EU member states in the European Council announced today that they have adopted a series of new rules aimed at significantly reducing packaging waste in the EU, including a goal requiring all packaging placed on the market to be recyclable by 2030.

The approval by the Council marks the last major legislative step in the adoption of the new rules, following an agreement reached earlier this year with the European Parliament, with the Parliament approving the rules in April 2024.

The new regulation was initially proposed by the European Commission in 2022, aimed at updating the EU’s regulation on packaging and packaging waste, which had not fully succeeded in reducing the negative environmental impacts of packaging, with the EU generating approximately 186 kilograms of waste packaging per person annually, including 36 kg of plastic packaging. Packaging accounts for 40% of plastics and 50% of paper used in the EU.

The regulation introduces requirements for EU member states to reduce the amount of plastic packaging waste, and overall packaging reduction targets of 5% by 2030, 10% by 2035 and 15% by 2040. The rules also ban certain types of single-use plastic packaging by 2030, including packaging for fresh fruits and vegetables, food and beverages filled and consumed in hotels, bars and restaurants, and small, single-use cosmetic and toiletry products, among others.

For the new recyclable packaging target, the new regulation will require packaging to be designed for material recycling by 2030, and for packaging waste to be able to be collected separately and sorted into waste streams for recycling at scale by 2035.

Additional rules introduced under the new regulation include a requirement for takeaway businesses to offer customers the ability to bring their own container for beverages or prepared food at no additional charge, and to offer 10% of products in a reusable packaging format by 2030, and banning the use of PFAS “forever chemicals” above certain thresholds in food packaging.

Following the adoption of the new rules by the Council, the regulation will now be published in the EU’s Official Journal, and will apply 18 months after publication.