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.
5. How to request a declaration of conformity
As the packaging manufacturer, we prepare the EU declaration of conformity ourselves, on our own responsibility, separately for each packaging type. We issue it on request.
- You receive an EU declaration of conformity prepared for the specific packaging type your order was shipped in.
- Provide your order number or product index — this lets us identify the exact packaging your shipment used.
- The declaration covers the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 in force on the date of issue — today above all the 100 mg/kg heavy metal limit (Art. 5(4)).
- On request, we also provide the magnet manufacturer's certificates: ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and IATF 16949:2016.
6. Buying magnets for your own packaging
If you fit our magnet into your own box, case or closure, then you are the manufacturer of that packaging under PPWR, and you are the one who draws up its EU declaration of conformity. Our job is to give you the evidence for the component you buy from us.
- Nobody but you can draw up the declaration of conformity for your packaging — this follows from Article 3(13) and Article 39 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40.
- A magnet fitted into packaging is a component of it, so it counts towards the heavy metal concentration sum calculated under Article 5(4) for the whole packaging.
- On request we issue a supplier declaration for a packaging component, with test results for the four metals — the document that sits under your own declaration, per Article 16(1).
- We add a product data sheet: material, coating, grade, dimensions and magnetic parameters. Just quote the index or your order number.
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.
Each document is prepared individually, once the packaging type is established, which is why there is no ready file to download here. We are still gathering documentation from our packaging material suppliers and will confirm on enquiry what we are able to issue.
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