European legislation on packaging and packaging waste

The Directive on packaging and packaging waste was adopted by the European Parliament and Council in 1994. Its goal is to harmonise the differing national measures in the Member States concerning the management of packaging and packaging waste, and to provide a high level of environmental protection.

The Packaging Directive has since undergone a number of revisions. For example, the recovery rates have been increased in order to enhance the recycling of packaging waste in Europe. Additionally, Member States have been given guidance on possible measures for reducing the use of lightweight plastic carrier bags. On the basis of this amendment, Germany imposed a ban on certain types of plastic carrier bags being placed on the market.

One key element of the Packaging Directive is extended producer responsibility. Given that packaging usually has a short lifetime and quickly ends up becoming waste, producers of packaging are responsible for the collection and disposal of packaging waste and also have to bear the costs.

The Packing Directive is going to be replaced by a regulation on packaging and packaging waste. The European Commission presented a draft regulation in November 2022, which was then negotiated on by the European Parliament and the Council. In March 2024, the European Parliament and the Council reached agreement on the draft regulation in informal trilogues. The agreed text now has to undergo a review of the legal language before it can be officially adopted. The regulation is expected to enter into force at the end of 2024. A large share of the regulation’s provisions have to be implemented from 2030.  

Compared with the Packaging Directive, the draft regulation contains a number of new provisions, which to a large extent will apply directly for economic players. For example, in future packaging has to be recyclable and plastic packaging must contain a specific recycled content. The draft packaging regulation also prescribes mandatory reusable rates in various areas, for example drinks packaging. And Member States must reduce their generation of packaging waste. Every Member State has to achieve a reduction in per capita packaging waste generation of 5 percent by 2030 and 15 percent by 2040 compared with 2018.