The European Commission has officially exempted businesses that use pallet wrappings and straps from the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation’s 100% reuse requirements, citing ‘disproportionate’ costs and supply chain impacts.
From 1st January 2030, the Regulation will set a 40% reuse quota for all transport packaging delivered cross-border between economic operators; this includes pallets, foldable plastic boxes, intermediate bulk containers, pails, drums, and canisters.
Economic operators transporting products within the same company, between partner companies, or within the same Member State are held to a 100% reuse target. However, the quotas do not apply to packaging used to transport dangerous goods, large-scale machinery, flexible packaging in direct contact with food or feed, or cardboard boxes.
These expectations originally applied to pallet wrappings and straps, but the rules came into question. Last year, a document signed by European Plastics Converters (EuPC), IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen (IK), and Elipso asserted that such packaging already contains post-consumer recyclate and is fully recyclable – and that the conventional materials cannot yet be replaced without impacting their effectiveness.
Figures from Eurostat also indicate that 600,000 businesses operating as logistics providers in the EU could face up to €610 million in costs related to automated wrapping machinery, IT equipment, staff training, maintaining dual packaging lines, etc. Since pallet wrappings and straps are widely used across the manufacturing sector, the number of affected businesses and the associated costs are expected to increase ‘significantly’.
Additionally, the Commission finds that the automated solutions required to achieve these goals are ‘not sufficiently developed yet’, with a full transition feared to disrupt EU supply chains.
After conducting targeted stakeholder consultations with the packaging sector last year, the Commission discussed the delegated decision with Member States and stakeholders in an expert group on waste, and is now set to publish its findings in a dedicated study.
The decision will enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
To learn more about the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation’s latest developments, take a look at our ultimate guides to the legislation in 2026.
In other news, DHL’s reusable pallet wrap was nominated for last year’s Sustainability Awards under the Commercialized Driving the Circular Economy category. Already implemented into its own operations and introduced to customers, the solution is thought to save around 300 grams of plastic per pallet.
The European Federation of Wooden Pallet and Packaging Manufacturers (FEFPEB) has also spoken up about the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), asserting that it will not significantly impact customers transporting products with wooden packaging and pallets.
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