New EU Regulation 2025/40 on Packaging and Packaging Waste



The new Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on Packaging and Packaging Waste will become officially applicable in all EU Member States as of 12 August 2026.

From that date, all parties involved in the importation, handling, storage, and transportation of packaged goods will be subject to new legal obligations. Below is a summary exclusively of the provisions that will enter into force on 12 August 2026, so that all operators can adapt their processes in due time.

 

1. Obligations for Logistics Service Providers, Freight Forwarders and Carriers (Article 20)

The Regulation introduces specific responsibilities for parties that physically handle goods. Logistics service providers (including freight forwarders and carriers) must ensure that storage, handling, packaging, addressing, and shipping conditions do not in any way compromise the compliance of packaging with the new regulatory requirements. Distributors are likewise required to ensure that transport conditions do not jeopardize the compliance of the goods while they are under their responsibility.

 

2. Importer's Compliance Verification Obligations (Article 18)

Before placing any packaging on the European Union market, importers must ensure that the non-EU manufacturer has carried out the conformity assessment procedure and prepared the required technical documentation.

Such documentation must be retained for five years for single-use packaging and ten years for reusable packaging, and must be made available to the competent authorities within 10 days upon request during inspections.

Importers must not place products on the market if they have reason to believe that the packaging does not comply with the Regulation.

 

3. Importer Identification on the Packaging (Article 18)

As of 12 August 2026, importers are required to indicate on the packaging their name, registered trade name or registered trademark, postal address, and electronic contact details through which they can be contacted.

Where the size or nature of the packaging does not allow this information to be affixed directly, it must instead be provided through a digital data carrier (e.g. a QR code) or included in a document accompanying the packaged product.

 

4. Ban on PFAS in Food Contact Packaging (Article 5)

If your company imports or transports food products, please note that, effective 12 August 2026, it will be prohibited to place on the market food-contact packaging containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at concentrations equal to or exceeding the thresholds established by the Regulation (e.g. 50 ppm for total PFAS).

 

EUROPEAN RULES