August 12 is here – and with it the moment the packaging industry has been working towards for months. The PPWR (Regulation (EU) 2025/40) replaces the 30-year-old Packaging Directive in all 27 Member States with immediate effect, without a transition period. Limit values for PFAS and heavy metals, labeling obligations for manufacturers and importers, the principle of packaging minimization, and the obligation to provide a declaration of conformity per packaging type apply immediately. Stricter requirements for recyclability, recyclate content, and re-use targets will mostly follow from 2030 onwards – but practical implementation begins right now.
Elipso warns against requirements beyond the law
A report by the French plastic packaging association Elipso dated August 10 illustrates the extent to which implementation pressure has already reached supply chains: member companies – representing a combined industry turnover of 8 billion euros and 70 percent of the French sector – report a noticeable increase in customer inquiries that go far beyond actual PPWR requirements. In the run-up to the declaration of conformity, brands and retailers are sometimes demanding ultra-specific tests, complete lists of substances, or binding recyclability scores. Elipso clarifies: packaging manufacturers have an obligation to inform, but ultimate responsibility for the EU declaration of conformity rests with the brand owner or “packager”. In addition, the EU Commission published recent guidance on the interpretation of the PPWR on August 3.
Raw material costs put pressure on margins
While the industry ramps up regulatory compliance, cost pressure remains high. Flexible Packaging Europe’s (FPE) Raw Material Price Index shows sharp price increases for key substrates in the second quarter of 2026: BOPP film became 97 percent more expensive, PET film rose by around 40 percent, BOPA film by 21 percent, and aluminum foil by 12 percent. The polyethylene market also tightened significantly – HDPE up 38 percent, LDPE up 31 percent. FPE Managing Director Guido Aufdemkamp blames geopolitical supply risks, in particular the Middle East conflict and the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Half-year figures from Mondi demonstrate that cost pressure is reaching manufacturers: underlying EBITDA fell from 564 to 379 million euros in the first half of 2026, with margins dropping from 14.4 to 9.5 percent. The company is responding with price increases and plans four additional plant closures in Germany, Poland, Turkey, and Hungary.
The recyclate gap remains the real challenge
However, the issue of recycling is likely to be of greater structural importance to Flexpack than the current cost pressures. According to a study by the industry initiative CEFLEX (Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging), the EU must supply an additional 440,000 tonnes of post-consumer recyclate from flexible packaging annually between 2025 and 2035 to meet PPWR recyclate quotas. On a cumulative basis, according to CEFLEX, demand for recycled material from flexibles will rise from 2.5 million tonnes by 2030 to 5.9 million tonnes by 2035, when a recycling target of 55 percent applies to all plastic packaging. At the same time, CEFLEX points out that the packaging sector alone can hardly absorb this volume – non-packaging applications such as construction films, garbage bags, transport packaging, and horticultural products would also need to be included to meet the estimated total demand of around 4.3 million tonnes by 2030.
Innovations: Mono-material and high barrier side by side
On the materials side, the direction of travel is clear. Together with Spanish packaging manufacturer Enplater, Siegwerk has introduced a high-barrier coating for fully recyclable monolayer polypropylene pouches: the combination of Siegwerk’s CIRKIT OXYBAR WHITE – a combined oxygen barrier and white ink technology in a single inline step – and PU-based printing systems aims to achieve the performance of traditional multi-layer laminates, completely without PVdC, metallized laminates (Met-PET, Met-OPP), or EVOH. PureCycle and Innovia Films, in turn, have developed a white, cavitated BOPP film containing over 40 percent post-consumer recyclate based on PureCycle’s PureFive Choice resin, offering mechanical properties, moisture barrier, opacity, and a paper-like feel as good as virgin material for confectionery, ice cream, and labels. Constantia Flexibles is also driving the transition toward mono-material solutions: according to the company, 92 percent of its product portfolio is already “Designed for Recycling” or has a corresponding alternative available (as of 2024) – implemented, among others, through the Ecolutions range with EcoLam (mono-PE), EcoVer (mono-PP), and EcoPaper.
Context
August 12 marks less of an endpoint and more the start of a multi-year implementation phase. The immediate obligations are manageable, but Elipso’s observation – that brands are already going beyond the legal minimum – indicates where compliance pressure along the supply chain will shift in the coming years. In parallel, the recyclate gap remains the core structural issue: whether mono-material design and new recycling technologies scale quickly enough will determine whether the PPWR’s 2030 targets for flexible packaging are achievable at all.
Sources
All sources were validated via direct web retrieval (as of August 10, 2026).
- ESM Magazine: “Packaging Association Calls For PPWR Rules To Be Followed”, 10.08.2026 – https://www.esmmagazine.com/retail/packaging-association-calls-for-ppwr-rules-to-be-followed-318759
- ESM Magazine: “Flexible Packaging Europe Sees Raw-Material Prices Surge In Q2 2026”, 09.07.2026 – https://www.esmmagazine.com/packaging-design/stretched-thin-flexible-packaging-europe-sees-raw-material-prices-surge-in-q2-2026-316075
- ESM Magazine: “Mondi H1 Underlying EBITDA Declines Amid Higher Input Costs”, 31.07.2026 – https://www.esmmagazine.com/packaging-design/mondi-h1-underlying-ebitda-declines-amid-higher-input-costs-318136
- Packaging Gateway: “Study reveals EU must unlock 2.5 million tonnes of recycled flexibles for PPWR goal” (CEFLEX study “Secondary Applications for Recycled Content”), 19.06.2026 – https://www.packaging-gateway.com/news/eu-recycled-flexibles-ppwr-goal/
- Siegwerk (Press Release): “Siegwerk and Enplater develop fully recyclable mono-PP pouch with integrated barrier and sealing performance”, 29.04.2026 – https://www.siegwerk.com/en/news-media/press-releases/details/siegwerk-and-enplater-develop-fully-recyclable-mono-pp-pouch-with-integrated-barrier-and-sealing-performance.html
- Packaging Europe: “Innovia Films and PureCycle create 40% recycled white, cavitated BOPP film” – https://packagingeurope.com/news/innovia-films-and-purecycle-create-40-recycled-white-cavitated-bopp-film/14375.article
- Constantia Flexibles: Sustainability page (92% DfR metric, Ecolutions portfolio) – https://www.cflex.com/sustainability/
