Station 01: PPWR foundations
What the regulation is, what it covers and who it catches - the entry point to the whole line.
The station guide
Working guides in this station
PPWR foundations Does the PPWR Apply to Non-EU and UK Sellers? Yes - through the goods. Packaging and packaged products placed on the EU market meet the regulation whoever sells them, and distance sellers become producers in the destination state. PPWR foundations How the PPWR Fits With Other EU Laws The PPWR does not stand alone: food-contact law, REACH, the Single-Use Plastics Directive, the Waste Framework Directive and the coming Digital Product Passport all touch the same pack. A map of the joins. PPWR foundations How to Read the PPWR: A Guide to the Regulation's Structure Articles, annexes, recitals, delegated acts: how Regulation (EU) 2025/40 is built, which parts bind, and how to find the rule for one pack in under ten minutes. PPWR foundations Packaging Recycling Targets: What Member States Must Hit The Article 52 targets explained: 65 percent of all packaging waste recycled by 2025, 70 percent by 2030, with per-material targets beneath - and why business should care about state-level numbers. PPWR foundations PPWR Exemptions and Special Cases: What Sits Outside the General Run The PPWR has no general small-business exemption and no sector-wide opt-outs. What it has is a set of specific adjustments - here they are, and how to claim one honestly. PPWR foundations PPWR for Small Businesses: What Actually Applies to You No blanket small-business exemption exists - but the real burden is narrower than the headlines. Which duties bite at small scale, which are organised to be survivable, and where relief genuinely lives. PPWR foundations PPWR Key Terms and Definitions, in Plain Language Placing on the market, making available, producer, economic operator, sales and transport packaging, packaging unit: the Article 3 vocabulary the whole regulation runs on. PPWR foundations PPWR vs the Old Packaging Directive: What Actually Changed Directive 94/62/EC governed packaging for thirty years. The regulation that replaces it changes the legal form, the design rules, the paperwork and the enforcement - here is the honest comparison. PPWR foundations What Counts as Packaging Under the PPWR? The PPWR definition of packaging, the three tests an item must meet, and the Annex I examples that settle the borderline cases. PPWR foundations Which Packaging Does the PPWR Apply To? Scope in practice: all materials, all sectors, packaging placed on the EU market including imports and distance sales - and the narrow set of special cases. PPWR foundations Who Is a Producer Under the PPWR? The producer is whoever first makes packaging available in a member state - manufacturer, importer, own-brand seller or distance seller. Why the definition decides your registrations and fees.