Commission move brings partial clarity for industry, but key questions remain for 2030.

The European Commission has exempted pallet wrapping and straps used in certain transport operations from the PPWR’s 100% reuse targets, marking an important development for packaging and logistics across Europe. For the European adhesive tapes value chain, the move brings welcome clarity in an area where technical feasibility, operational realities and cost concerns had raised serious questions.

The exemption matters because these materials play a practical role in securing and protecting goods in transit, and because decisions around transport packaging can have wider consequences for manufacturing, supply chains and customer compliance planning. For many companies in and around the tape sector, the Commission’s approach signals recognition that not every packaging format can be treated in the same way when reuse targets are applied.

At the same time, the issue is far from settled. While the 100% reuse requirement has been lifted for the operations concerned, the 40% reuse target under Article 29(1) remains in place. That means businesses across the packaging and industrial value chain will still be watching closely to see how the remaining rules are interpreted and what they may mean in practice as 2030 approaches.

What Afera is doing

Afera has therefore joined a wider industry call urging the Commission to go further and ensure that the final regulatory framework remains workable, proportionate and grounded in real-world conditions. For the European adhesive tapes industry, this is not only a question of packaging policy, but of maintaining safe, efficient and economically realistic transport and logistics systems.

Members can read Afera’s full briefing for a closer look at the Delegated Decision, the wider industry response and the relevance of this development for the European adhesive tapes value chain.