Brazil bars recycled-content credits, mandates physical traceability for plastic packaging
Brazil's Ministry of Environment and Climate Change has published Portaria GM/MMA No. 1,778, which bans the use of credits or certificates to meet the country's 22% recycled-content target for plastic packaging and instead requires physical traceability of post-consumer material through ministry-approved platforms. Companies must file their first compliance report by 30 April 2027, while a separate reverse-logistics obligation targets 32% recovery of plastic packaging in 2026, due to be reported by 30 July. Brazil generated 5 million tonnes of post-consumer plastic waste in 2025, of which the recycling industry absorbed 1.27 million tonnes, with packaging recovery reaching 31.4%.
Why this mattersPlastic packaging makers selling into or exporting from Brazil must now prove recycled content with invoices and chain-of-custody data, raising compliance costs ahead of EU PPWR import requirements.
- Portaria GM/MMA No. 1,778, published 18 September 2026, bars credits or certificates for the 22% recycled-content target in plastic packaging.
- Only post-consumer waste counts, verified via ministry-homologated traceability platforms tracking mass, supplier identity and chain-of-custody.
- First recycled-content compliance report is due 30 April 2027.
- A separate reverse-logistics platform, Sisrev-BR, is created to track collection against the 32% plastic-packaging recovery target for 2026, reporting due 30 July.
- Brazil generated 5 million tonnes of post-consumer plastic waste in 2025; the recycling industry absorbed 1.27 million tonnes, with packaging recovery at 31.4%, per MaxiQuim/PICPlast data.
- EU PPWR (Regulation 2025/40), in force since 12 August 2026, sets recycled-content floors of up to 35% by 2030 and 65% by 2040 for plastic, with equivalent standards required for material sourced outside the bloc.