PPWR applies from 12 August 2026: what it means for plastic strapping and metal closures

On 12 August 2026 the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2025/40, began to apply. Because it is a regulation rather than a directive, the same rules took effect across the Member States on the same day. As EUROPEN’s overview points out, it applies to every business placing packaging on the EU market, including companies established outside the EU, and manufacturers must demonstrate compliance through conformity assessment before packaging is placed on the market.

Strapping sits squarely inside this framework. Straps stabilise loads on pallets, and the Regulation names them explicitly in its reuse rules. The buckles, clips and seals that close them form part of the same transport packaging. Many of the headline obligations for strapping arrive in 2030, but August 2026 is when buyers should organise the information they will need.

What took effect in August 2026

Two points apply immediately to strap and closures alike.

First, substances. Article 5(4) limits the combined concentration of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium in packaging or packaging components to 100 mg/kg. The Regulation’s recitals make clear that this continues an existing restriction rather than inventing a new one. It still deserves a fresh look for metal closures, because coatings and surface treatments are part of the component. If a buckle, clip or seal has a zinc coating or a passivation treatment, it is reasonable to ask the supplier for a statement covering those layers as well as the base steel.

Second, documentation and responsibility. Conformity assessment and its paperwork sit with the manufacturer of the packaging, for each requirement as it becomes applicable. For extended producer responsibility, Article 45(3) requires certain producers to appoint, by written mandate, an authorised representative in each Member State where they make packaging available but are not established. A distributor importing strap or closures from outside the EU should establish which party holds which role before the next shipment.

The dates that matter for strapping

Date	Requirement	Why it matters for strap and closures
26 May 2026	Delegated Decision (EU) 2026/429 in force	Exempts operators using pallet wrappings and straps from the 100% reuse requirements of Article 29(2) and (3)
12 August 2026	General application, including the substances limit	Relevant to plastic strap and to the metal closures used with it
12 August 2028 at the earliest	Harmonised material-composition labelling, or 24 months after the implementing acts if that is later	Affects how packaging is marked for sorting
1 January 2030	40% reuse target for transport packaging, including straps; 35% recycled content for other plastic packaging and design-for-recycling rules (both from this date at the earliest, depending on implementing and delegated acts)	The main operational changes for plastic strap
1 January 2038	Packaging must reach recyclability grade A or B	Grade C no longer sufficient
1 January 2040	65% recycled content for other plastic packaging; operators to endeavour to reach 70% reuse	Second step for plastic strap

Plastic strap: reuse and recycled content

Article 29(1) sets a 40% reuse target from 1 January 2030 for transport packaging, and its list includes pallet wrappings or straps used to stabilise and protect products on pallets. Paragraphs 2 and 3 went further, requiring 100% reusable packaging for transfers between an operator’s own sites and for deliveries to another business in the same Member State. The delegated decision adopted on 25 February 2026, published on 6 May 2026, removed that 100% requirement for pallet wrappings and straps. The decision does not touch the 40% target in Article 29(1), which still covers them.

The recycled-content rule in Article 7 is likely to affect strap specifications more directly. From 1 January 2030, or three years after the related implementing act if that is later, plastic packaging outside the contact-sensitive and beverage-bottle categories must contain at least 35% recycled content recovered from post-consumer plastic waste, rising to 65% from 1 January 2040. The target is calculated as an average per manufacturing plant and year. That places it with the strap producer, but buyers will see the effect in technical sheets.

The German Packaging Institute (dvi) published a guidance paper on load-unit securing under the PPWR on 2 February 2026. It identified a reliable, traceable supply of recyclate, sufficient recyclate quality and material performance at high recycled content as the main challenges for stretch film and strapping. For a packing line, that translates into a practical rule: when the strap formulation changes, treat it as a new strap.

Metal closures

Steel buckles, clips and seals are not plastic, so Article 7 does not set recycled-content targets for them. They remain part of the packaging, however. Article 6 requires all packaging to be recyclable, with the detailed design-for-recycling criteria applying from 1 January 2030 at the earliest. The Regulation also distinguishes integrated components from separate components of a packaging unit. How those definitions apply to a steel closure on a plastic strap is a question to take to a qualified adviser, rather than to settle from a catalogue.

A checklist for buyers in August 2026

• Map your role for each strap and closure you place on the EU market: manufacturer, importer or distributor.
• Ask strap suppliers for their recycled-content level and their plan for 2030, and how changes will be announced.
• Ask closure suppliers for a statement on the four restricted metals that covers coatings and treatments.
• Record delivery patterns, such as intra-company transfers and same-country deliveries, so your reuse position can be calculated in 2030.
• Re-qualify the joint with the actual closure and tool whenever the strap’s grade, thickness or recycled content changes.

YAKU lists PET strap and woven strap for enquiry, alongside metal closures such as sheet metal clips and galvanized wire buckles. If PPWR documentation is part of your purchase, state it in your enquiry, and we will confirm what can be provided for the items concerned.