- The duty
- Minimum necessary
Reduce empty space to what is needed for the pack’s function, including protecting the product. This is not a universal 50% allowance for every retail carton.
Article 24(4) - The date
- By 12 February 2028
The sales-pack minimisation duty has its own date.
- What to measure
Paragraph 4 compares the internal space of the sales packaging with the packaged product. Filling material still counts as empty space.
Settlement, required headspace and protective gases need the paragraph’s specific treatment.
- What can change the reading
A sales pack may also be the pack used for an online delivery. The role of the same physical object matters.
One pack doing both jobs
The packaging layer comes first
PPWR empty-space rules,
side by side.
Two different duties are often collapsed into one “50% rule”. Start with the packaging being filled, then read its requirement and its date together.
Grouped, transport
or e-commerce packaging
The outer packaging being considered.
See the nested example- The duty
- 50% maximum
The maximum empty-space ratio concerns economic operators filling these packaging categories, subject to its timing and scope.
Article 24(1) - The date
- 1 January 2030, or later
Compare that date with three years after the relevant implementing acts enter into force. The later date controls. Work through the condition.
- What to measure
Paragraph 3 compares the outer-pack volume with the sales-packaging volume inside it. The bare product and its sales pack are different boundaries.
- What can change the reading
Article 24(5) names the same-sales-pack and qualifying re-use-system exceptions to paragraph 1. Neither is a blanket exemption from PPWR.
Read the qualifying conditions
Source: Regulation (EU) 2025/40, Article 24. This comparison concerns excessive packaging, not every duty in the regulation.
Timing noteKeep both dates
Keep both dates
in the sentence.
Fixed date1 January 2030
Conditional dateEntry into force
+ 3 years
+ 3 years
The later of these dates determines the timing in Article 24(1). A deadline for adopting a methodology is not, by itself, an act’s entry-into-force date.
Compare three hypothetical implementing-act dates
These are teaching examples, not announced implementation dates.
| Act enters into force | Add three years | Later than 1 Jan 2030? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Dec 2026 | 1 Dec 2029 | No: use 1 Jan 2030 |
| 1 Jun 2027 | 1 Jun 2030 | Yes: use 1 Jun 2030 |
| 12 Feb 2028 | 12 Feb 2031 | Yes: use 12 Feb 2031 |
The other dates do different jobs.
- 12 August 2026
- General application. PPWR begins to apply, with different timetables for different requirements. This does not make the 50% ratio immediately applicable to every parcel. Commission announcement
- By 12 February 2028
- Methodology adoption. Article 24(2) gives the Commission a deadline for the calculation methodology. This is separate from the sales-pack duty that shares the same date.
- By 12 February 2032
- Commission review. Paragraph 6 calls for a review of the ratio and exceptions, and consideration of possible sales-pack ratios. A review deadline is not a pre-written new percentage.
Before writing a packaging claim
“All boxes must be under 50% empty from August 2026” loses the packaging category, the particular duty and the timing condition. A working note should name the relevant paragraph and packaging, then keep its date condition attached.
Keep the source version and date checked with that note. Verify an implementing measure’s entry-into-force provision rather than using a press-release date. The Commission’s implementation resources are a starting point; this site is not a live legislative alert or a complete register of later measures.
Checking your own public packaging page and update email
Check that your product page, delivery page and confirmation email describe the same policy. Distinguish a design ambition from a verified claim.
WebTraceCheck is our optional browser product for inspecting your public page in a separate browser environment. It helps review what a visitor sees; it does not audit packaging.
For a non-sensitive test signup to your own update list, CleanTempMail supplies a temporary inbox. Use invented details. Keep real orders, compliance records and account recovery on a durable address.
Both products share this publication’s operator. Links carry site, topic and placement labels, not personal input. Neither product is required to read this reference.