Bulgaria mandates retailer acceptance of reusable containers from 2027

Bulgaria will require retailers to let shoppers fill their own containers for loose food from 12 February 2027, part of a wider set of packaging rules. Takeaway food outlets must offer reusable containers from 2028, hotels must switch to refillable cosmetic dispensers by 2030, and new limits on empty space, false bottoms and e-commerce fillers will apply to product packaging.

Why this mattersA national reuse mandate on this scale pressures retailers and converters supplying single-use produce, takeaway and hotel-amenity packaging to shift format ahead of EU-wide PPWR reuse targets.

• Retailers must allow customer-supplied containers for loose food purchases from 12 February 2027
• Food establishments must provide reusable takeaway containers starting in 2028
• Hotel amenity packaging (shampoo, shower gel) must switch to refillable dispensers, mandatory from 2030
• Packaging empty space is capped at 50% of product volume; double walls and false bottoms restricted
• E-commerce packaging faces new limits on fillers such as air pillows and polystyrene cushioning
• Consumers have been technically permitted to use their own containers since 2019 under an EU directive transposed into Bulgarian law

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