New EU Regulation 2025/40 on Packaging and Packaging waste
- Date
- January 30, 2025
- Category
EU Regulations
- Description
This new Regulation was published in the Official Journal on 22 January 2025, see Regulation (EU) 2025/40. The majority of the new requirements will apply from 12 August 2026.
The aim of this legislation is to considerably reduce the production of packaging waste by setting binding targets for reuse. The regulation harmonises packaging rules across the EU. These include packaging reduction targets (5% by 2030, 10% by 2035 and 15% by 2040) and require Member States to reduce the amount of plastic packaging waste in particular. From 2030, 100% of packaging must be designed to be recyclable or risk being banned from the market. The EU will ban certain packaging containing PFAS above certain thresholds when in contact with food.
However, for medicinal products direct contact packaging and outer packaging that is required to protect the product are exempt from the recyclability requirements. Also, the recyclability requirements are not mandatory for contact-sensitive plastic packaging for medical devices.
In addition, for medicinal products and medical devices the following types of plastic packaging are excluded from the obligation of having a minimum recycled content:
- Immediate packaging of medicinal products.
- Contact-sensitive packaging for in vitro diagnostic medical devices.
- Contact-sensitive plastic packaging for food for special medical purposes.
- Outer packaging for human and veterinary medicinal products where the packaging has to comply with specific requirements to preserve the quality of the medicinal product.