Packaging Regulation (PPWR): What do you need to know?
The European Union Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), Regulation (EU) 2025/40, sets common requirements for packaging and packaging waste across the entire European Union.
The Regulation aims to reduce the amount of packaging and packaging waste, use raw materials more efficiently, increase packaging recyclability and reuse, and restrict certain hazardous substances.
The PPWR entered into force on February 11, 2025, and became generally applicable on August 12, 2026. The application deadlines for individual PPWR requirements vary, with some applying at a later date.
What does this mean for a SUPERBOX customer?
If you use SUPERBOX packaging for your products, information regarding the material composition of the packaging, its compliance with PPWR requirements, and its technical documentation may be relevant to you.
SUPERBOX prepares PPWR declarations of conformity for the packaging it supplies when we have all the technical documentation required from raw material and component suppliers.
If you or your trading partners require PPWR information regarding a specific SUPERBOX packaging product, please contact us.
Yes. Packaging that was legally placed on the European Union market before the start of the applicable PPWR requirements does not need to be discarded or replaced simply due to the new PPWR requirements.
Therefore, you can continue using previously purchased SUPERBOX packaging that has already been placed on the EU market to pack your products until your current stock is exhausted.
New PPWR requirements apply according to the specific implementation deadlines set out in the Regulation. When planning new packaging orders, we recommend evaluating the requirements that apply to your specific packaging.
If you have any questions regarding a specific SUPERBOX packaging product, please contact us – we will help you evaluate the available information and relevant documentation.
Generally, no.
If the packaging was legally placed on the European Union market before the start of application of the new PPWR requirements applicable to it, there is no need to retroactively prepare a new PPWR declaration of conformity simply due to the new PPWR requirements.
Such SUPERBOX packaging can continue to be used and distributed in accordance with the transitional rules applicable to it.
If your customers or trading partners request additional information regarding the composition or compliance of the packaging, please contact the SUPERBOX team. We will check what technical information or documentation we have available for the specific packaging.
Yes. SUPERBOX can provide a PPWR Declaration of Conformity for packaging for which we have all the required technical information and PPWR documentation from raw material and component suppliers.
The declaration identifies the specific packaging or packaging family and provides information regarding its material composition and compliance with applicable PPWR requirements.
If a declaration is required for your ordered packaging, please contact the SUPERBOX team.
A PPWR Declaration of Conformity is prepared based on technical data, which is why we cannot issue it solely based on a product name or catalogue information.
Before providing the declaration, we must have sufficient information regarding the composition of the specific packaging as well as the materials and components used in it. Part of this data is obtained from raw material suppliers.
If we do not yet have some of the required documents, we first reach out to our supply chain partners to collect and evaluate the necessary information.
Therefore, while we can provide the declaration immediately for some SUPERBOX packaging, preparing it for others may take additional time.
We evaluate the possibility of issuing a declaration based on the specific packaging and the available documentation for it.
If we can identify the specific packaging purchased and possess sufficient supplier and raw material documentation verifying its composition and compliance, we can check whether a PPWR Declaration of Conformity can be prepared for it.
For older products, less required data may be available, as PPWR documentation was not collected under our current process at that time.
Therefore, if you require a declaration for previously purchased SUPERBOX packaging, please send us your order or invoice number along with the specific product details, and we will check what information we can provide.
Recycled material content indicates the proportion of the packaging material that is manufactured using secondary raw materials. For example, corrugated board can contain both virgin and recycled fibers, with the specific ratio depending on the grade of board used.
In SUPERBOX PPWR documentation, we do not estimate these values. We rely directly on documented data provided by our raw material suppliers. Please note that recycled material content should not be confused with packaging recyclability – these are distinct metrics.
No. These percentages refer to different things.
A figure of 76% recycled fiber describes the origin of the raw material – it shows what portion of it was produced using recycled content.
Packaging recyclability is evaluated separately. It can be affected not only by the cardboard itself, but also by the entire structure of the final packaging and any additional components used – such as plastics, adhesives, coatings, metal or textile parts, and more.
Therefore, while a high recycled content is an important feature of packaging, it is not the percentage of its recyclability.
A PPWR Declaration of Conformity is not in itself a confirmation of packaging recyclability.
Packaging recyclability is one of the aspects evaluated under PPWR, and it depends on the specific design of the packaging as well as all the materials and components that make it up. For example, a simple corrugated cardboard box and packaging with a plastic window, lamination, magnets, or textile elements may be evaluated differently.
Therefore, we provide information regarding the recyclability of specific SUPERBOX packaging only when it can be substantiated by the technical documentation of the packaging and the materials used for it.
A PPWR declaration does not have a simple expiration period, such as one or two years. The most important factor is that the declaration remains relevant to the specific packaging or packaging group identified within it.
If there are changes to the packaging design, materials, components, or other characteristics significant to its compliance, the validity of the previous declaration must be evaluated and updated if necessary.
Therefore, we recommend paying attention not only to the date of issue, but also to the packaging identification and the version of the declaration.
Yes, we recommend saving it alongside the purchase documents for that specific packaging.
The PPWR Declaration of Conformity allows you to identify which packaging or packaging group the document was issued for, and it can be useful when your client, trading partner, or quality assurance department requests information about the packaging you use.
The document may also be required for packaging traceability or in cases specified by legislation.
Since specific document retention obligations depend on your role in the supply chain, we advise SUPERBOX customers not to delete the declarations received and to keep them together with the related purchase and technical documentation.
Yes. Stock packaging sold in the SUPERBOX e-shop is already placed on the EU market.
Under PPWR, "placing on the market" refers to the first making available of a packaging product on the European Union market. A new stock item appears in the SUPERBOX e-shop once it has been added to the SUPERBOX product range and made available for sale to customers.
Therefore, for practical purposes, customers can rely on when a specific product first appeared in the SUPERBOX e-shop. If a product was offered in the SUPERBOX e-shop prior to the application date of a specific PPWR requirement, it means that the item was already part of the SUPERBOX supply chain and placed on the EU market at that time.
When a customer subsequently purchases such packaging from the SUPERBOX e-shop, this does not constitute its first placement on the EU market.
Important: SUPERBOX can substantiate the date of the initial placement on the market for specific packaging using its accounting records.
Under PPWR, single-use packaging is packaging that is not designed and placed on the market as reusable packaging.
Reusable packaging must be specifically designed to be reused for the same purpose, undergo multiple rotation cycles, and be suitable for a reuse system.
Standard SUPERBOX paperboard and corrugated cardboard boxes are single-use packaging within the meaning of PPWR. They are designed to fulfill their packaging function over a single cycle of use and are not placed on the market as reusable packaging according to PPWR criteria.
This does not mean the box cannot be used again in practice. For instance, a recipient may reuse the same box to store items or send another shipment. However, the mere fact that packaging is reused informally does not qualify it as reusable packaging under PPWR. Reusable packaging status is determined by its design, intended purpose, and the existence of a reuse system.
Why is this distinction important?
PPWR establishes different requirements for single-use and reusable packaging, making it essential to correctly identify the packaging category when evaluating compliance.
This depends on the intended purpose and function of the item, not simply on whether it physically resembles a box or packaging.
If the box is used to contain, protect, handle, or deliver a product, it is considered packaging. For example, a presentation box containing a product sample shown to clients fulfills a packaging function and is therefore subject to PPWR requirements.
By contrast, consider props or decorations made specifically for exhibitions, displays, or advertising. For example, a company might order an oversized replica of its product packaging solely for use as a display element at a trade show booth. If no products are packaged inside and it does not serve as product packaging, such an item is not considered packaging merely because of its box-like shape.
Therefore, promotional or exhibition structures that fall outside the PPWR definition of packaging do not require a PPWR Declaration of Conformity.
If an item serves both a promotional and a packaging function at the same time, its status is evaluated based on the specific use case.