News Details

On 15 April 2026, the European Union notified the World Trade Organization of a draft Commission Regulation to amend Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 on recycled plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with foods. The proposal would introduce new compliance documentation requirements, revise the management of the Union register, set out test method requirements, and require specific documents to be presented upon release for the free circulation of certain imported products. Comments may be submitted until 14 June 2026.

According to the WTO notification, the draft aims to address current challenges in the documentation and control of recycled plastics, including imported materials, provide the legal basis for TARIC codes, and streamline registration and management of recycling installations through an interactive digital platform.

New declarations and supporting documentation requirements

A central element of the proposal is the expansion and clarification of compliance documentation across the supply chain. In addition to the existing Declarations A and B for recyclers and converters respectively, the draft would introduce:

• Declaration P for partially pre-processed plastic input and plastic input.
• Declaration C for recycled plastic materials and articles whose composition is not intended to change in subsequent processing stages.

The draft also clarifies that business operators would generally have to provide a declaration of compliance for materials and articles covered by the Regulation at marketing stages other than retail. Supporting documentation would need to be available when the declaration is issued and submitted to the competent authorities within ten working days if requested.

In certain cases food business operators using products with recycled content to pack food would be exempted from providing a declaration of compliance to retailers and distributors supplying retailers, provided that the necessary information and instructions are supplied through labelling or other appropriate documentation.

Import controls and digital register changes

The proposal would also introduce documentation requirements for the release of certain imported products containing recycled plastic for free circulation. According to the draft annex, these requirements would apply in particular to certain PET materials and articles, including recycled PET input, bottles, sheets, packaging articles, tableware and kitchenware, through specified CN codes and the corresponding declarations of compliance.

In addition, the draft would revise the operation of the Union register by introducing a non-public electronic registration system for competent authorities and operators. It would also expand and clarify the registration status categories for decontamination installations, including ‘newly registered’, ‘being established’, ‘active’, ‘inactive’, ‘suspended’, ‘audit pending’ and ‘decommissioned’.

The draft further refers to Annex A of ISO 12418-2:2012, or a method with equivalent or better performance, for verifying certain specifications for post-consumer mechanical PET recycling.

Transitional measures and next steps

Under the draft, products complying with Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 as applicable prior to the new Regulation’s entry into force, could continue to be placed on the market for a limited period. Products requiring Declarations A or B would benefit from a three-month transition period. Meanwhile, products for which the new rules would require Declarations C or P could be placed on the market without these declarations for six months after the new Regulation comes into force. Recycled plastic materials and articles manufactured from such products could remain on the market until stocks are exhausted.

According to the WTO notification, the draft is expected to be adopted on 30 September 2026 and published on 1 October 2026. The draft states that the Regulation will enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The full text of the draft Commission Regulation can be accessed here and the Annex here.