The European Union’s new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation is now applicable across the bloc, bringing immediate compliance requirements for pallet and packaging manufacturers and setting much tougher reuse rules for transport packaging from 2030.

The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, or PPWR, Regulation (EU) 2025/40, has applied since August 12, 2026. For the wood industry, the effect is uneven. Pallet producers, companies manufacturing their own wooden crates and businesses already using reusable packaging face obligations now, while many sawmills, furniture manufacturers and other wood processors will feel the largest operational impact from 2030.

The distinction matters because PPWR does not look only at companies selling packaging as a separate product. A sawmill that manufactures crates for its own lumber shipments can itself be considered a packaging manufacturer. A company ordering packaging carrying its own name or trademark can also assume responsibilities normally associated with the manufacturer, even if another company physically produces the packaging.

For pallet producers, the August deadline is already relevant. Manufacturers must assess conformity with the regulation, prepare the required technical documentation, issue an EU Declaration of Conformity and comply with the applicable marking rules.

For companies simply purchasing standard pallets without placing their own brand on them, responsibility for product compliance will normally remain with the pallet manufacturer. The situation changes, however, where packaging is manufactured under the buyer’s name or trademark.