Source: European Parliament
Articles 12(6) and 13(2) of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation[1] ( PPWR) require the Commission to adopt an implementing act establishing harmonised labels for consumer waste sorting on the packaging and on waste receptacles.
Within the Commission, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) has been mandated to deliver the technical support and evidence-based recommendations for the development of these labels[2], with a clear objective to come up with a harmonised approach to reduce barriers to the internal market.
The prototype does not require the use of text on the packaging labels and the Commission does not support a labelling approach that may cause market fragmentation. The JRC assessed the risk that national translations could cause fragmentation and higher compliance cost for businesses and consumers.
The JRC is expected to deliver its recommendations by the end of summer 2025. Based on these, the Commission will prepare a draft implementing act which will be presented for discussion to the newly established Expert Group for Waste which includes all relevant stakeholders from the industry.
- [1] Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 on packaging and packaging waste, amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and Directive (EU) 2019/904, and repealing Directive 94/62/EC, OJ L, 2025/40, 22.1.2025.
- [2] Interim report: https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC135860.