Article 7 sets minimum recycled-content percentages for plastic parts of packaging placed on the EU market.
This page helps map each plastic packaging type and format to the 2030 and 2040 targets, exclusions, calculation basis, and technical evidence.
PPWR recycled-content targets are not general recycling-rate targets. If you need to classify a package, start by checking whether it is a plastic part of packaging placed on the market, then test the Article 7 exclusions, and only then assign the 2030 or 2040 percentage for the correct packaging bucket. Article 7 applies to the plastic part of packaging placed on the market and measures recycled content recovered from by packaging type and format, calculated as an average per manufacturing plant and year.
Article 7 uses four plastic packaging buckets. For 2030, the obligation starts by 1 January 2030 or three years after the Article 7(8) implementing act enters into force, whichever is later. For 2040, Article 7 lists a second, higher set of minimum percentages.
The target is attached to the plastic part of packaging, not to the whole pack by default. Before assigning a percentage, record the packaging format, contact-sensitive status, single-use beverage-bottle status, and predominant polymer. For the contact-sensitive targets, identify whether polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the major component.
Sources (2)
Article 7(1) and 7(2) provide the 2030 and 2040 minimum percentages for plastic packaging buckets.
minimum percentage of recycled content recovered from post-consumer plastic waste
Commission overview confirms that plastic packaging must contain recycled content with increasing targets for 2030 and 2040.
Plastic packaging must be made in part from recycled content
Article 7 measures recycled content recovered from per packaging type and format, calculated as an average per manufacturing plant and year. That means evidence should be organised by plant, year, packaging type, packaging format, polymer bucket, and placed-on-market packaging population.
The Commission must adopt implementing acts for the calculation and verification methodology and the format for technical documentation by 31 December 2026. Article 7 also states that the verification methodology may include independent third-party audits.
Sources (1)
Article 7(1), 7(2), 7(6), and 7(8) support plant-year calculation, technical documentation, and the forthcoming verification methodology.
calculated as an average per manufacturing plant and year
Article 7 has exclusions that should be checked before teams assign a target. The exclusions are specific and should be recorded with the legal reason, not treated as a general exemption for all contact-sensitive or regulated products.
Some food-contact plastic packaging may also fall outside the target if the recycled-content quantity would threaten human health and make the packaged product non-compliant with Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004. A plastic part representing less than 5% of the total weight of the whole packaging unit is also outside Article 7(1) and 7(2).
Article 7 also controls the source of qualifying recycled content. collected in a third country must come from separate-collection systems equivalent to the relevant EU rules. Where industrial-emissions conditions apply, recycling in a third country must be subject to equivalent emissions and environmental-performance rules.
Sources (1)
Article 7(3) sets collection and recycling conditions for qualifying post-consumer plastic waste; Article 7(4) and 7(5) list packaging categories and plastic parts outside the minimums.
Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply
Article 7 says manufacturers or importers must demonstrate compliance in the technical information concerning the packaging referred to in Annex VII. The evidence file should therefore connect each placed-on-market packaging item to the Article 7 bucket, calculation year, manufacturing plant, recycled-content input, and exclusion or derogation conclusion where relevant.
If packaging is labelled with a recycled-content share, Article 12 adds a further control: from 12 August 2028 or 24 months after the relevant labelling implementing act enters into force, whichever is later, the label and any QR code or digital carrier must follow the implementing-act specifications and be based on the Article 7(8) methodology.
Sources (1)
Article 7(6) requires manufacturers or importers to demonstrate recycled-content compliance in the technical information; Article 12(4) links voluntary recycled-content labelling to Article 7 packaging and its methodology.
demonstrated by manufacturers or importers in the technical information
Map each plastic packaging type and format to its Article 7 target, exclusion analysis, plant-year calculation, supplier evidence, and technical-documentation record.
Teams often mix Article 7 recycled-content targets with recyclability, extended producer responsibility (EPR), labelling, reuse, or waste recycling rates. Those controls can interact, but they have different triggers and evidence.
A defensible recycled-content program starts with packaging classification, then calculates only the relevant plastic part, and finally ties the result to technical documentation and any public recycled-content label.
Sources (1)
Article 7 defines recycled-content targets and calculation; Article 12 controls recycled-content labels when used.
Where packaging to which Article 7 applies
Build a plant-year Article 7 register before changing specifications or labels. For each plastic packaging item, record the packaging type and format, Article 7 target bucket, target year, exclusion analysis, recycled-content input evidence, calculation owner, and technical-documentation location.
Review the register again when the Commission adopts the Article 7(8) calculation and verification methodology, the Article 7(9) sustainability criteria for recycling technologies, or any delegated act changing derogations, exceptions, or minimum percentages.
Sources (1)
Article 7(8) through 7(15) cover calculation methodology, sustainability criteria, third-country equivalence, derogation review, market-adjustment powers, and later Commission reviews.
methodology for the calculation and verification
"increasing targets for 2030 and 2040"
"Plastic packaging must be made in part from recycled content"
"Where packaging to which Article 7 applies"
"calculated as an average per manufacturing plant and year"
"Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply"
"methodology for the calculation and verification"
"minimum percentage of recycled content recovered from post-consumer plastic waste"
"demonstrated by manufacturers or importers in the technical information"
"Minimum recycled content in plastic packaging"
Build PPWR technical documentation and EU declarations of conformity for packaging, with evidence fields, owner checks, retention rules, and official EU sources.
Official source guide to PPWR penalties and fines: Article 68 Member State rules, administrative fines for Articles 24 to 29, market-surveillance action, formal non-compliance, and enforcement evidence.
Determine whether the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation applies to a packaging item, market activity, operator role, and evidence workflow.
Guide to PPWR Article 12 packaging labels, reusable packaging QR codes, digital carriers, online-sale information, exceptions, and evidence records.
Official source guide to PPWR Article 5 substance controls: substances of concern, the 100 mg/kg heavy-metal cap, PFAS limits for food-contact packaging, and technical-documentation evidence.
Build a PPWR Article 5 evidence workflow for food-contact packaging PFAS checks, limit-value evidence, supplier proof, and Annex VII technical documentation.
Guide to PPWR take-away duties: customer-owned container refill by 12 February 2027, reusable packaging offers by 12 February 2028, conditions, and exemptions.
A cited PPWR checklist for packaging scope, recyclability, recycled content, PFAS, minimisation, labelling, conformity files, and EPR registration under Regulation (EU) 2025/40.
Build a PPWR compliance workflow for packaging placed on the EU market, covering Articles 5-12 controls, conformity assessment, technical files, declarations, labelling, EPR and evidence.
Calendar-style PPWR deadline guide for application, PFAS, labelling, recyclability, recycled content, reuse, refill, deposit return, reporting, and transition dates.
Track PPWR delegated and implementing acts for recyclability, recycled content, reuse, labelling, EPR, reporting, and evidence owners.
Map PPWR roles for packaging teams: manufacturer conformity files, importer and distributor checks, supplier data, fulfilment handling, traceability, and EPR producer registration.
Map PPWR EPR duties for producers, authorised representatives, producer responsibility organisations, online platforms, registrations, reporting and evidence under Regulation (EU) 2025/40.
FAQ index for Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste, covering PPWR scope, recyclability, recycled content, minimisation, reuse, labelling, EPR, and evidence.
Article 12 and Article 55 PPWR guidance for packaging labels, QR codes, online sales information, waste receptacle labels, and consumer information records.
Checklist for PPWR Article 12 packaging labels and Article 13 waste-receptacle labels, including material composition, reuse, DRS, digital carriers, online sales, and transition stock.
Roll out PPWR Article 12 packaging labels, digital carriers, reusable-packaging information, and Article 13 waste-receptacle labels on the correct dates.
Classify PPWR packaging by function, material category, format, reuse status and operator role before assessing recyclability, restrictions, EPR and documentation.
PPWR packaging minimisation guide covering Article 10, Annex IV evidence, protected-design exceptions, empty-space rules, and technical documentation.
A PPWR packaging scope workflow for classifying packaging, assigning economic-operator roles, routing EPR questions, and keeping technical evidence.
Guide to PPWR Article 5 PFAS limits for food-contact packaging, including the 12 August 2026 date, thresholds, scope test, and evidence records.
Article 6 PPWR guide to packaging recyclability grades, Annex II packaging categories, design-for-recycling parameters, recycled-at-scale assessment, and evidence files.
This PPWR recyclability assessment template helps record packaging category, DfR parameters, performance grade evidence, recycled-at-scale evidence, and approval owners.
Assess PPWR recyclability by packaging unit: map the Annex II category, screen design-for-recycling parameters, grade the result, and retain Annex VII evidence.
Understand PPWR recyclability grades under Article 6 and Annex II, including design-for-recycling thresholds, 2030, 2035 and 2038 timing, and evidence records.
A source-cited overview of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 requirements for packaging scope, recyclability, recycled content, minimisation, labelling, reuse, EPR, and conformity evidence.
Guide to PPWR reuse targets for transport, grouped, beverage, and take-away packaging, including Articles 29 to 33, reporting, and exemptions.
Decide whether PPWR Article 29 reuse targets, Article 32 refill duties, and Article 33 take-away reusable offers apply to a packaging flow.
Use PPWR Article 2 and Article 3 to decide whether an item is packaging, classify sales, grouped, transport, e-commerce and service packaging, and record cited evidence.
Compare PPWR and ESPR without mixing duties: PPWR controls packaging and packaging waste, while ESPR is a separate sustainable-product ecodesign framework that PPWR complements.
Compare PPWR packaging duties with REACH chemical rules for packaging articles, Candidate List substances, Annex XVII restrictions, PFAS, evidence, and deadlines.
Compare PPWR packaging duties with RoHS controls for electrical and electronic equipment, homogeneous-material substance limits, exemptions, CE marking, and evidence.
Compare PPWR with the Single-Use Plastics Directive: all-packaging duties, Annex-listed plastic products, bans, marking, tethered caps, EPR, collection, and PPWR amendments.
Compare PPWR with the Waste Framework Directive where the PPWR text expressly relies on WFD concepts: waste hierarchy, definitions, EPR, collection, traceability, and waste plans.
PPWR implementation timeline separating fixed legal dates from milestones that depend on Commission delegated or implementing acts.
A PPWR FAQ on compostable packaging: mandatory compostable formats, Member State options, recycling default rules, labels, and evidence to retain.
A practical FAQ for online sellers and fulfilment teams applying PPWR rules to e-commerce packaging, including empty-space, labelling, reuse, and evidence records.
Answer whether grouped, transport, and e-commerce packaging need PPWR empty-space controls, what the 50% ratio covers, and what evidence to keep.
A PPWR FAQ on Article 12 and Article 13 labelling dates for packaging, reusable packaging, recycled-content labels, QR codes, waste receptacles, and implementation acts.
PPWR FAQ for micro-enterprises and small businesses: manufacturer responsibility, conditional reuse exemptions, packaging restrictions, reporting and evidence.
Direct FAQ on the PPWR Article 5 PFAS limits for food-contact packaging, including the 25 ppb, 250 ppb, and 50 ppm thresholds.
A PPWR FAQ on recycled content calculations for plastic packaging: Article 7 scope, manufacturing-plant averages, Commission methodology timing, exceptions, and evidence.
Answer when packaging can be treated as reusable under PPWR, what re-use systems must include, and what evidence teams should keep.
Service packaging under the EU PPWR means items designed to be filled at the point of sale. See scope, takeaway, HORECA refill and reuse, and evidence checks.