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EU Regulations: How to make your packaging PPWReady 
April 16, 2026

MyIndustryWorld

EU regulations: How to make your packaging PPWReady

With the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the flexible packaging industry is undergoing major transformation, bringing both challenges and opportunities. In the shift toward fully recyclable laminated packaging, water-based adhesive solutions offer a fast track to safety and compliance - not just for today, but for the future.

Various laminated packaging for food with the video title below a green BASF logo stripe: "Future-proof your packaging. With Epotal adhesives"
BASF's water based adhesive systems are ready to transform packaging recyclability

Starting 2030, EU guidelines will require that all plastic packaging is designed for recycling. We at BASF are committed to supporting this essential transition. Designing for recycling is especially challenging for multi-layer food packaging, where adhesives play a critical role in enabling functionality. While conventional adhesive technologies can often pose significant barriers for recycling, BASF’s message is clear: the transition to water-based adhesives is not only feasible – it’s the smart path forward to meet current and future regulatory demands. 
 

Ensure the safety and recyclability of your food packaging

Our Epotal® range of water-based lamination adhesives prevents the formation of toxic byproducts such as primary aromatic amines (PAAs) during the recycling process, ensuring compliance, safety, and peace of mind across the entire value chain. Whatever your sustainability goals, there is a solution for you. 

Epotal® adhesives enable: 

  • Fully compostable packaging 
  • Delamination of PET/PE layers for large-scale mechanical recycling
  • Recyclable paper lamination
  • Reduced product carbon footprint 
  • Adhesives with 4C-traceable content 
Stand-up plastic pouch without food content
No PAA in recycling
How to keep laminated packaging safe under heat stress
  1. Read more
Empty cereal bar with some crumbs around the packaging
Fully compostable
For home-compostable food packaging
  1. Read more
Transparent PET/PE tray for slices of cheese, opened and empty
Fully debondable PET/PE
How to make recycling work for PET-based multi-layers
  1. Read more
Recycling is the major challenge for the packaging industry. Regulation is tightening. Standards are shifting, complexity is rising. That's why we don't just look at products. We think in systems and we create solutions. Our water-based adhesive systems are here to meet these new challenges.
 
Man in glasses and a white shirt with a microphone attached, standing indoors. Behind him are green plants and a window.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Schiele

Vice President Business Management Adhesives at BASF

Adhesives Coating Center and outstanding service

Technology transitions can be daunting. That’s why we offer more than just products. With decades of technical expertise in water-based adhesive technology, dedicated regulatory experts, a strong industry network and our own Adhesives Coating Center, we deliver exceptional service and hands-on support. 

A granola bar partially unwrapped rests on a flat rock, with a soft-focus sunrise in the background.

Ready to be PPWReady? 
 

Join the movement toward safer, smarter, and more sustainable packaging. Partner with BASF to meet the new EU standards – layer by layer: 

✓  improve recyclability 
✓  avoid toxic byproducts
✓  access expert support and cutting-edge adhesive technology

Let’s shape the future of packaging together. 

Recyclable nut packaging pouches with transparent window highlighting PAA recycling risk and sustainable food packaging.
Recycling and chemical safety: Tackling PAA risks in laminated packaging
The EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) will require plastic packaging to be recyclable and to contain recycled materials by 2030. This leads to a specific challenge for laminated mono-material structures: harmful substances such as primary aromatic amines (PAA) can form during the recycling process. Once they enter the material stream, they end up in new packaging – a fact that is now prompting increased regulatory scrutiny of substances of concern.  
  1. Read more
A young girl with black curls sits on a couch, smiling broadly while holding a chip and a bag of snacks.
Epotal® 
Our water-based Epotal® lamination adhesives enable our customers to create flexible, durable and food-safe packaging with more sustainable end-of-life options. 
  1. Read more

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Last UpdateApril 30, 2026