PPWR 15: EN 18120 changes the rules for Design for Recycling
2026.09.04 - 08:00
• Plastinfo publishes PPWR 15, dedicated to the EN 18120:2026 family of Design for Recycling standards for plastic packaging. • The 15 standards provide a technical framework covering general principles, sortability, design guidelines and evaluation protocols for six packaging streams. • PPWR 15 explains the difference between designing packaging for recycling and technically evaluating its behaviour in relevant sorting and recycling processes. • EN 18120 should not be confused with legal compliance under PPWR: the criteria and methodologies required under Regulation (EU) 2025/40 are still being completed at European level. • PPWR 15 is available free of charge on Plastinfo.eu.
From “it is recyclable” to “can we demonstrate it?”
Plastinfo continues its editorial series on Regulation (EU) 2025/40 with PPWR 15 – “Design for Recycling becomes measurable: what EN 18120 changes for plastic packaging.” This time, the starting point is the publication of the family of 15 EN 18120:2026 standards, adopted in Romania as SR EN 18120:2026. But the article is not simply about the arrival of new standards. The real question is what they mean for companies that design, manufacture, use, sort or recycle plastic packaging. For a long time, the statement “this packaging is recyclable” was associated primarily with its main material: PET, PE or PP. EN 18120 introduces a much more practical engineering perspective. The complete packaging matters, as do its sortability, the compatibility of its components with the relevant recycling stream and the material actually obtained after processing. One of the key issues examined in PPWR 15 is the distinction between Design for Recycling guidelines and recyclability evaluation protocols. The guideline supports packaging design; the protocol provides a framework for technical evaluation against the relevant sorting and recycling processes. The series separately addresses PET bottles, other rigid PET packaging, rigid and flexible PE/PP packaging, rigid PS/XPS and EPS. The article also clarifies an important legal distinction: EN 18120 is not the same as PPWR. The standards provide industry with a European technical framework for Design for Recycling, while the legal criteria and methodologies governing recyclability under Article 6 PPWR still have to be completed through the measures foreseen in the Regulation. For packaging manufacturers, converters, brand owners, suppliers of polymers, masterbatches, adhesives, inks and labels, as well as sorting operators and recyclers, this distinction matters. Technical preparation can already begin without confusing voluntary technical standardisation with legal compliance. PPWR 15 is available free of charge on Plastinfo.eu, as part of the Plastinfo series dedicated to the practical implementation of PPWR. If you find our work useful, we also invite you to create a free Plastinfo account and follow the next stages of PPWR implementation with us.