The Cen­tral Agen­cy Pack­a­ging Regis­ter (ZSVR), in agree­ment with the Fede­ral Envi­ron­men­tal Agen­cy (UBA), has published the new mini­mum stan­dard for recy­clable pack­a­ging for 2026. This is an important step in pre­pa­ring for the forth­co­ming EU Pack­a­ging Regu­la­ti­on (PPWR).

What is the mini­mum stan­dard?

The mini­mum stan­dard sets out the requi­re­ments for the recy­cla­bi­li­ty of pack­a­ging in accordance with Sec­tion 21 of the Ger­man Pack­a­ging Act, pro­vi­ding the basis for asses­sing the recy­cla­bi­li­ty of pack­a­ging. The mini­mum stan­dard aims to ensu­re the hig­hest pos­si­ble qua­li­ty of recy­cling for used pack­a­ging by enab­ling indus­try and retail­ers to deter­mi­ne the recy­clable con­tent of their pack­a­ging more cle­ar­ly and accu­ra­te­ly.

The three most important updates in the 2025 mini­mum stan­dard

1. Sys­te­ma­tic cate­go­ri­sa­ti­on of pack­a­ging
   The new mini­mum stan­dard is struc­tu­red in com­pli­ance with the PPWR: All rele­vant infor­ma­ti­on is lis­ted accor­ding to the main mate­ri­als (Annex 2), signi­fi­cant­ly faci­li­ta­ting its appli­ca­ti­on for com­pa­nies.
   
   
2. Trans­pa­rent test­ing steps and cal­cu­la­ti­on for­mu­la
   The revi­sed mini­mum stan­dard pro­vi­des a clear over­view of the indi­vi­du­al test­ing steps as well as a com­pre­hen­si­ble for­mu­la for deter­mi­ning recy­cla­bi­li­ty on the basis of defi­ned design fea­tures.
   
   
3. Prac­ti­cal imple­men­ta­ti­on shaped by a broad body of experts
   At the request of the indus­try, the body of experts has been expan­ded to include repre­sen­ta­ti­ves from medi­um-sized com­pa­nies to ensu­re a broa­der ran­ge of per­spec­ti­ves in the deve­lo­p­ment pro­cess.
   
   

PPWR goal: 70% recy­clable pack­a­ging by 2030

The PPWR requi­res that, from 2030, only pack­a­ging con­tai­ning at least 70% recy­clable mate­ri­al can be sold on the Euro­pean mar­ket. The 2025 mini­mum stan­dard gives com­pa­nies an ear­ly gui­de gui­de to help them get their pack­a­ging rea­dy for the new requi­re­ments in good time. More infor­ma­ti­on on the PPWR is available here.

Why act now?

The method for deter­mi­ning recy­cla­bi­li­ty remains the same as last year. It eva­lua­tes the pro­por­ti­on of pack­a­ging that can be recy­cled into high-qua­li­ty mate­ri­als after use. Com­pa­nies should act now and review their pack­a­ging to ensu­re it meets the new requi­re­ments – or make any neces­sa­ry adjus­t­ments.

Con­clu­si­on:

The 2025 mini­mum stan­dard is more than just a set of tech­ni­cal rules – it is a stra­te­gic tool for com­pa­nies loo­king to make their pack­a­ging future-pro­of. Acting ear­ly gives com­pa­nies a com­pe­ti­ti­ve edge and helps them stay on sche­du­le with PPWR com­pli­ance.

📘  The mes­sa­ge is clear: Get infor­med. Assess. Adapt
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