The European Commission has adopted a delegated act exempting pallet wrapping and straps used to secure goods during transport from the EU’s 100% reuse requirement.
The exemption applies to wrapping and straps used within companies and between companies in the same EU country, after the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) had set a 100% reuse target for those items in those circumstances, the Commission said in a statement on Wednesday.
It informed further that it launched a study after stakeholder feedback to assess whether an exemption was feasible, and the study found that requiring exclusive use of reusable pallet wrapping and straps in certain transport operations could lead to disproportionate adaptation costs.
Under the PPWR — EU-wide rules covering how packaging must be designed, used and managed as waste — economic operators must ensure at least 40% of transport and sales packaging is reusable from 1 January 2030.
This 40% requirement covers formats including pallets, foldable plastic boxes, boxes, trays, plastic crates, intermediate bulk containers, pails, drums and canisters, including pallet wrapping and straps.
What the wider packaging rules cover
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation entered into force on 11 February 2025, the Commission said.
The delegated act on exempting pallet wrapping and straps from the 100% reuse target was open for public feedback between 10 December 2025 and 9 January 2026, in line with EU rule-making procedures.
