Article 6

Recovery and recycling 1. In order to comply with the objectives of this Directive, Member States shall take the necessary measures to attain the following targets covering the whole of their territory; no later than five years from the date by which this Directive must be implemented in national law, between 50 % as a minimum and 65 % as a maximum by weight of the packaging waste will be recovered; within this general target, and with the same time limit, between 25 % as a minimum and 45 % as a maximum by weight of the totality of packaging materials contained in packaging waste will be recycled with a minimum of 15 % by weight for each packaging material; no later than 10 years from the date by which this Directive must be implemented in national law, a percentage of packaging waste will be recovered and recycled, which will have to be determined by the Council in accordance with paragraph 3 (b) with a view to substantially increasing the targets mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b). 2. Member States shall, where appropriate, encourage the use of materials obtained from recycled packaging waste for the manufacturing of packaging and other products. 3. (a) The European Parliament and the Council shall, on the basis of an interim report by the Commission, and four years from the date referred to in paragraph 1 (a) on the basis of a final report, examine the practical experience gained in the Member States in the pursuance of the targets and objective laid down in paragraphs 1 (a) and (b) and 2 and the findings of scientific research and evaluation techniques such as eco-balances. No later than six months before the end of the first five-year phase referred to in paragraph 1 (a) the Council shall, acting by qualified majority and on a proposal from the Commission, fix targets for the second five-year phase referred to in paragraph 1 (c). This process shall be repeated every five years thereafter. 4. The measures and targets referred to in paragraph 1 (a) and (b) shall be published by the Member States and shall be the subject of an information campaign for the general public and economic operators. 5. Greece, Ireland and Portugal may, because of their specific situation, i. e. respectively the large number of small islands, the presence of rural and mountain areas and the current low level of packaging consumption, decide to: attain, no later than five years from the date of implementation of this Directive, lower targets than those fixed in paragraph 1 (a) and (b), but shall at least attain 25 % for recovery; postpone at the same time the attainment of the targets in paragraph 1 (a) and (b) to a later deadline which, however, shall not exceed 31 December 2005. 6. Member States which have, or will, set programmes going beyond the targets of paragraph 1 (a) and (b) and which provide to this effect appropriate capacities for recycling and recovery, are permitted to pursue those targets in the interest of a high level of environmental protection, on condition that these measures avoid distortions of the internal market and do not hinder compliance by other Member States with the Directive. Member States shall inform the Commission thereof. The Commission shall confirm these measures, after having verified, in cooperation with the Member States, that they are consistent with the considerations above and do not constitute an arbitrary means of discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade between Member States.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-11 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.