Article 29: Re-use Targets

Article 29

Re-use targets

1. From 1 January 2030, economic operators that use transport packaging, or sales packaging used for transporting products, including for products distributed via e-commerce, within the territory of the Union, in the form of pallets, foldable-plastic boxes, boxes, trays, plastic crates, intermediate bulk containers, pails, drums and canisters of any size or material, including flexible formats or pallet wrappings or straps for stabilisation and protection of products put on pallets during transport, shall ensure that at least 40 % of such packaging in total is reusable packaging within a re-use system.
   
   From 1 January 2040, those economic operators shall endeavour to use at least 70 % of the packaging referred to in the first subparagraph in a reusable format within a re-use system.

2. From 1 January 2030, by way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, economic operators that use transport packaging or sales packaging used for transporting products, in the forms as listed in paragraph 1 of this Article, within the territory of the Union, between different sites on which the operator performs its activity, or between any of the sites on which the operator performs its activity and the sites of any other linked enterprise or partner enterprise, as defined in Article 3 of the Annex to Recommendation 2003/361/EC as applicable on 11 February 2025, shall ensure that such packaging is reusable within a re-use system.

3. From 1 January 2030, by way of derogation from paragraph 1, economic operators that use transport packaging or sales packaging used for transporting products, including for products distributed via e-commerce, in the forms as listed in paragraph 1, to deliver products to another economic operator within the same Member State shall ensure that such packaging is reusable within a re-use system.

4. The obligations set out in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 do not apply to transport packaging or sales packaging:

(a) used for the transportation of dangerous goods in accordance with Directive 2008/68/EC;

(b) used for the transportation of large-scale machinery, equipment and commodities for which packaging is

custom-designed to fit the individual requirements of the economic operator that made the order;

(c) in flexible format that is used for transportation and that is in direct contact with food and feed as defined in Article 2 and in Article 3, point (4), of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 or with food ingredients as defined in Article 2(2), point (f), of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (69);

(d) in the form of cardboard boxes.

5. From 1 January 2030, economic operators that use grouped packaging in the form of boxes, excluding cardboard, outside of sales packaging to group a certain number of products to create a stock-keeping or distribution unit shall ensure that at least 10 % of such packaging is reusable packaging within a re-use system.
   
   From 1 January 2040, economic operators shall endeavour to use at least 25 % of the packaging referred to in the first subparagraph in a reusable format within a re-use system.

6. From 1 January 2030, final distributors that make alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in sales packaging available on the territory of a Member State to consumers shall ensure that at least 10 % of those products are made available in reusable packaging within a re-use system. From 1 January 2040, economic operators shall endeavour to make at least 40 % of the products referred to in the first subparagraph available in reusable packaging within a re-use system.
   
   Final distributors shall ensure that packaged products manufactured under their own brand contribute on a fair and proportionate basis towards to the achievement of the targets set out in this paragraph.

7. The targets laid down in paragraph 6 shall not apply to:

(a) beverages which are highly perishable within the meaning of Article 24 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 and milk and milk products listed in Part XVI of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and their dairy analogies falling within codes 2202 99 11 and 2202 99 15 of the Combined Nomenclature (CN) in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87

(b) categories of grapevine products listed in points 1, 3 to 9, 11, 12, 15, 16 and 17 of Part II of Annex VII to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013;

(c) aromatised wine products as defined in Regulation (EU) No 251/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council;

(d) products that are similar to wine products and aromatised wine products and that are obtained from fruit other than grapes and vegetables, and other fermented beverages falling within CN code 2206 00;

(e) alcohol-based spirituous beverages corresponding to CN heading 2208.

8. By 12 February 2027, the Commission, in consultation with Member States, shall publish guidelines on the types of products falling within the scope of paragraphs 6 and 7.

9. Final distributors as referred to in paragraph 6 shall take back, free of charge, all reusable packaging of the same type, form and size as the packaging made available on the market by them, within that specific re-use system at the point of sale, ensuring the recovery and return of such packaging through the entire distribution chain. Final distributors shall ensure that end users are able to return the packaging at the location where the actual handover of such packaging takes place or in close proximity thereto. The final distributor shall fully redeem associated deposits or notify the return of the packaging according to the governance rules of the specific re-use system in order that any associated deposits be redeemed, as the case may be.

10. If, in a given calendar year, a final distributor has a sales area of not more than 100 sqm, that final distributor shall be exempt from the obligation to meet the targets set out in paragraph 6 in that calendar year. On the basis of the special conditions of final distribution and some manufacturing sectors, even at national level, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 64 to amend the sales area threshold.

11. Member States may exempt final distributors from the obligation to meet the targets set out in paragraph 6 if their sales area is located on an island with a population of less than 2 000 inhabitants. Member States may also exempt final distributors from the obligation to meet the targets set out in paragraph 6 if their sales area is located in a municipality with a population density less than 54 persons/km2, however, the targets set out in paragraph 6 shall apply to final distributors with a sales area in population centres with more than 5 000 inhabitants.
    
    If a final distributor that has been exempted pursuant to the first or second subparagraph sells products referred to in paragraph 6 in re-usable packaging, it shall arrange a take-back for such packaging in accordance with paragraph 9. If the final distributor that has been exempted pursuant to the first or second subparagraph has more than one sales area and only one or only some of those areas are located on such an island or in such a municipality, the relevant beverages made available on the territory of a Member State in such sales areas shall not be calculated for the purpose of meeting the targets set out in paragraph 6.

12. Member States may allow final distributors to form pools for the purpose of meeting their obligations laid down in paragraph 6, provided that each pool:

(a) does not exceed more than 40 % of the market share of the relevant beverage category;

(b) consists of no more than five final distributors; and

(c) only covers beverage categories made available on the territory of a Member State by all pool members.

The condition under point (b) does not apply if the final distributors operate under the same brand name.

Where a Member State allows final distributors to form pools pursuant to the first subparagraph, each pool shall provide the competent authority of the Member State with at least the following information:

(a) the final distributors included in the pool; and

(b) the final distributor appointed as pool manager and contact point.

Member States may require further information to be provided as necessary for the enforcement of the obligations under paragraph 6 in conjunction with this paragraph.

Final distributors shall ensure that their pooling arrangements comply with Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. Without prejudice to the general applicability of Union competition rules to such pools, all members of a pool shall in particular ensure that neither data-sharing nor information exchange, including in relation to prospective sales data, occur in the context of their pooling arrangements, except in respect of the information referred to in Article 30(2) of this Regulation.

By 1 January 2028, the Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 64 to supplement this Regulation by establishing and specifying the detailed conditions and reporting requirements to be applied to the pooling arrangements referred to in this paragraph, taking into account the type and quantity of packaging each final distributor places on the market each calendar year and the location of the final distributors.

13. Economic operators shall be exempt from the obligation to meet the targets set out in this Article for a calendar year, if during that calendar year they:

(a) made not more than 1 000 kg of packaging available on the territory of a Member State; and

(b) fall within the definition of micro-enterprise as set out in Recommendation 2003/361/EC as applicable on 11 February 2025.

On the basis of the special conditions of final distribution and of some manufacturing sectors, including at national level, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 64 to amend the threshold set out in point (a) of this paragraph.

14. Member States may exempt economic operators for a period of 5 years from the obligations under this Article under the following conditions:

(a) the exempting Member State reaches 5 percentage points above the targets for recycling of packaging waste per material to be achieved by 2025 and is expected to reach 5 percentage points above the 2030 target according to the report published by the Commission 3 years before that date;

(b) the exempting Member State is on track to achieve the relevant waste prevention targets set out in Article 43 and can demonstrate to have reduced the packaging waste generated per capita by at least 3 % by 2028 compared to the packaging waste generated per capita in 2018; and

(c) the economic operators have adopted a corporate waste prevention and recycling plan that contributes to achieving the waste prevention and recycling objectives set out in Articles 43 and 52, respectively.

That period of 5 years may be renewed by the Member State provided that all the conditions are fulfilled.

15. Subject to the conditions set out in Article 51, Member States may set targets for economic operators that exceed the minimum targets set out in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of this Article to the extent that such higher targets are necessary for the Member State to achieve one or more of the targets set out in Article 43.

16. Subject to the conditions set out in Article 51, Member States may set targets for economic operators with regard to beverages made available in sales packaging which does not fall under paragraph 6 of this Article, if those additional targets are necessary for the Member State to achieve one or more of the targets set out in Article 43.

17. Targets laid down in or pursuant to this Article shall be calculated for the period of a calendar year.

18. In order to take account of the latest scientific and economic data and developments, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 64 to supplement this Regulation by establishing:

(a) exemptions for economic operators that are additional to those provided for in this Article, due to particular economic constraints encountered in a specific sector related to the compliance with the targets set out in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of this Article;

(b) exemptions for specific packaging formats covered by the targets set out in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of this Article, where hygiene and food safety issues prevent the achievement of those targets;

(c) exemptions for specific packaging formats covered by the targets set out in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of this Article, where environmental issues prevent the achievement of those targets.

19. By 1 January 2034, taking into account the evolution of the state of the art of technology and the practical

experience gained by economic operators and Member States, the Commission shall present a report reviewing the implementation of the 2030 targets set out in this Article. In that report, it shall evaluate, including from the perspective of the life-cycle assessment of single-use and re-use packaging, the following:

(a) the extent to which the 2030 targets have led to solutions fostering sustainable packaging that are effective and easy to implement;

(b) the feasibility of the achievement of the 2040 targets on the basis of the experience in achieving the 2030 targets and the evolving circumstances;

(c) the relevance of maintaining the exemptions and derogations set out in this Article; and

(d) the necessity or pertinence of setting new targets for the re-use and refill of other packaging categories.

The Commission’s report shall include an employment impact assessment. The report shall, where appropriate, be accompanied by a legislative proposal amending this Article, in particular the 2040 targets. By December 2032, Member States shall provide data to the Commission on the employment impact assessment related to the implementation of the re-use targets in their national territories. Before submitting the data to the Commission, Member States shall inform and consult national social partners representing workers and employers in the sectors covered by packaging re-use targets.

Source: Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 on packaging and packaging waste, OJ L, 2025/40, 22.1.2025