification.

Recyclability Moves Toward a Design Requirement

Another fundamental change is the PPWR's approach to recyclability.

The European Commission states that all packaging must be recyclable by 2030, with the regulatory framework progressively introducing recyclability performance requirements.

For fibre-based packaging, this creates an important distinction.

A package being predominantly made from paper or board does not automatically mean that its complete structure will perform effectively in a recycling system.

Coatings, laminations, adhesives, barrier layers, inks and combinations of different materials can materially affect recyclability.

This means that future packaging development needs to consider the complete material architecture, rather than simply the base substrate.

Less Packaging, Not Simply Different Packaging

PPWR also places greater emphasis on packaging minimisation.

The objective is not to replace one material indiscriminately with another. Packaging should use the amount of material necessary to perform its required functions while avoiding unnecessary weight, volume and empty space.

This creates an engineering challenge.

Reducing grammage without understanding compression strength, moisture resistance, stiffness, barrier requirements or converting behaviour can lead to product damage or higher total material consumption.

Effective lightweighting therefore requires material optimisation rather than simple material reduction.

A lower grammage is valuable only when the packaging continues to perform its intended function.

What This Means for Paper and Board Buyers

For European buyers, the commercial specification of packaging materials is becoming more sophisticated.

Traditional parameters remain essential:

Grammage | Caliper | Stiffness | Bulk | Cobb | Brightness | Printability | Barrier Performance | Converting Performance

But these increasingly need to be evaluated alongside another group of questions:

What is the coating chemistry?

Does the construction affect recyclability?

Is the material appropriate for its intended food-contact application?

Can the supplier provide the necessary declarations and technical documentation?

Could a simpler mono-material or fibre-dominant structure achieve the same performance?

Will the packaging architecture remain suitable as PPWR requirements progressively tighten?

The answer is therefore not simply to “switch to paper.”

The better approach is to select the right fibre, coating, barrier and packaging structure for the application.

Imported Packaging Is Part of the Same Equation

The PPWR is particularly important for companies sourcing packaging or packaged products from outside the European Union.

The regulation applies to packaging placed on the EU market regardless of where it was manufactured.

European importers should consequently integrate regulatory documentation into their sourcing and supplier-qualification processes rather than treating compliance as an issue to address only after the material arrives in Europe.

For international suppliers, meanwhile, demonstrating compatibility with European packaging requirements will increasingly become a commercial advantage.

The Papironova Lens

At Papironova, we see PPWR as more than a regulatory change.

It represents a shift in how packaging materials should be evaluated.

The future specification is no longer simply:

Material + Grammage + Price

It is increasingly:

Performance + Material Architecture + Compliance + Recyclability + Supply Reliability + Total Cost

For paper and board producers, converters, packaging companies and brand owners, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity.

Materials capable of delivering the required barrier, converting and mechanical performance through simpler and more recyclable structures are likely to become increasingly valuable.

And this is precisely where material knowledge matters.

Paper is not automatically sustainable. Plastic is not automatically unsuitable. A packaging structure should be judged by what it contains, how it performs, how much material it requires and what happens to it after use.

The PPWR makes that evaluation increasingly important , and increasingly unavoidable.

Source & Regulatory Reference

This article refers to Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR) and European Commission implementation guidance. Requirements under the Regulation have different application dates and should be assessed according to the specific packaging format, material, application and role of the relevant economic operator.

Papironova Lens provides commercial and material insight and should not be considered legal or regulatory advice.