Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40, the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.
| Applies | Art. 10(1) by January 1, 2030; Art. 10(2) carries no date of its own (see the article) |
|---|---|
| Binds | Manufacturers, importers |
| Evidence | Locked read in the EUR-Lex text |
Requires packaging to be designed so that weight and volume are reduced to the minimum necessary for functionality, taking account of shape and material. Art. 10(2) requires that packaging failing the Annex IV performance criteria, and packaging whose characteristics aim only to increase the perceived volume of the product, including double walls, false bottoms and unnecessary layers, is not placed on the market, subject to narrow exemptions such as protected designs; it carries no date of its own. Art. 10 covers all packaging placed on the market; Art. 24 adds a 50 percent empty space ratio for grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging, subject to the Art. 24(5) exemptions, and, by February 12, 2028, requires those who fill sales packaging to reduce empty space to the minimum necessary. Art. 71 applies the Regulation from August 12, 2026, and Art. 70(1)(b) keeps Article 9(1) and (2) of Directive 94/62/EC applying for the essential requirements in point 1, first indent, of its Annex II until December 31, 2029, which Annex XIII maps to Art. 10 and Annex IV. Commission guidance (Notice C/2026/3084) reads both paragraphs of Art. 10 as applying from January 1, 2030 and says the old compliance standard, EN 13428:2004, stays in effect until then; the Regulation does not say how these dates interact for Art. 10(2).