Packaging and the PPWR Regulation (EU) 2025/40
What has applied since 12 August 2026, and which documents you can obtain from us
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council on packaging and packaging waste, known as PPWR, has applied since 12 August 2026. It covers every item of packaging placed on the EU market — including the transport packaging in which we ship magnets and our other products.
This page answers the questions we receive from business customers: what exactly the regulation covers, what role we hold, and which document we can issue to you.
1. What PPWR covers
The regulation follows packaging along its whole path: from the choice of material, through placing on the market, to waste treatment. The requirements covered by a declaration of conformity are:
- Article 5 – substances in packaging, including the heavy metals limit
- Article 6 – recyclability of the packaging
- Article 7 – recycled content
- Articles 9–11 – packaging minimisation and reduction of empty space
- Article 12 – packaging labelling
2. Substances: heavy metals and PFAS
These are the two requirements we are asked about most often.
- Heavy metals. The sum of the concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in packaging and its components must not exceed 100 mg/kg. The limit applies to all packaging regardless of material — including printing inks where the packaging carries print.
- PFAS. The restrictions on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances apply only to packaging intended for food contact within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004. The packaging we use to ship magnets is not intended for food contact, so this requirement does not apply to it. This is the most frequently misread part of PPWR, which is why we state it plainly.
- REACH. Packaging materials are also subject to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, and the presence of substances of concern is to be minimised.
3. The role we hold
We ship our products in packaging bearing our own brand, which makes us a manufacturer of packaging under PPWR rather than merely its user. Three obligations follow from this:
- we draw up the EU declaration of conformity ourselves, on our sole responsibility, separately for each packaging type
- we maintain a technical file in which we collect evidence from suppliers of packaging materials
- we keep that documentation for 5 years from placing the packaging on the market (10 years for reusable packaging)
4. The magnet manufacturer we buy from
Questions about packaging compliance usually come together with questions about where the goods originate. We source magnets from a manufacturer holding three certified management systems:
- ISO 9001:2015 — quality management system, covering the manufacture and sale of NdFeB magnets
- ISO 14001:2015 — environmental management system, covering the manufacture of NdFeB magnets
- IATF 16949:2016 — automotive quality management system, demanding noticeably more than ISO 9001 alone
- These certificates cover the manufacturer's management systems, not the packaging — the PPWR requirements described above are addressed separately, by our own declaration. Copies of the certificates are available to customers on request.
Documents for customers
An EU declaration of conformity for a specific packaging type is issued on request. Use our contact form, quoting your order number or product index — we will confirm which packaging your consignment was dispatched in and which document we can issue for it.
We are currently gathering documentation from our packaging material suppliers. As it becomes available, declarations will appear here for download.
The information on this page describes the position as at the date of publication and is provided for information only. The wording of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 prevails.
GPSR Regulation Documents to download