Environmental Labeling of Packaging – Spain and the U.K.

Packaging materials can create significant waste throughout the product life cycle. Regulations requiring proper recycling may exist, and end users are becoming more interested in the sustainability features of both products and packaging. But, as regulations vary throughout markets regarding the labeling of packaging materials, it can be very challenging to understand the different rules that apply.

Deepen your knowledge of upcoming regulatory changes in Spain (a European Union member) and the United Kingdom to learn more about proper communication of packaging materials and how these requirements may impact your products in key markets.

European Union

Directive 94/62/EC on Packaging and Packaging Waste (PPWD)

The European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC of Dec. 20, 1994, on packaging and packaging waste, commonly known as PPWD, applies to all packaging placed on the market in the community and all packaging waste. This regulation applies to all waste, regardless of where it is produced or materials used.

The goals of the PPWD include:

• Harmonizing national standards concerning the management of packaging and packaging waste
• Preventing or reducing the impact on the environment of all Member States, as well as of third countries
• Ensuring the functioning of the European internal market

How the PPWD defines packaging

Under this regulation, packaging includes all products made of any materials of any nature used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery and presentation of goods. The definition includes packaging used for raw materials through manufacture of the final goods, from the producer to the end user.

Packaging includes:

• Sales packaging, or primary packaging
• Grouped packaging, or secondary packaging
• Transport packaging, or tertiary packaging

Additionally, the PPWD defines packaging with additional criteria and offers examples depicting materials included and excluded as packaging.

Proper marking of packaging materials

Article 8 of the PPWD required that a common system for identifying packaging materials must be developed for the European Union, with the goal of facilitating collection, reuse and recovery of recyclable materials. This system was developed in 1997 through the Commission Decision of 28 January 1997, establishing the identification system for packaging materials pursuant to European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste (97/129/EC).

This decision outlines the material identification system, including numbering and abbreviations. Packaging composition information must be displayed either on the packaging or product label, clearly visible and legible, and appropriately durable and lasting when the packaging is opened.

While this system was intended to harmonize the identification of packaging materials at the community level, the Commission Decision made use of the system voluntary.

However, certain European Union countries have developed other requirements.

Material identification system

Packaging materials subject to identification are covered in select annexes of the Decision:

• Plastics (Annex I)
• Paper and fiberboard (Annex II)
• Metals (Annex III)
• Wood (Annex IV)
• Textile materials (Annex V)
• Glass (Annex VI)
• Composites (Annex VII)

Select examples of the identification of packaging materials:

• PP 5 is used for plastic packaging made of polypropylene.
• PAP 21 is used when packaging includes non-corrugated fiberboard.

Spain

On Dec. 28, 2022, the Royal Decree 1055/2022 on packaging and packaging waste was published in the Official Journal of Spain (in Spanish, "Real Decreto 1055/2022, de 27 de diciembre, de envases y residuos de envases"). The text reviews in depth the previous national regulations applicable to packaging in this market.

Among other dispositions of the royal decree, Art.13 of such Decree contains various requirements related to the marking of packaging on the market of Spain. Below, you can find a review of the contents of the article.

It shall also be noted that the decree specifies that any new marking requirement coming from such article applies from Jan. 1, 2025.

Art.13(2) of the Royal Decree 1055/2022 introduced a mandatory national Spanish system requiring the marking of domestic/household packaging with sorting instructions (in Spanish, "Envase doméstico").

Domestic/household packaging is defined by such decree as “packaging of products intended for use or consumption by individuals, regardless of their primary, secondary or tertiary nature, provided that these containers are capable of being purchased by the consumer in stores, regardless of the place of sale or consumption.”

The requirements are the following:

“Domestic/household packaging will indicate the (packaging waste) fraction or the container in which said packaging waste should be deposited.

In the case of containers made of different materials, if they could be separated easily, the fraction or container where they should be deposited will be indicated.

When the materials cannot be separated easily, or in the case of composite packaging, the fraction or container corresponding to the predominant material by weight will be indicated, unless it is shown that there is a better collection alternative that would avoid possible incidents in the subsequent recycling process, indicating in this case the container in which it must be deposited.”

According to an announcement from the Council of Minister on Dec. 27, 2022, the symbology of the marking is not defined in the royal decree, so it is left to the free discretion of the producer.

Besides, in 2024, the Ecoembes organization published a new version of the document: Ecoembes - USER MANUAL FOR COMPANIES - Symbol for packaging recycling.

While such system described is voluntary, it can be used nowadays to label the domestic/household packaging sorting instructions referred to above.

Sources

Símbolo para el reciclado de envases

Symbol for packaging recycling

Art. 13 of the Royal Decree 1055/2022 contains other marking requirements. We reported below an overview of the requirements:

• If applicable, packaging shall indicate its reusable status and the symbol associated with the deposit, return and refund system as established in Articles 46.8 and 47.7 of the decree.
• Packaging may be voluntarily marked with the European material identification system referred to in Commission Decision 97/129/EC.
• In the case of compostable plastic packaging, a marking is required relating to compliance with the UNE EN 13432:2001 standard or other European/national standards on the compostability of plastics in industrial conditions or on biodegradation through home composting. In addition, such packaging must include the following text in Spanish regarding the prohibition of dispersion in the environment: “no abandonar en el entorno.”
• Packaging may be voluntarily marked with the symbol identifying membership of an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system. This is a change compared to the fact that the marking with such symbol has been mandatory in Spain.
• The use of marking that states that the packaging is environmentally friendly (in Spanish, “respetuoso con el medio ambiente”) or equivalent claims that may lead to the abandonment of the packaging in the environment is also prohibited.
• Other requirements related to the voluntary indication of the recyclability or the content of recycled material exist.

Finally, the packaging must display the markings regulated in Article 13 of the Decree either on the packaging itself or on the label. Said marking must be clearly visible and easily legible and must have adequate persistence and durability, even after the packaging has been opened.

United Kingdom

In the U.K., currently, there is no legal obligation of marking/labeling the packaging materials according to Commission Decision 97/129/EC (or any other equivalent system). At the same time, there is no specific requirement requiring the marking/labeling of all packaging with instructions for sorting/separated collection of all packaging waste.

However, it shall be noted the existence of a legislative initiative in the U.K. regarding the modification of the current U.K. Packaging Producer Responsibility System.

In this regard, in May 2024, the U.K. notified the following draft legislation to the WTO:

• The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024

Among other contents, these new regulations (if published according to the draft cited above) will also have an impact on the environmental labeling of packaging for Great Britain.

In fact, sections 29, 30 and other sections of Part 3 of the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 require producers (which may also include importers of packaged goods) to assess the recyclability of their packaging. Besides, any primary packaging and shipment packaging assessed in this way shall also labeled according to one of the following:

• The phrase “Do Not Recycle,” together with a (crossed out) logo with the following design:
  
  Source
  The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024

or

• The phrase “Recycle,” together with a logo (not crossed out) with the following design. Where applicable, the logo is associated with instructions for packaging recycling.
  
  Source
  The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024

The above elements must appear together on the packaging and be positioned to ensure legibility and visibility.

Section 33 specifies additional requirements for the application of this labeling, e.g., in terms of dimensions of the symbol and fonts of the text or in the case of multi-component packaging.

Specific dispositions for medical packaging and for filled, unbranded packaging is specified as well in this same part III of the regulations.

A producer may evaluate the recyclability of its packaging, either on its own or through a third party.

The methodology for verifying the recyclability of packaging and the related guidelines will have to be established by the “Scheme administrator,” appointed by the national authorities of the U.K. (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).

The expected official publication date for the U.K. of the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 is by or before Jan. 1, 2025.

However, regarding the above-mentioned requirements on the environmental labeling of packaging, the expected application date is April 1, 2027.