Recycled PET

Recycled content in packaging: what Article 7 actually requires

Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 turns recycled content from a marketing claim into a market requirement. The detail that matters for suppliers and buyers alike is what counts as recycled content, when the targets apply, and how the figure is proven.

The 2030 minimums

• 30 % for contact-sensitive packaging made from PET as the major component
• 10 % for contact-sensitive packaging made from other plastic materials
• 30 % for single-use plastic beverage bottles
• 35 % for all other plastic packaging

The 2040 step

• 50 % for contact-sensitive PET packaging, 25 % for contact-sensitive packaging in other plastics
• 65 % for single-use plastic beverage bottles, 65 % for other plastic packaging

Date mechanics worth knowing

• The 2030 targets apply by 1 January 2030, or three years from entry into force of the implementing act on the calculation and verification methodology, whichever is later — the Commission must adopt that act by 31 December 2026.
• The calculation and verification rules themselves become binding from 1 January 2029 or 24 months after the act enters into force, whichever is later.
• Until the PPWR targets apply, the recycled-content rules of the Single-Use Plastics Directive (EU) 2019/904 continue to apply to plastic beverage bottles.

What counts — and what does not

• Only material recovered from post-consumer plastic waste counts (Article 3(1)(48)). Production scrap that never reached the market — post-industrial regrind — does not qualify.
• The targets attach to the plastic part of packaging, per packaging type and format; plastic parts representing less than 5 % of the total weight of the unit are out of scope.
• Compliance is calculated as an annual average per manufacturing plant, not per unit — which means material-flow records matter more than any single shipment.
• Exemptions exist for compostable plastic packaging and packaging for the transport of dangerous goods, and for food-contact cases where recycled content would create a risk under Regulation (EC) 1935/2004 (Article 7(4) and (5)).

How it is documented

Conformity is demonstrated in the technical documentation for the packaging (Annex VII), and recycled content from 2030 forms part of the EU Declaration of Conformity that the manufacturer or importer keeps and updates. In practice this means every shipment needs to be traceable to a grade and a weight of post-consumer material: that is the data we issue with rPET deliveries, and it is also why a supplier who cannot produce it becomes a bottleneck in 2029 — the year everyone will be asking.

Frequently asked questions