The PPWR officially comes into force on 12 August 2026 and defines what reuse is and how it can be distinguished from single-use.

It promotes the reuse of consumer packaging by:

• Stricter requirements for economic operators to offer refill options, e.g. in shops or for takeaway in the HORECA sector.
•  Stricter requirements for economic operators to offer reuse options, e.g. for takeaway in the HORECA sector.

It also promotes the reuse of transport packaging by requiring economic operators to use reusable packaging:

• By 2030, at least 40% of packaging must be reusable, rising to 70% by 2040.
• By 2030, the reusable quota will even apply to 100% of packaging used between different sites belonging to the same economic operator.

The Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC) is a key EU directive that establishes the legal framework for waste management in the European Union. It defines basic concepts such as waste, recycling and recovery and establishes the waste hierarchy, which prioritises waste prevention, reuse, recycling and other recovery methods over landfill or incineration.

An important objective of the directive is to promote the circular economy in order to increase resource efficiency and minimise environmental impact.
It also contains requirements for the separate collection of certain waste streams (e.g. biowaste, paper, metal) and sets quantitative recycling targets for municipal and packaging waste.