The PPWR Library
Everything we know about EU packaging compliance, organised by topic. Start with the basics, then drill into whichever country, sector, or workflow you're wrestling with.
Start here — PPWR basics
If you've never read the PPWR (EU 2025/40), start with these three. Together they answer: what is it, who does it apply to, and what changes in 2026.
What is the PPWR?
One-page plain-language explainer of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.
Read →PPWR vs EPR — what's the difference?
Two regimes people confuse every day. The PPWR is the design-and-marking law; EPR is the national pay-for-collection system.
Read →The 2026 PPWR compliance checklist
The eleven things every producer needs to have in place by August 2026.
Read →PPWR for small and medium-sized businesses
SMEs are not exempt. A realistic guide for a 5-to-50-person team that can't afford a compliance officer.
Read →Fines and enforcement under PPWR
Who enforces PPWR in each Member State and what the penalties actually look like in 2026.
Read →PPWR beyond 2026
Recycled-content quotas, re-use targets, QR codes — what the regulation requires in 2027, 2028, 2030.
Read →Country-by-country EPR guides
Each EU country has its own PRO, its own CSV format, and its own deadline. These are the practical guides for the eleven markets Pack Declare supports today.
Spain — ECOEMBES registration
How to register with Ecoacord, what NIF/id_productor values to use, and the monthly filing rhythm.
Read →France — CITEO for e-commerce
Ménager vs non ménager, eco-modulation bonuses/penalties, Triman + Info-Tri obligations.
Read →Germany — LUCID packaging registration
Registering with Zentrale Stelle, picking a dual system, and filing quarterly Mengenmeldungen.
Read →Italy — CONAI contributo ambientale
Contribution rates, the mandatory environmental label, and how e-commerce is treated.
Read →Netherlands — Afvalfonds Verpakkingen
The 50,000-kg threshold, the simplified track, and the 1 April deadline.
Read →Portugal — SPV
Sociedade Ponto Verde's quarterly cadence and the nif_declarante / id_declarante header.
Read →Belgium — Fost Plus
Household vs industrial flows (VAL-I-PAC), annual declaration by 31 March.
Read →Austria — ARA
Lizenznehmer-Nummer, annual Mengenmeldung, and Austria's strict first-gram obligation.
Read →Sector playbooks
What PPWR and EPR mean for specific e-commerce verticals. These pages double as landing pages — link-heavy and conversion-focused — but the content is practical.
Cosmetics & personal care
Refillables, recycled-content targets for PET, Triman categorisation for cosmetics.
Read →Food & beverage
Food-contact PFAS thresholds, multi-layer film recyclability, and how DRS schemes interact with EPR.
Read →Fashion & apparel
Textile EPR schemes, polybags, shipping packaging, and the e-commerce return flow.
Read →Consumer electronics
WEEE + PPWR interaction, EPS foam phase-out, battery packaging.
Read →Compliance workflows
The operational side: how real teams go from sales data to filed declarations without a compliance officer.
Packaging BOMs 101
What a Bill of Materials is, why versioning it matters, and the fields every BOM row needs.
Read →Packaging levels — primary, secondary, tertiary, shipping
The four levels every declaration asks about and how to map them to your actual products.
Read →Recyclability grades under PPWR
Grade A to D, the 2030 thresholds, and what improves your grade fastest.
Read →Eco-modulation — reducing your EPR fees
How to use material choices to move your fee multiplier from malus to bonus, with worked examples.
Read →EPR fees explained
How national PROs calculate what you owe, and why the same kilo of packaging costs 5× more in NL than in IT.
Read →EPR for e-commerce
The special quirks of e-commerce: shipping packaging, marketplace duty-of-care, returns treatment.
Read →Multi-country EPR strategy
How to manage 5+ national declarations without losing your mind. The prioritization framework.
Read →EPR deadlines 2026 — all 11 countries
The one-page reference table with every filing date and late-penalty rule.
Read →Preparing for an EPR audit
What inspectors actually ask for, the gaps they usually find, and how to have a defensible record.
Read →Inside the declaration pack
File-by-file walkthrough of the ZIP Pack Declare generates every period.
Read →Platform-specific guides
Platform connectors are half the battle. These articles cover the specifics of pulling orders from each of the three big e-commerce platforms.
EPR compliance for Shopify
How the Shopify connector maps orders to declarations, plus the Shopify Managed Billing Lite tier.
Read →WooCommerce EPR guide
WooCommerce connector setup, how we handle variable products, recurring subscription orders.
Read →Amazon sellers and EPR
SP-API integration, FBA inventory treatment, and the Amazon-specific exclusion rule.
Read →Marketplace sellers — what platforms actually handle
Amazon, Zalando, and other marketplaces collect your EPR ID but don't file for you.
Read →Looking forward
The next wave of regulatory changes — what's coming in 2027, 2028, 2030 — and how Pack Declare is preparing.
Pack Declare vs the alternatives
Honest comparisons to every major compliance tool our customers evaluate. We recommend competitors when they fit better than us — both sides of the table are in these articles.
Pack Declare vs Coolset
SMB vertical tool vs mid-market ESG platform. Honest breakdown of who fits where.
Read →Pack Declare vs Recyda
E-commerce SMB vs global FMCG brands (Kao, Beiersdorf). Different segments.
Read →Pack Declare vs EPR Insights
Two Shopify apps. Features, pricing, country coverage compared.
Read →Pack Declare vs PPWR Copilot
Dossier generation vs declaration packs. When each wins.
Read →Pack Declare vs Eldris
Self-serve SaaS vs managed service. Delivery-model tradeoffs.
Read →Pack Declare vs Excel
The true cost of DIY compliance — 80 hours a year and 3-5 errors per declaration.
Read →Excel vs compliance software
The broader picture: when should any team stop doing compliance in a spreadsheet?
Read →Free tools
Interactive calculators and reference material — no signup, no credit card, no strings.
All free tools
The full suite on one page.
Open tool →ToolEU Material Code Finder
Searchable database of the 99 codes from Commission Decision 97/129/EC.
Open tool →ToolRecycling Icons Library
Mobius loop, Resin codes, Triman/Info-Tri official links. SVG + PNG + data URL.
Open tool →ToolEPR Deadline Calculator
Pick a country, get the next deadline, export to Google/Outlook/Apple Calendar.
Open tool →ToolEPR Fee Calculator
Estimate annual EPR fees across 11 EU countries. Material-swap simulator.
Open tool →ToolPPWR QR Code Generator
Country-aware disposal QR codes for packaging. 2027-ready.
Open tool →Tool2-minute PPWR Readiness Check
Answer 5 questions, get a 0-100 readiness score and an indicative annual EPR fee range.
Open tool →Ready to stop reading and start doing?
Pack Declare connects to Shopify, WooCommerce, or Amazon, reads your orders, and generates country-specific declaration packs for 11 EU markets — automatically.
Start free with Pack Declare →