PPWR declarations of conformity: choosing the right packaging scope

Start from the unit of packaging in Article 3(1), point (45). It is a unit, with its integrated and separate components, that as a whole does a packaging job such as containing, protecting or transporting a product. A closure or label that is thrown away with the bottle is an integrated component. A peel-off lid that must be removed completely before use is a separate component. The Commission's PPWR FAQ says the conformity assessment and the declaration are made for the entire packaging unit, and the declaration should include relevant information on every component in it.

Grouped and transport packaging form their own units when they are discarded before the point of sale. One shipment can therefore hold several units from several manufacturers. The FAQ says transport packaging has no exemption, and that pallets, pallet collars, wrappings and straps each need a separate assessment and declaration. Take a fictional manufacturer, Tarnwick, shipping a degreaser. A pallet load holds 1 L HDPE bottles with caps and labels, a corrugated case of twelve bottles, a wooden pallet, stretch wrap and two straps. That is five packaging units, and each needs its own declaration.

Build the scope map from that list. Give each unit a row with its components, materials, the product it holds, its supplier and the markets it reaches. Every later decision about a declaration is a note on one of those rows.

Only the manufacturer draws up the declaration, and by doing so it takes responsibility for the packaging's compliance (Articles 15(2) and 39(4)). The manufacturer is whoever makes the packaging or packaged product, unless the packaging is designed or made under another person's name or trademark, in which case that person is the manufacturer (Article 3(1), point (13)). The Commission's guidance notice adds that a supply chain has only one manufacturer for a given packaging, and that a contract can delegate the drafting but not the responsibility.

For bought-in transport packaging, the guidance looks at branding and design. A standard unbranded case or a roll of unbranded stretch wrap belongs to the company that makes it. A shipping sticker doesn't count as branding. Where packaging is custom-made and unbranded, the company that orders it and sets its design is the manufacturer. On Tarnwick's pallet, Tarnwick declares the bottle unit, which carries its name. Its suppliers declare the standard case, the pallet, the wrap and the straps, unless Tarnwick specified their design or put its brand on them.

Mark each row of the scope map with the declaring company. A row that carries a supplier's declaration becomes a request to that supplier for a copy.

Annex VII, point 4 requires a declaration "for each packaging type", identifying the packaging it covers. The FAQ reads "type" there as each packaging format or batch, not a packaging material. Annex VIII sets the model. It has a unique identification number, the manufacturer's name and address, a statement that the manufacturer bears sole responsibility, a description of the packaging that allows traceability, the other Union acts applied, the standards or specifications used, notified body details where relevant, and a signature, place and date. The FAQ says the identification is by type, batch or serial number, and the manufacturer may choose which.

The FAQ's test for grouping is whether the packaging has the same characteristics for the applicable requirements and holds the same products. Different sizes of bottle holding the same product can share a declaration if size doesn't affect compliance with Articles 5 to 12. Packaging for different products shouldn't share one. Minimisation is assessed against the packaged product, and recycled content can depend on weight, so both can split a group that looks uniform.

In Tarnwick's case, the 0.5 L and 1 L bottles of the same degreaser, with the same resin, cap and label materials, can share one declaration that lists both sizes, provided the technical documentation shows the same outcome for each. Its 20 L jerrycan holds the same product but is a different design with a different closure, so it gets its own. A bottle of a different product gets its own declaration even if the bottle is identical.

A single declaration can also cover several Union acts where the packaging or packaged product falls under more than one, such as the food contact plastics rules (Article 39(3)). That combines legal acts for the same packaging scope. The FAQ says the packaging and the packaged product must still be assessed and shown separately.

Each declaration rests on the technical documentation in Annex VII, point 2. Where relevant, that includes a description of the packaging and its use, design drawings and the materials of each component, the standards or other specifications applied, a description of how the recyclability, minimisation and reuse assessments under Articles 6, 10 and 11 were done, and test reports. It must also include a risk analysis of non-conformity.

Much of the evidence comes from suppliers. Article 16 requires suppliers of packaging or packaging materials to give the manufacturer all the information and documentation needed to show conformity, including for the technical documentation. For food contact packaging, Article 5(5) also requires the chemical supplier to provide fluorine evidence on request where total fluorine exceeds 50 mg/kg. Link each component on the scope map to the document that proves it, such as the resin supplier's heavy metals statement for the 100 mg/kg limit in Article 5(4).

Record any exemption you rely on in the same file. The FAQ says exemptions from the recyclability and recycled content rules in Articles 6 and 7 must be assessed and documented. Keep the documentation and the declaration for 5 years after single-use packaging is placed on the market, or 10 years for reusable packaging (Article 15(3)). Supply them within 10 days of a reasoned request from a national authority (Article 15(10)).

Article 15(4) requires procedures that keep series production in conformity. Changes to the packaging's design or characteristics, and changes to the standards or specifications behind the declaration, must be considered. Where conformity could be affected, the packaging is reassessed. Treat a new resin grade, closure, label stock, supplier, size or packaged product as a trigger to check whether the declaration still holds, and record the answer.

The requirements arrive in stages. Article 5 applies from 12 August 2026. The recyclability grades in Article 6 and the recycled content targets in Article 7 apply from 1 January 2030 at the earliest, and the harmonised label in Article 12 from 12 August 2028 at the earliest, each later if the Commission's implementing measures are late. Article 39(2) requires the declaration to be continuously updated, so expect to revise each one as each requirement applies.

Some cases stay open. The FAQ says harmonised standards under the old Packaging Directive no longer give a presumption of conformity, except the minimisation standard until the end of 2029. Where a name and a trademark belong to different companies, the FAQ calls for a case-by-case reading of who decides the design. Note each open case on its row with the reasoning and the guidance relied on, and revisit it when the Commission's guidance or a standard changes. The FAQ and the guidance notice are guidance. Binding interpretation of the Regulation rests with the Court of Justice.