EU PPWR FAQs Updated August 2026 - Flipbook - Page 56
6) Is a conformity assessment procedure required for the exemptions set out in Article 6
on recyclability and in Article 7 on recycled content?
Compliance with the exemptions set out in Article 6 on recyclability and in Article 7 on recycled
content should indeed be assessed and be included as part of the technical documentation referred
to in Annex VII.
7) The wording 8type, batch or serial number or other element9 in Article 15(5) suggests
that manufacturers can choose to only indicate one of these. Which one?
The wording should be understood as a type, batch or serial number or other element allowing the
identification of the packaging in question. Manufacturers can choose freely among these.
8) Is a manufacturer obliged to contact the competent authorities in each Member State
where its packaging could end up? UPDATED!
No, the manufacturer must not notify the competent authorities that it places packaging on their
territory. The authorities will contact the manufacturer in case of a check.
Only if the manufacturer or distributor becomes aware that a packaging it has placed on the market
of a Member State is non-compliant must it inform the relevant authorities about this (see Article
15(8) and Article 19(5)). In cases where a manufacturer delivers products from one Member State
to the warehouse of a distributor in another Member State, and the latter serves different national
markets from the warehouse, it is the obligation of the distributor to inform the competent authority
in each of those Member States about the suspicion of non-compliance.
9) How should a presumption of conformity be construed in relation to the harmonised
EU standards?
The PPWD sets out a number of requirements for placing packaging on the market (essential
requirements). These can be considered as predecessors of the sustainability requirements in the
PPWR. Under the PPWD, compliance with these essential requirements was presumed if
packaging was compliant with the harmonised standards published in the Official Journal of the
European Union28.
Under the PPWR, the existing harmonised standards can be used only as guidance (see Recital 58),
which means that there can no longer be a presumption of conformity based on these standards.
The only exception to this is laid down in Article 70(1), point (b), in relation to the essential
requirements on packaging minimisation of the PPWD, which applies until end of 2029. This
means that the related harmonised standard can be used for the presumption of conformity until
that date.
The Commission will consider taking formal measures to repeal the list of the old, harmonised,
standards before the PPWR becomes applicable, to avoid any confusion29.
28
EN 13427:2004 8Packaging 3 Requirements for the use of European Standards in the field of packaging and
packaging waste9 EN 13429:2004 8Packaging 3 Reuse9; EN 13430:2004 8Packaging 3 Requirements for
packaging recoverable by material recycling9; EN 13431:2004 8Packaging 3 Requirements for packaging
recoverable in the form of energy recovery, including specification of minimum inferior calorific value9; EN
13428:2004 8Packaging 3 Requirements specific to manufacturing and composition 3 Prevention by source
reduction9; EN 13432:2000 8Packaging 3 Requirements for packaging recoverable by composting and
biodegradation9.
29
In case of safety legislation with harmonised standards, the harmonised standards cited in the Official Journal of the
European Union under repealed legislation remain valid for the purpose of the presumption of conformity if these
references are not withdrawn from the OJEU. This interpretation comes from ECJ ruling T-474/15, Global Garden
Products vs. Commission.
53
