All packaging in the EU must be recyclable
From 12 August 2026 packaging placed on the EU market must be recyclable and the producer has to demonstrate it. That is a new, steady stream of work for materials laboratories.
- The regulation replaces the earlier directive and applies directly, without transposition into national law.
- Packaging has to be collectable, sortable and processable, and the producer demonstrates this with documentation, not a declaration.
- The assessment goes down to the individual element — label, adhesive, closure, colourant — because these push packaging off the sorting line.
- Until the EU recyclability grades are published, conformity rests on harmonised standards and laboratory testing.
- Demand grows for polymer identification, recycled content and migration and batch processability testing.
- The rules also limit excess packaging and tidy up labelling — every requirement ends in a number somebody has to measure.
Source: EUR-Lex