EU PPWR Now Applies: What the New Packaging Rules Mean for Foodservice Tableware

The Starting Point: PPWR Is No Longer a Proposal

Regulation (EU) 2025/40 — the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, better known as PPWR — came into force on 11 February 2025 and has applied across the EU since 12 August 2026. It replaces Directive 94/62/EC and, unlike a directive, it applies directly in every Member State without needing national transposition. Any foodservice or retail brand shipping packaged goods into the EU is now inside its scope.

What Changed on 12 August 2026

The rules apply in phases, and the first phase is already live:

• PFAS limits in food-contact packaging. Food-contact packaging containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances above the regulated thresholds can no longer be placed on the EU market. There is no stock-exhaustion transition.
• Bring-your-own container option. Businesses selling take-away food and drinks must offer customers the option of using their own containers at no extra cost.
• All packaging must be recyclable. Article 6(1) requires that packaging placed on the market is recyclable, with the harmonised design-for-recycling criteria and performance grades to be set by delegated act by 1 January 2028.

The Commission published implementation guidance in March 2026 to help manufacturers, importers and national authorities apply the new requirements.

The 2030 Milestones Buyers Should Plan For

Most of the commercially significant obligations land in 2030, which means sourcing decisions made this year and next will determine compliance:

• Recyclability grades. From 1 January 2030, packaging must reach at least grade C, and grade B by 2038.
• Recycled content. Plastic packaging must contain minimum recycled content — 30% for PET contact-sensitive packaging, 10% for other contact-sensitive plastics, 30% for single-use plastic beverage bottles and 35% for other plastic packaging — rising to 50%, 25%, 65% and 65% respectively by 2040.
• Reuse targets. 40% for transport packaging, 10% for grouped packaging and 10% for beverage packaging, with reusable beverage containers reaching 10% in 2030 and 40% by 2040.
• Restrictions on certain single-use formats. Single-use plastic grouped packaging, plastic packaging for unprocessed fresh fruit and vegetables under 1.5 kg, and single-use plastic packaging for food and drinks consumed in the HORECA sector are banned from 1 January 2030.
• Waste reduction. Member States must cut packaging waste per capita by 5% by 2030, 10% by 2035 and 15% by 2040, on top of a 70% recycling rate for all packaging waste by 2030.

Why Fibre-Based Foodservice Tableware Is in Focus

The PFAS restriction is the provision with the most immediate effect on disposable foodservice items, because grease and water resistance has traditionally been achieved with fluorinated coatings. Moulded fibre tableware made from sugarcane bagasse is produced without those coatings, which makes it a natural starting point for brands reviewing their food-contact ranges.

Two points are worth noting. First, "recyclable" and "compostable" are separate questions under PPWR: compostability is only required for specific formats listed in the Regulation, and industrially compostable items must meet the applicable harmonised standard. Second, recyclability is a market-access condition, so fibre formats should be assessed against the design-for-recycling criteria once the delegated act is adopted in 2028 — not assumed to comply.

What This Means in Practice

For importers and foodservice operators, the practical work is straightforward even if the detail is not: audit your current packaging portfolio against the PFAS thresholds today, confirm which formats will still be permitted after 2030, and ask suppliers for documentation covering material composition and recyclability. Compliance evidence, not marketing claims, is what the Regulation requires.