EU packaging rules: Why small firms are sounding the alarm

Published 12 August 2026 · europe

The EU has introduced new rules targeting packaging waste and “forever chemicals.” Although the changes phase in over years, some small sellers have already paused

The EU has introduced new rules targeting packaging waste and “forever chemicals.” Although the changes phase in over years, some small sellers have already paused shipments due to the additional red tape. What changes from Wednesday? In a drive to cut waste and improve public health, new European Union rules take effect on Wednesday, banning high levels of PFAS “forever chemicals” in packaging. Under the EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), any new packaging products entering the market will now have to meet tighter standards if designed to come into contact with food. PFAS have been linked to increased risks of certain cancers and other health conditions. Although the amount of material people are exposed to from food packaging is usually low, scientists are worried about the long-term effects. After all, PFAS are highly persistent chemicals and accumulate in the body and the environment. PFAS are used to make paper and cardboard packaging both grease- and water-resistant and are found in everything from pizza boxes to TV dinners. Packaging with lower PFAS reduces the risk of these persistent chemicals migrating into food or the natural world when thrown away. The new rules are in addition to curbs on Bisphenol A (BPA) in food-contact materials, which took effect across the EU last month. Under PPWR, businesses will not be required to recall or destroy packaging or goods that were already on the market before Wednesday. While consumers won't notice any difference, businesses have fiercely criticized the changes, which also require packaging to meet new sustainability standards.

Recycling rates in the EU are rising but lower than the increase in packaging waste Image: Robert Michael/dpa/picture alliance Are the new packaging rules too complicated? Many small businesses and online traders believe the additional cost and red tape are too cumbersome. They complain that they now have to register their packaging in multiple EU states, often with fees. "Instead of facilitating cross-border trade, the new rules threaten to make it significantly more difficult," warned Händlerbund, the German online retailers' association. Händlerbund warned its members: "There is no minimum quantity and no exception for small businesses." MEP Elisabeth Dieringer from the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) warned that PPWR would mean five-figure costs for medium-sized firms. "While corporations have their own departments for this [red tape], the Mittelstand [medium-sized firms] has little choice but to 'eat or die,'" she wrote on X. Several businesses, from sole-traders to medium-sized firms, said they had paused deliveries to and within the EU due to the new rules. "Under these rules, I would need to appoint an authorized representative in every single EU country I send to," wrote the owner of a small online store, Monstaas Workshop, in an Instragram post. "The cost is around €300 ($346) per country, per year... these costs are simply not affordable." Swedish challenger boards maker iLabs Electronics said it would halt webshop orders from EU countries. "The cost and administrative burden [of PPWR] is now out of proportion to our direct sales volume," iLabs wrote on its website.