Expert
TEXT SAMI ANTEROINEN PHOTO SEPPO SAMULI
PPWR gathers momentum this year The EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) entered into force in February 2025. The EU wants to make all packaging on the EU market recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030. How do things stand with PPWR, with general application arriving in August 2026?
VARIOUS ASPECTS OF PPWR will take effect at differ- ent times. By 2030, all packaging placed on the EU market must be designed for recycling and will be graded by performance. From 1 January 2030, only packaging with a recyclability performance grade of A, B or C will be permitted on the market. “Regarding packaging recyclability, for example, the European Union is still conducting work to com- pile the criteria,” says Tytti Peltonen, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, for Metsä Group. Extended Pro- ducer Responsibility (EPR) fees will be modulated based on the recyclability class. Fibre-based packaging does seem well posi- tioned to reap the benefits of new regulation. As plastic is being replaced as a packaging material, innovative fibre-based solutions are increasing in popularity. Indeed, Peltonen describes fibre-based as one of the most “future-proof” packaging alternatives out there. To champion the cause of fibre, Metsä Board is a member of 4ever- green, an organisation which represents the entire value chain of fibre-based packaging. 4evergreen develops evidence-based guidelines and harmonised tools to raise the overall recycling rate of fibre-based packaging to 90 per cent by 2030. These tools offer harmonised methodologies that can support the European Commission as it is developing design for recycling criteria and recyclability performance grade assessments for fibre-based packaging.
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FIBRE-BASED IS ONE OF THE MOST “FUTURE-PROOF” PACKAGING ALTER- NATIVE OUT THERE.
TYTTI PELTONEN • Vice President, Corporate Affairs, at Metsä Group • Chair of the Environment and Safety Committee for the Confederation of European Paper Industries (Cepi) and Co-Chair of the 4evergreen alliance.
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