PPWR and stock levels – what should be done? In light of the PPWR requirements, an increasing number of companies are reviewing their packaging stock levels. Businesses want to know whether stock purchased before 12 August 2026 can be legally used once the new regulations come into force.
The PPWR and stock levels – what should you do? The answer is not straightforward. It depends on the type of packaging, its intended use and when it was placed on the market. That is why it is worth analysing your own stock levels before August. This will help minimise the risk of losses, compliance issues and unnecessary costs associated with the PPWR. ‘Old’ packaging need not be a problem once the PPWR comes into force.
02.07.2026
Most businesses purchase packaging in advance. This is standard business practice. However, with the new PPWR requirements coming into force, existing stock needs to be reassessed. The question seems simple: can packaging purchased before the PPWR come into force be used without any issues after 12 August 2026? The answer, however, is more complex.
It all depends on three key factors:
Therefore, each of these situations may give rise to different obligations and consequences.
The European Commission’s guidelines of 30 March 2026 (C(2026) 2151) address this issue directly in Section 5, which deals with PFAS and stockpiles. Section 6, concerning recyclability, is also relevant. Furthermore, it is worth examining Section 12 on reusable packaging. We therefore discuss the most important scenarios step by step below.
The PPWR uses the term ‘placing on the market’ (Article 3(10)). Placing on the market refers to the first time a package is made available on the EU market, whether empty or filled. It is not the date of manufacture of the package. It is not the date the invoice was issued. It is not the date of receipt into stock. Cartons sitting on a shelf have not yet been ‘placed on the market’. The moment of placing on the market occurs when the packaged product is dispatched to a customer or distributor; therefore, this moment triggers the obligations under the PPWR.
In March 2026, the company purchased 100,000 cartons for packaging creams. The cartons have been in storage for several months. The products were packaged and dispatched to the distributor in September 2026. In this situation, the PPWR requirements in force after 12 August apply. The date of purchase of the cartons is irrelevant. The date on the purchase invoice does not exempt the company from compliance. Compliance documentation does provide protection.
To dispel any doubts and clarify how packaging purchased before the PPWR comes into force is to be treated, the European Commission has published detailed interpretative guidelines. The document explains, amongst other things, how such packaging should be treated, and what rules apply with regard to PFAS, recyclability and reusable packaging.
This is the most important point for companies holding stocks of food-contact packaging. The EC guidelines state explicitly: the PPWR does not provide a transitional period for the exhaustion of stocks. Food-contact packaging placed on the market after 12 August 2026 must comply with the PFAS limits, even if it was manufactured earlier. No distinction is made between PFAS added intentionally and those present unintentionally (e.g. from recycled material or process contamination).
However, food-contact packaging that was already placed on the market before 12 August – i.e. that reached a customer or distributor, or was the subject of an offer for sale – may remain in circulation until stocks are exhausted (sell-through).
Manufacturers may therefore only deplete existing stocks by placing them on the market before 12 August. There must be a transfer of ownership or possession to the recipient.
The basic obligation to ensure recyclability (Article 6(1)) applies from 12 August 2026. Until the detailed ‘Design for Recycling’ criteria come into force, presumption of conformity is provided by standard EN 13430:200.
Reusable packaging that has already been placed on the market and is currently in circulation does not need to be retroactively brought into compliance with the requirements of Article 11 of the PPWR. Do you have pallets that have been in circulation since 2024 or transport crates purchased in 2025? Don’t worry, they can continue to be used. However, bear in mind that new reusable packaging placed on the market for the first time after the date of application must already comply with the requirements.
Whether old packaging can be reused following the introduction of the PPWR regulations depends primarily on the type of packaging, its intended use, and whether it had previously been placed on the market.
In this scenario, we consider packaging such as that used for tiles, electronics, furniture and industrial parts. The PFAS ban (Article 5(1)) does not apply here, as it relates exclusively to food-contact packaging. The key requirement is a heavy metals limit of ≤ 100 mg/kg (Article 5(6)) and the possession of an EU declaration of conformity and technical documentation.
In that case, can old packaging be used after the PPWR comes into force? Stock can be used after 12 August without restrictio, provided you have the above documents.
PPWR ant stock levels of food-contact packagings? In cases such as films, trays, cups, containers and grease-resistant paper, the situation is different. Here, Section 5 of the EC guidelines leaves no room for doubt. If packaging contains PFAS above the regulatory thresholds and was not placed on the market before 12 August, it cannot be used after that date. There is no transition period. There is no exception along the lines of ‘but we bought it…’
If you do not know whether your food-contact packaging contains PFAS, it is time for a Total Fluorine test. This is a commercially available analysis, and its result determines whether the stock can be used after 12 August or not.
This scenario, in turn, concerns pallets, transport crates, returnable containers, skips and other reusable packaging. Section 12 of the EC guidelines confirms that reusable packaging already on the market does not need to be retroactively adapted. Pallets can continue to circulate. New reusable packaging introduced for the first time after the date of application must comply with the requirements from day one.
It depends on one thing: whether your brand name appears on the packaging.
The manufacturer, within the meaning of Article 3(13) of the PPWR, is the producer of the packaging. It is the manufacturer who draws up the EU declaration of conformity (Article 39), prepares the technical documentation (Annex VII) and bears responsibility. Your company, as the entity purchasing the packaging and placing the packaged product on the market, verifies that the declaration exists and retains a copy of it (for 5 years for single-use packaging, 10 years for reusable packaging).
In this case, you become the manufacturer within the meaning of the PPWR. Even if you do not physically handle any packaging. It is you who draws up the declaration, compiles the technical documentation, signs the DoC and bears personal legal liability. For a brand owner, it is crucial to have a contractual safeguard in place with the packaging manufacturer. This could be a supply agreement or a separate trademark licence agreement, which will ensure access to the data necessary to draw up the declaration, an obligation to notify of any changes (Article 15(4) of the PPWR), the right to audit, and a clear division of responsibilities. Without such safeguards, the brand owner bears full responsibility for the declaration but may not have access to the data necessary to draw it up. This is a loophole that is worth closing before August, rather than after.
👉 You can find a detailed description of roles and responsibilities in the article: Who signs the PPWR declaration?
Article 15(4) of the PPWR: the manufacturer must have procedures in place to monitor changes to the packaging design, its properties, harmonised standards or technical specifications.
Where the conformity of the packaging may be compromised, a reassessment is required. The EU Declaration of Conformity has no expiry date. It is not renewed annually. It remains valid for as long as the data on which it is based remains current. Has the manufacturer changed their cardboard supplier? Changed the adhesive? Changed the barrier layer? The declaration needs updating because the facts have changed. Continuity of communication within the supply chain is not just a ‘nice-to-have’. It is the only guarantee that the document you have signed still reflects reality and that future EPR charges calculated on its basis are not based on ‘yesterday’s’ data.
PPWR and stock levels is a topic that will certainly be of interest to the finance director. Or at least it should be.
Identifying the entity drawing up the EU declaration of conformity is not a task for the compliance manager alone. It is a task that should be carried out in consultation with the finance department. The PPWR establishes a direct link between the data in the declaration and future fees that will be charged to the entity drawing up the declaration. We wrote about this recently in the article ‘The PPWR and EPR fees’.
Managing packaging stock in light of the PPWR requires simultaneous consideration of substantive and documentation requirements, identification of the responsible party, and links to future EPR fees. Managing packaging stock under the PPWR is not a task that can be completed in a single afternoon with the regulation in hand. To be honest, it shouldn’t be.
Silk Road Certification guides companies through the entire process: from stocktaking and identifying their role in the supply chain, through verifying material compliance, to preparing documentation and EU declarations of conformity. We know that behind the declaration lie not only regulatory requirements, but also real operational costs for the coming decade. That is precisely why we do this in consultation with the client’s technical and finance departments.
If you have packaging purchased before the PPWR came into force and you’re not sure what will happen to it after 12 August — get in touch. Before August decides for you.
If you are familiar with the REACH Regulation, you have probably come across the term ‘Only Representative’. This is an entity within the EU that assumes the registration obligations of a manufacturer based outside the EU. The mechanism is simple: a manufacturer from China, the US or Japan cannot register a substance with ECHA on its own, so it appoints a European intermediary to do so on its behalf. The PPWR introduces a similar mechanism for packaging. There is, however, a catch: under the PPWR, there are two types of Authorised Representatives. The first type of Authorised Representative operates under Article 17 of the PPWR. This is an entity appointed by a non-EU manufacturer, which may draw up a Declaration of Conformity (DoC) on the manufacturer’s behalf, maintain the technical documentation and act as the point of contact for market surveillance authorities. The second type of Authorised Representative under the PPWR has a completely different role. Article 45 of the PPWR concerns Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and imposes an obligation to appoint an Authorised Representative in each Member State where the packaging is first supplied directly to the end-user.
→ READ MOREDiscussions about recycled content in finished products increasingly focus on one key question: how can recycled content be verified in a reliable and auditable way? This issue is particularly important in the context of the PPWR, where the EU Declaration of Conformity is expected to be based on documented evidence for a specific product batch rather than on general claims. Given the widespread use of different certification schemes, a practical question arises: ISCC PLUS, RecyClass or GRS? Each of these systems approaches the verification of recycled content differently and provides a different level of traceability and supporting evidence.
→ READ MOREWiększość firm, które się do nas zgłaszają, pyta: „jak wypełnić deklarację zgodności PPWR?". To zrozumiałe pytanie, choć powinno być zadane w zasadzie na końcu. Aby właściwie rozpocząć dyskusję, należałoby zapytać: "kto sporządza tę deklarację zgodności PPWR?". Nie bez powodu, bo odpowiednia identyfikacja ról nadaje kontekst dalszym rozważaniom. To właśnie podmiot sporządzający deklarację zgodności PPWR ponosi pełną odpowiedzialność regulacyjną za opakowanie na rynku UE. I to ten podmiot będzie adresatem podlegających ekomodulacji opłat EPR (ang. Extended Producer Responsibility - Rozszerzona Odpowiedzialnośc Producenta). Ekomodulacja opłat oznacza, że od 2027 r. zaczną się one różnicować w zależności od klasy recyklowalności, zawartości recyklatu i jakości dokumentacji.
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