PPWR for online stores: what changes from 12 August 2026

Why PPWR matters to online sellers

Packaging rules used to differ a lot between countries because the old directive had to be transposed into national law. The PPWR is a regulation, so most rules are identical across the EU. For e-commerce it brings three big topics: who counts as the producer responsible for packaging waste, the authorised representative for cross-border sellers, and limits on empty space in shipping boxes.

Are you the producer?

Under the PPWR definition of “producer” (Article 3(1), point 15), a business is the producer in a country if, among other cases, it makes packaged products available for the first time in that country, or if it is established in one Member State or outside the EU and supplies packaged products directly to end users in another Member State, including by distance selling. The Swedish EPA summarises it simply: if you are established in one Member State and make packaging or packaged products available directly to end users in another, you are a producer there, regardless of the method of sale.

For a Shopify store, that usually means: your product packaging and your shipping boxes count, and you have producer duties in each country you ship to, not only in your home country.

What producers must do

• Register in the producer register of each Member State where you are a producer (Article 44).
• Finance and organise the collection and treatment of your packaging waste, usually by joining a producer responsibility organisation (scheme) in that country.
• Report the amounts of packaging you place on the market, by material, usually once a year.
• Show your registration where required. Online marketplaces must collect producers' registration numbers and check them.

Authorised representative for EPR

Article 45 requires a producer to appoint an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility in each Member State where it is a producer but not established. This obligation applies from 12 August 2026. Two points are still moving:

• The Commission proposed in late 2025 to postpone the requirement for producers established in another EU country. Reports differ on whether that proposal will be adopted, so check the current position with the national register before you rely on it.
• For non-EU sellers, national authorities interpret the requirement differently, and some countries apply their own representative rules. Several countries already had national rules for non-resident sellers, such as authorised representatives in Germany and Austria or representatives for EPR in France.

Empty space and packaging minimisation

Article 24 requires economic operators that fill grouped, transport or e-commerce packaging to ensure an empty space ratio of at most 50%, from 1 January 2030. The Commission must adopt the calculation method by 12 February 2028. Article 10 requires all packaging to be minimised in weight and volume, with the details set out in standards and secondary rules. Start measuring your typical box-to-product ratio now, especially if you use one box size for everything.

Labels and recyclability

• Harmonised sorting labels (Articles 12 and 13) apply from 12 August 2028, or 24 months after the implementing acts enter into force if that is later. Until then, national labelling rules such as France's Triman and Info-tri stay in place.
• Recyclability (Article 6): packaging must be designed for recycling from 2030, with stricter recyclability performance grades later.
• PFAS in food-contact packaging are restricted from 12 August 2026 (Article 5).

A practical plan for 2026–2027

1. List the countries you ship to and estimate annual packaging weight per material for each.
2. Check registration and scheme duties in each country, starting with the largest markets.
3. Decide whether you need authorised representatives, and get quotes from schemes or service providers.
4. Record packaging weights per product and per shipping box, so reporting becomes a calculation, not a guess.
5. Review box sizes ahead of the 2030 empty space rule.