Pallet knowledge
PPWR and pallets
With the PPWR, a directly applicable regulation replaces the previous packaging directive. Pallets are explicitly transport packaging – anyone using them should know what will matter: reuse, repairability, and the ability to evidence both.
The EU packaging regulation for transport packaging
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What the PPWR is
PPWR stands for Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation – Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste. It replaces packaging directive 94/62/EC and, being a regulation, applies directly in every member state: unlike a directive it needs no national transposition to take effect. It applies from 12 August 2026.
Why pallets are affected
The regulation distinguishes sales, grouped and transport packaging. Pallets are explicitly transport packaging – they fall within the scope even though they never reach the end consumer. Two points therefore move to the front:
- Reuse. Packaging counts as reusable when it is designed to circulate several times – unloaded without damage, within a system that actually organises its return.
- Repairability. Anyone able to repair a damaged pallet keeps it in circulation instead of replacing it. Repairability is therefore part of reusability, not merely a cost question.
For transport packaging the regulation additionally sets reuse targets. Which requirements and exemptions apply in a given case depends on the parties between which, and the borders across which, the load carriers travel.
What the WORLD pallet brings to it
The WORLD pallet was designed from the outset as a reusable pallet to DIN EN 13698-1, not as a single-use load carrier. It is standardised and therefore replaceable; it is classified against the GS1 criteria, so its condition can be described; and its repair is part of the licence. Timber is a renewable raw material and can be recycled or recovered for energy at the end of its life.
That we now also trade in used euro pallets in classes A, B and C is the practical side of it: a pallet resold rather than discarded after many rotations stays in circulation.
Evidence rather than assertion
What will count is being able to show how often a load carrier actually circulates. That is exactly what our RFID pallets are built for: they can be identified without line of sight, their movements can be recorded and transferred into the ERP system. Anyone already working with identifiable load carriers has the data before it is needed.
This page describes the situation in general terms and is not legal advice. Which obligations apply to your company should be clarified with your legal department or trade association.
At a glance
The key points
of the regulation
| Keyword | In brief |
|---|---|
| Legal form | Regulation – directly applicable, no national transposition |
| Reference | Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste |
| Replaces | Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste |
| Applies from | 12 August 2026 |
| A pallet counts as | transport packaging |
| At the centre | reuse, repairability, recyclability |
| With the WORLD pallet | reusable pallet to DIN EN 13698-1, licensed repair |