For our customers
The PPWR is here. No panic.
The new European packaging regulation, the PPWR for short, has applied since 12 August 2026. Since then a lot of wrong information has been going around, up to the message that block bottom bags are no longer allowed. That is not correct. This is what does apply.
New European packaging legislation
The PPWR aims at three goals, introduced in stages
Less packaging
Packaging must be designed for minimum weight and volume. From 2030 some single-use formats containing plastic also disappear, such as packaging for less than 1.5 kg of fresh fruit and vegetables. That includes paper with more than 5% film. If you pack fresh fruit or vegetables, get in touch.
Maximum recyclability
By 2030 your packaging has to be recyclable, with a score that takes the separability of the components into account.
Informing about sorting
A duty to inform is coming: your packaging has to tell the consumer how to sort it.
The calendar
PPWR applies
harmonised sorting labels (earliest)
recyclability classes (earliest)
What already applies today
- Mainly requirements on the packaging itself. Material choice, substances and weight. That work sits with your packaging supplier, not with you.
- Some administration on your side. Depending on where you sell. Not sure whether you are compliant? Call us, we will look at it together.
- Your existing stock stays usable. Bags that have already been produced can simply be used up.
The most important thing first: you can keep using our bags, towards 2030 as well. The obligations come in stages and we make sure your packaging meets every one of them.
Our approach
We think along with you: we have the solution in the bag
Your bags
Our bags can be separated by hand. That is exactly what the PPWR asks: separable and recyclable. The exact calculation method is not yet fixed; what it means for your bag, we work out together.
How our bags are built up →Your duty to inform
A QR code on your bag already gives your customer the right sorting instructions today, in their own language. When the European sorting label arrives, we print it alongside. The explanation behind the code stays current without reprinting.
How the QR sorting guide works →Facts and myths
Five persistent misconceptions
"From now on everything has to be mono-material."
The PPWR requires recyclability, not mono-material. Packaging made of several materials can score perfectly well, as long as the components can be separated and recycled. On top of that, the film in our bags is a mono-material itself.
"Paper with a film layer will soon be banned."
From 2030 the recyclability class of your packaging counts, and there the separability of the components determines the score. Paper and film can be taken apart by hand, and our bags are designed so that this goes smoothly. Recycling tests still count the film as reject as long as it is attached to the paper, so separating is what matters.
"Compostable is always the most sustainable choice."
Compostable film never belongs with plastic: there it disrupts recycling. Separated from the paper, it belongs in principle in the compost circuit. But whether it may go in the organic bin is decided by each country and each collector. In Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and France that is usually not the case today, and it goes in the residual waste. That is why our sorting guide always says: follow the rules of your local collector. Mind the difference between home compost (at home, short breakdown time) and industrial compost (industrial facility, longer term, controlled and with energy recovery): our combination of paper plus bio-film carries the industrial compost label.
"A paper packaging may contain no more than 20% plastic."
That 80/20 rule is not in the PPWR. It pops up everywhere, but there is no fixed threshold today and the calculation method is not settled either. An example: 80 grams of paper with a 30 micron film sits above 20 percent, with a thinner film or heavier paper below it. As long as the rule is not fixed, that is no reason to replace your packaging. Note: national assessment schemes, such as in Germany, the Netherlands and France, apply their own thresholds and test methods. If you sell there, we look at it together per packaging.
"Everything has to be fully in order today."
The obligations come in stages: today it is mainly the rules on substances and conformity, harmonised sorting labels follow in 2028 at the earliest and the recyclability grades in 2030 at the earliest. We follow it up, so you do not have to figure it all out yourself.
Let's look together at where your bags stand today and what is needed towards 2030. And with our QR sorting guide your sorting communication is settled right away.