For companies placing packaging on the market, compliance is no longer optional. It requires a lifecycle approach covering design, materials choice  and end-of-life performance.

Packaging regulations are evolving rapidly across the globe, with the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) setting the direction for many markets. The common denominator of many of these frameworks are designed to reduce environmental impact and accelerate the transition to a circular economy by addressing three core priorities:

• Increase share of recycling
• Reduce (plastic) waste
• Eliminate harmful PFAS chemicals

Legislators worldwide are fighting plastic pollution. Bans have been introduced on single-use plastics, such as plastic bags and drinking straws. Some examples of legislation:

• state of California in the United States is looking to ban packaging components that prevent recyclability
• Australia aims to phase out single-use plastics and improve the circularity of the country’s packaging sector. 
• Countries like China, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines are proposing regulations on secondary and tertiary packaging,  
• China is also targeting excessive e-commerce packaging. 
• The European Union, however, has introduced the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), setting the most ambitious goals for making packaging more sustainable, as part of wider efforts aimed at sustainable product design and development.