PPWR Is Here: What Packaging Teams Need to Do Now

Nearly two years since becoming an official law, the European Union (EU) Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) entered implementation Aug. 12. Regarded as one of the most comprehensive packaging sustainability regulations ever enacted, PPWR is intended to establish a harmonized framework for packaging and packaging waste. According to the European Commission, the regulations mark a major step to reducing waste and compliance costs, creating more sustainability to the waste value chain while minimizing dependence on imports of virgin materials, strengthening the market for secondary raw materials, and supporting the transition to a competitive circular economy and climate neutrality by 2050. As a replacement for what has systemically been considered fragmented national requirements, PPWR is also intended to bring consistency to rules that address the entire packaging life cycle. While the mandates will be fully implemented through a phased approach that will span many years to allow various stakeholders to meet compliance in stepwise fashion, guidance is still necessary to assist in its adoption.

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