Packaging regulation in the beverage sector
The beverage sector is the only one for which the regulation sets a collection target with a precise percentage: 90% a year, by weight, of single-use plastic bottles and single-use metal containers up to three litres, by 1 January 2029. Deposit and return systems follow from that target.
- Legal reference
- Art. 50 · Art. 7
- Last updated
- Official text
- Regulation (EU) 2025/40
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Separate collection and the deposit return system
Article 50 requires Member States to adopt, by 1 January 2029, the measures needed to ensure the separate collection of at least 90% a year, by weight, of:
- single-use plastic bottles for beverages with a capacity of up to three litres;
- single-use metal containers for beverages with a capacity of up to three litres.
To achieve the target, Member States establish deposit and return systems, with the deposit charged at the point of sale. Paragraph 3 allows for the possibility of exempting certain economic operators.
The obligation is addressed to Member States, but the operational consequences fall on bottlers and distributors: identifying formats, dedicated labelling and managing return flows.
Recycled content
Article 7 sets the minimum percentages of post-consumer recycled content in plastic parts, applicable from 1 January 2030, or three years after the entry into force of the relevant implementing act if later:
| Type of packaging | From 2030 | From 2040 |
|---|---|---|
| Single-use plastic beverage bottles | 30% | 65% |
| Contact-sensitive PET packaging, other than beverage bottles | 30% | 50% |
| Contact-sensitive packaging in plastics other than PET | 10% | 25% |
| Other plastic packaging | 35% | 65% |
The percentage is calculated as an average per production plant and per year.
Labelling of deposit containers
Article 12 provides that packaging subject to deposit and return systems must be marked with a clear and unambiguous label. In addition to the national label, a harmonised colour label established by an implementing act may be applied, and Member States may require it, provided this does not create distortions of the internal market.
Grouping at the point of sale
Annex V, point 1, bans, from 1 January 2030, single-use plastic stretch and shrink film used at the point of sale to group products sold in bottles, cans, tins, jars, tubs and trays, when designed as convenience packaging to encourage the purchase of more than one product. Grouped packaging needed to facilitate handling remains excluded.
What already applies from 12 August 2026
Technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity for each type of packaging, the 100 mg/kg limit on the sum of the four heavy metals, and, for packaging intended for contact with food, the three PFAS limit values.
References
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 on packaging and packaging waste, in OJ L of 22 January 2025.
- Art. 5(4) and (5) · Heavy metals and PFAS
- Art. 7 · Minimum recycled content in plastic packaging
- Art. 12 · Labelling, including deposit containers
- Art. 25 and Annex V, point 1 · Single-use plastic grouped packaging
- Art. 50 · Deposit and return systems
- Annexes VII and VIII · Technical documentation and EU declaration of conformity
Official text: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/40/oj