PPWR: what changes on 12 August 2026 for your packaging

There is a date worth noting: 12 August 2026. That day, the PPWR starts to apply in general — the new Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste, which replaces the old packaging directive and, for the first time, sets concrete reuse targets for transport packaging. If you are a cooperative, warehouse or fruit and vegetable trading company, this concerns you directly.

Since it is an EU regulation, it applies equally in every country without Spain needing to transpose it. It entered into force in February 2025 and the bulk of it becomes mandatory from August 2026. Let's get to what actually changes for your operation.

What "transport packaging" is and why it affects you

The PPWR distinguishes between types of packaging, and the one we are concerned with here is transport packaging: the kind that moves goods between economic operators. That covers plastic bulk bins, Big Box, field crates and the containers you use to move produce from the field to the warehouse and from the warehouse to the customer.

That is precisely the packaging the EU wants to see reused, not thrown away after a single trip.

The 40% target for 2030

Article 29 of the regulation sets that, by 1 January 2030, at least 40% of the transport packaging used between operators must be reusable. It is a target with a name and a date, not a statement of intent.

Two nuances that matter in the field:

• Cardboard is excluded from the reuse targets. A single-use cardboard box does not help you meet it; a returnable plastic bulk bin or crate does.

• Pallet strapping and wrapping film must incorporate a minimum amount of recycled material.

Put another way: the European framework is pushing exactly towards the type of packaging we already work with. Reuse stops being purely a cost decision and also becomes a compliance one.

Food contact and declaration of conformity

The PPWR arrives alongside tighter requirements for packaging that touches food: restrictions on substances such as PFAS and a requirement for an EU Declaration of Conformity before it can be placed on the market. For fruit and vegetables, this reinforces something you should already be requiring from your supplier: that the bulk bin or crate is fit for food contact under the current framework (Regulations 1935/2004 and 10/2011). If the container cannot demonstrate that conformity, the problem is yours even if you did not make it.

What you can start doing now

2030 seems far off, but the container fleet renews slowly and by season. Getting ahead is cheap; running to catch up at the end is not. A few ideas:

• Review how much of your transport packaging is currently single-use and how much is already returnable.

• Cover season peaks with [bulk bin rental](/alquiler-de-palots) instead of buying disposable packaging: you raise your reusable percentage without tying up capital.

• When you renew your fleet, go for returnable, whether new or reconditioned used stock.

The takeaway

The PPWR is not a last-minute formality: it is the direction all transport packaging in Europe is heading, and the reusable plastic bulk bin is exactly the category that comes out strengthened. Migrating now saves you the scramble of 2029 and, along the way, cuts your single-use packaging costs.

If you would like us to review your packaging mix and work out how to reach 2030 without surprises, write to us via contact or request a quote telling us your season volume.