Ensure a re-use system meeting Annex VI, including a collection incentive, exists in each Member State where you first make reusable packaging available, and document the system's compliance in the technical documentation with written confirmations from system participants.
Economic operators first making reusable packaging available in a Member State must comply, and this is law in force.
Why it matters
This is law in force, not a proposal.
- It is Art. 26, in the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. as of 2026-08-18
- The act gives its timing as: From 12 August 2026 (Art. 71). as of 2026-08-18
- It names 7 industries by name: Plastics converting, Paper and board, Glass, Aluminium, Wood, Food and drink and Retail. as of 2026-08-18
- Compliance is checked by technical documentation (Annex VII), written confirmations from participants, per Member State. as of 2026-08-18
What changes
Anyone introducing reusable packaging into a new national market. Using an existing re-use system already in place satisfies the duty, so the burden falls hardest where no system exists yet.
The rule
making reusable packaging available in a Member State for the first time
Ensure a re-use system meeting Annex VI, including a collection incentive, exists in each Member State where you first make reusable packaging available, and document the system's compliance in the technical documentation with written confirmations from system participants.
Who is affected
Burden drivers
No size threshold.
Source text
Economic operators who make reusable packaging available on the territory of a Member State for the first time shall ensure that a system is in place in that Member State for the re-use of that packaging which includes an incentive to ensure the collection of that packaging and which meets the requirements laid down in Annex VI.
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