Recital 66

(66) To facilitate consumers in the sorting and disposal of packaging waste, a system of harmonised symbols should be introduced and required to be placed both on packaging and on waste receptacles, thus enabling consumers to match the symbols for the purposes of disposal. The symbols should enable appropriate waste management as they should provide consumers with information about the composting properties of such packaging. Such information should, in particular, avoid consumer confusion regarding compostable packaging, which is not, as such, suitable for home composting, but only compostable in industrially controlled conditions. Such information should therefore prevent compostable packaging from being thrown away in nature. That approach will improve the separate collection of packaging waste, leading to higher quality recycling of packaging waste, and is intended to introduce a level of harmonisation of the packaging waste collection systems on the internal market. It is also necessary to harmonise symbols associated with the mandatory deposit and return systems established after the entry into force of this Regulation. It should be possible for Member States to require the use of such harmonised labels on packaging subject to deposit and return systems established under national law before the entry into force of this Regulation. Considering that transport packaging is not collected through municipal waste collection systems, the use of those symbols should not be mandatory for transport packaging, with the exception of the e-commerce packaging.

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Source: EUR-Lex CELLAR · retrieved 2026-08-26 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.