Technical Proposal on EU harmonised waste sorting labels under the packaging and packaging waste regulation

Technical proposal on EU harmonised waste sorting labels under the packaging and packaging waste regulation - JRC 2026

ID 25344 | 16.01.2026 / Download Report

This report outlines a technical proposal for EU harmonised waste sorting labels based on insights from behavioural and participatory design research.

Specifically, it proposes the harmonised visual and systemic design of consumer-facing labels applicable to packaging waste, to be applied on packaging and waste receptacles.

The proposal is based on extensive desk research, systematically gathered empirical evidence from citizen workshops, surveys, and experiments, as well as insights from expert stakeholder workshops and consultations.

The report outlines a comprehensive conceptual and visual proposal consistent with the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, particularly its ambition to reduce internal market barriers and the various waste sorting schemes existing in the Member States.

It makes evidence-based recommendations for a flexible, yet harmonised conceptual approach based on informing consumers about the material composition of packaging and communicating correct sorting instructions through matching labels on packaging and waste receptacles, and for a flexible, yet harmonised visual approach ensuring consumer understanding and salience across Member States, while aiming to provide adequate flexibility for their use on packaging and waste receptacles.

The report proposes a level of granularity specifying the distinct labels required based on theoretical and practical considerations.

Importantly, the report also highlights challenges identified, compromises that had to be made, and need for future work given the complex interplay of regulatory requirements, citizen and expert stakeholder preferences, practical limitations and best practices from behavioural and design research. In its entirety, the report aims at informing the Directorate-General for the Environment in creating the implementing acts outlined in Articles 12(6) and 13(2) of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.

Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 on packaging and packaging waste, amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and Directive (EU) 2019/904, and repealing Directive 94/62/EC (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ L, 2025/40, 22.1.2025)

Articles 12
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6. By 12 August 2026, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts to establish a harmonised label and specifications for the labelling requirements and formats, including where provided through digital means, for the labelling of packaging referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 of this Article. When developing those implementing acts, the Commission shall take into account the specificities of composite packaging. When developing the harmonised label for packaging subject to deposit and return systems referred to in Article 50(2), the Commission shall take into consideration any variation which exists in the deposit charged by Member States. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 65(2).

Articles 13
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2. By 12 August 2026, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts to establish harmonised labels and specifications for the labelling requirements and formats for the labelling of the receptacles referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. When developing those implementing acts, the Commission shall take into account the specificities of the collection systems established in the Member States as well as the specificities of composite packaging. The labelling for receptacles shall correspond to the labelling for packaging as referred to in Article 12(6) with the exception of labelling for packaging subject to deposit and return systems. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 65(2).

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Annexes

Annex I. Label prototypes and final label proposal

Prototype 1

Figure A-1. Prototype 1.

Prototype 2 used in behavioural experiment (colour and text)

Figure A-2. Prototype used in behavioural experiment (colour and text). 

Prototype 2 used in second stakeholder consultation (colour and text)

Figure A-3. Prototype used in second stakeholder consultation (colour and text).

Final label proposal (colour and text)

Figure A- 4. Final label proposal (colour and text)

Figure A-5. Final label proposal (colour without text). 

Figure A-6. Final label proposal (opaque black and text). 

Figure A-7. Final label proposal (opaque black without text). 
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Annex V. Draft label applications in Member States

The following images show draft possibilities of applying the labels on bins in EU Member States based on analysing country-specific sorting rules and practices using Large Language Model analyses (methodology as described in the main report).

Important: These are only drafts and only consider evidence from the LLM data, not other methods that were used, such as surveys and EEA data. They mostly do not consider potential within-country variations. They should be treated carefully and not as final proposals, and only to visualise possible label combinations on receptacles according to sorting rules and practices.
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Figure A-30. Draft label application in Italy.
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Collegati

Allegati

Allegati

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	Technical Proposal on EU harmonised waste sorting labels under the packaging and packaging waste regulation JRC 2026	EN	11255 kB	237