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Global Impact on Plastic Industry Chain: EU PPWR Accompanies CEN Standards Establishing Evaluation Framework

Plastmatch Global Digest 2025-11-24 10:46:50

According to Petcore (the European PET value chain association), the European PET value chain system is actively promoting the application of the EN18120 series of standard drafts. This standard was developed by the CEN/TC261/SC4/WG10 Recycling-oriented Design (DfR) working group under the authorization of the European Commission, covering requirements for recycling-oriented design and recyclability assessment procedures for plastic packaging.

These standards will become the technical core of the delegated acts adopted by the European Commission under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR - EU 2025/40) by January 1, 2028.

The achievement of this result is attributed to three years of in-depth collaboration—nearly 150 expert meetings have been held in the plastic sector (with over 25 meetings specifically related to PET bottles). Hundreds of professionals from the entire packaging ecosystem have directly participated, including material manufacturers, processors, brands, retailers, recycling companies, academia, testing laboratories, technology suppliers, and national standardization organizations.

Petcore calls on the European Commission to extend its support over the past three years for the development of these standards and to adopt them as the basis for the recyclability performance assessment specified in Article 6 of the PPWR regulation.

Transparency and consensus-driven process for the entire industry chain.

The standardization process of CEN (European Committee for Standardization) provides a neutral, rule-based platform where each technical content is repeatedly validated based on data and consensus is reached in accordance with the formal consensus rules of European standardization.

Representatives of the recycling industry (including industry associations at national and European levels) fully participated throughout, actively engaged in discussions, and contributed their professional technical expertise.
The requirements of the EN 18120 series standards and related standards are all adopted in a consensus manner, meaning that the inclusion of any content must be approved by all industry participants, including recycling companies.
The standard integrates practical application experience, drawing on best practices and established guidelines over the years, including the technical foundation verified through practice by the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP) and the Tray Circularity Evaluation Platform (TCEP) over the past two decades.
The PET value chain is represented by Petcore Europe, the European PET value chain association, and its numerous members (retailers, brand owners, raw material producers, processors, and recycling companies) also participate in standard setting through national standardization bodies.

This transparent and inclusive process ensures that the final standards not only reflect the actual conditions of packaging production but also meet the operational needs of European recycling companies.

The cornerstone of Europe's circular economy vision

These standards are not the end point, but rather a unified foundation established for the first time in Europe, aimed at:

Significantly enhance recyclability.
Improve material quality.
Ensure investment certainty.
Assist in achieving the recyclability and recycled content targets set by the PPWR regulation for 2030.

For manufacturers and brands, this standard provides clear and unified design guidelines, filling the long-standing regulatory gap in the internal market. For recycling companies, the standard brings predictability, supports high-quality output, and offers a guiding mechanism for future investments.

According to Petcore, this is the most solid technical foundation ever jointly built by the plastic value chain.

Promotion, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Continuous Optimization

Despite having a solid technical foundation, as the first version, it will inevitably require further improvement and updates with the acceleration of innovation (new materials, new sorting technologies, etc.).

To this end, Petcore recommends the establishment of a permanent platform for the PET value chain led by the European PET Value Chain Association (Petcore Europe) to achieve the following objectives:

Support and monitor the promotion and application of standards.
Observe the impact of standards on quality, recovery rate, and economic benefits.
Track and recover technological advancements related to design for disassembly and recyclability assessment to provide a basis for standard updates.
Collect feedback from brand owners, collectors, processors, pretreatment companies, recycling companies, and other stakeholders in the PET value chain.
Integrate practical experience to prepare materials for updating and improving standards under the CEN framework.

The platform will assist various parties in the industry chain to jointly assess the implementation effects of the standards. The first official revised version is expected to be completed by the end of 2027. The European PET Value Chain Association (Petcore Europe) has committed to providing operational insights, scientific data, and field results to further enhance the quality of future versions of the standards.

Petcore will continue to work closely with the European Commission, relevant directorates, and all stakeholders to ensure that these standards continuously evolve in line with Europe's circular economy goals and technological development trends.

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Global Impact on Plastic Industry Chain: EU PPWR Accompanies CEN Standards Establishing Evaluation Framework

Transparency and consensus-driven process for the entire industry chain.

The cornerstone of Europe's circular economy vision

Promotion, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Continuous Optimization

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