Packaging makers ask ECJ to annul PPWR as Latvia sets out compliance rules
More than a dozen European packaging manufacturers have filed complaints with the European Court of Justice seeking full or partial annulment of the EU packaging regulation, citing disproportionate provisions and effects on competition. Latvia's Ministry of Climate and Energy has meanwhile set out the requirements that will replace the current directive, covering substances of concern, an expanded packaging definition and a declaration of conformity to be kept for five years for single-use and ten years for reusable packaging. Retailers and food producers expect the biggest changes by 2030, when all packaging must be recyclable and several single-use formats are banned.
Why this mattersA pending annulment action adds legal uncertainty to PPWR conformity documentation and the 2030 recyclability deadline that producers are already budgeting for.
- More than a dozen European packaging manufacturers have filed complaints with the European Court of Justice seeking full or partial annulment of the regulation.
- Declarations of conformity must be kept for five years for single-use packaging and ten years for reusable packaging.
- The packaging definition is extended to items such as permeable tea and coffee bags intended to be discarded with the product.
- By 2030 all packaging must be recyclable and bans on certain single-use packaging types take effect.
- Latvia's State Environmental Service will enforce the rules with the Food and Veterinary Service and the Consumer Rights Protection Centre.
- A Latvian University of Biosciences and Technology study found 22% of packaging lacks material-type information and 10% is oversized.