PPWR timeline

11 Feb 2025 Regulatory

Regulation (EU) 2025/40 formally enters into force on this date, though most obligations don't apply yet — general application follows 18 months later (Art. 71).

12 Aug 2026 Regulatory

Core PPWR obligations become applicable across the EU from this date. Note that the old Packaging Directive (94/62/EC) is repealed from the same date, but with several provisions continuing to apply until 2028-2029 under transitional carve-outs (Art. 70, 71).

1 Jan 2028 Deadline

This is a Commission deadline to adopt the delegated acts, not an application date — the DfR criteria themselves apply from 1 Jan 2030, or 24 months after the acts enter into force, whichever is later (Art. 6(3)).

TBD Deadline

The exact filing date depends on when each Member State's national register goes live, which starts an 18-month clock (Art. 44(1)). Once live, filing follows an annual 1 June deadline (Art. 44(8)).

1 Jan 2030 Deadline

Recyclability performance grades (A to C) and minimum recycled content thresholds for plastic packaging start applying from this date (Art. 6, Art. 7(1)).

1 Jan 2035 Why it matters

Recyclability grading starts factoring in real-world collection and sorting infrastructure, not just theoretical recyclability (Art. 6(2)).