PPWR and returnable packaging: what the regulation means for IBCs, drums and canisters

Since 12 August 2026, the new EU Regulation 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste — better known as the PPWR — has applied. For companies that use returnable IBCs, drums or canisters, it brings two main changes: re-use targets for transport packaging from 2030 and labelling of reusable packaging with a digital data carrier.

Below we summarise what the regulation says, where the exemptions are, and what you can organise today.

This article is an informational summary, not legal advice. Which obligations apply to your company depends on the type of packaging, the goods and your role in the supply chain. Always refer to the official text of the regulation.

What the PPWR is and when it applies

The regulation was published in January 2025 and has applied since 12 August 2026 (Article 71). As a regulation, it applies directly in all Member States, without being transposed into national law.

Obligations take effect gradually. Some only from 2029 or 2030, and for several areas the European Commission still has to adopt implementing and delegated acts with the technical details.

What counts as "reusable packaging"

Under Article 11, reusable packaging is packaging designed to accomplish as many rotations as possible, that can be safely emptied, refilled and reconditioned, and that allows labels and information to be affixed, including for traceability.

A rotation is the cycle from the moment packaging is placed on the market with a product to the moment it is ready to be re-used. By February 2027, the Commission must set a minimum number of rotations for the most common packaging formats.

IBCs, drums and canisters that a supplier collects after emptying, cleans and refills are a typical example.

Re-use targets from 2030 (Article 29)

From 1 January 2030, economic operators that use transport packaging within the EU in the form of pallets, boxes, crates, intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), pails, drums and canisters must ensure that at least 40 % of such packaging is reusable packaging within a re-use system. By 2040, the share should reach 70 %.

Stricter rules apply in two cases:

• transport between the company's own sites or between linked and partner enterprises (Article 29(2)),
• delivery to another company in the same Member State (Article 29(3)).

In these cases, such packaging must be reusable packaging within a re-use system in full.

Companies will demonstrate compliance with the targets by calculating the number of packaging units (Article 30) and reporting annually to the competent authority; the first reporting year is 2030 (Article 31). The calculation methodology is still to be set by the Commission in an implementing act.

Does this apply to you? Important exemptions

Under Article 29(4), the re-use targets do not apply to transport packaging:

• used for the transport of dangerous goods under Directive 2008/68/EC,
• used for large-scale machinery and equipment where the packaging is custom-designed,
• in flexible formats in direct contact with food or feed,
• in the form of cardboard boxes.

The first exemption matters for the chemical industry: if you transport substances that are dangerous goods in IBCs or drums, the Article 29 targets do not apply to them. For non-hazardous substances in the same containers they generally do apply, unless another exemption is relevant.

Micro-enterprises that place no more than 1,000 kg of packaging on the market per year are also exempt (Article 29(13)), and a Member State may, under certain conditions, exempt companies for five years (Article 29(14)).

A practical first step: list your containers by type and by the goods you transport in them. That alone shows which part of your packaging falls under the targets at all.

Label and QR code for reusable packaging (Article 12)

Reusable packaging placed on the market from 12 February 2029 or 30 months after the relevant implementing act enters into force, whichever is later, will have to bear a label stating that it is reusable. Further information, for example on the re-use system and collection points, will be provided through a QR code or another standardised, open digital data carrier that facilitates tracking the packaging and calculating trips and rotations.

As of autumn 2026, the implementing act with the technical requirements had not yet been adopted, so the final deadline may still move. Open-loop systems without a system operator are exempt (Article 12(3)).

Important: a QR code you use today for internal tracking is not automatically a label within the meaning of Article 12. The technical requirements will be set by the implementing act.

Re-use systems need data

Annex VI of the regulation requires every re-use system to have clear operating rules and reporting rules that give access to data on the number of fillings or rotations, rejects, return rates and the number of packaging units in the system.

In a closed-loop system, where packaging stays in the ownership of the same company (for example a supplier that collects containers from customers), the system must provide reverse logistics, collection, reconditioning and redistribution.

For most companies this means one thing: you will need reliable data on individual containers — how many there are, where they are and how often they have come back.

What you can do today

1. Inventory your containers: types, numbers, ownership and the goods you transport in them (hazardous or not).
2. Assess which containers could fall under the Article 29 targets and which are exempt.
3. Uniquely label every container (serial number, QR code) and record handovers and returns. This gives you data on rotations and returns, however the details of the implementing acts turn out.
4. Follow the implementing acts on labelling, calculation methodology and minimum rotations.
5. When in doubt, consult a packaging law expert.

How evidenca.eu helps

evidenca.eu is a web-based tracking system in which every container has its own QR code and a history of handovers, returns and fillings. This gives you an overview of which containers you have, where they are and how they circulate — a good data foundation for future PPWR requirements as well.

More on how it works: returnable packaging tracking.