Question
What's the difference between PPWR, EPR and GPSR?
Reviewed 2026-08-15
Short answer
Three separate regimes with three separate deadlines.
PPWR — Regulation (EU) 2025/40
- About the packaging itself: what it is made of, how much you use, whether it can be recycled, and what it must not contain.
- Applies from 12 August 2026. Harmonised labelling from 12 August 2028. Further targets 2030 and 2040.
National packaging EPR
- Older than PPWR and separate from it.
- Register in each country, report how much packaging you send, and pay towards recycling it.
- Germany LUCID, France Citeo, Italy CONAI, Ireland Repak.
GPSR — Regulation (EU) 2023/988
- Product safety, not packaging.
- You need someone based in the EU responsible for the product, plus safety information on your listings and records you can trace.
- In force since 13 December 2024 — this deadline has already passed.
UK pEPR
- A fourth, completely separate scheme. Registering in the UK does nothing for the EU.
Sources
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