According to Euwid, plastic pallet wraps and strapping bands are to be exempted indefinitely from the future requirement on 100 per cent reusable packaging.

For transport packaging, Article 29 (2) and (3) of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) stipulates that, from 1 January 2030, deliveries within the same Member State and transports between different sites of the same economic operator or sites of affiliated or partner companies must be 100 per cent reusable. However, a draft delegated decision by the Commission published on 10 December 2025 now exempts pallet covers and strapping from this regulation without any time limit. The draft is available on the European Commission's website in the ‘Your opinion matters’ section, where comments can be submitted until 9 January 2026. The feedback will be taken into account when drafting the final version, according to the Commission.
 
When the PPWR was adopted in February 2025, the Commission had already agreed to examine an exemption for pallet wraps and strapping bands. This has now revealed that the regulation could lead to disproportionate costs for the economic operators concerned and that a switch to 100 per cent reusable packaging would involve high initial investments for the redesign of packaging lines. The costs associated with adapting packaging lines, and in many cases maintaining duplicate packaging lines, would include the purchase of new automated pallet wrapping machines, IT equipment and staff training.
 
However, pallet covers and strapping are still subject to the general target of 40 per cent reusable packaging for the transport packaging concerned, as set out in Article 29(1) of the PPWR. Industry associations had also called for an exemption from this obligation.
 
Sources:

• Euwid Recycling und Entsorgung 51/2025 (16.12.2025)
• Photo: © Manh Le / Unsplash (symbolic image)