Packaging Retrospective 2025

And how to get prepared for what's coming in 2026.

2025 marked a decisive shift for the packaging sector. What had previously been framed as future ambition — recyclability targets, voluntary commitments, and long-term roadmaps — became operational reality. Across Australia, Europe and globally, regulation moved from signalling intent to setting enforceable structures that are already influencing packaging design, material selection, and commercial strategy.

Rather than a single defining moment, 2025 unfolded as a sequence of milestones that together reset the packaging landscape.

January: From transition to compliance

The year opened with two important signals. In Europe, businesses began operationalising the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) following its formal adoption in late 2024. While many obligations are still subject to transition periods, internal gap assessments and specification reviews became unavoidable for EU-bound packaging.

In Australia, New South Wales closed transition periods for several integrated single-use plastic items. For affected foodservice and retail formats, compliance shifted from interpretation to enforcement, reinforcing that exemptions and grace periods were coming to an end.

February: PPWR enters into force

On 11 February 2025, PPWR formally entered into force, confirming a single, directly applicable regulatory framework across the European Union. Unlike directives, PPWR does not rely on national transposition, reducing fragmentation and significantly raising the compliance bar for packaging placed on the EU market.

The regulation triggered an 18-month countdown to general application, pushing companies to move beyond strategy documents and into detailed implementation planning covering recyclability, reuse, labelling, and material performance.

March–April: EPR moves to the centre in Australia

In March, the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) opened national consultation on a strengthened EPR-style funding model. This marked a clear shift away from purely voluntary stewardship toward mechanisms that explicitly link packaging design decisions with financial responsibility.

The release of APCO’s Member Consultation Paper in April reinforced this direction, highlighting material choices, recyclability outcomes, and fee modulation as central elements of future packaging governance. For many brand owners, this was the moment when packaging design became inseparable from cost exposure.

May: Industry reality check

The Australasian Packaging Conference in May held in Sydney reflected a noticeable change in industry sentiment. Conversations moved away from high-level targets and towards operational readiness: data quality, packaging audits, recyclability assessments, and internal capability building.

A recurring theme was clear — waiting for regulatory certainty was no longer viable. Businesses began to recognise that preparedness, rather than perfect clarity, would determine resilience.

June: EPR paused, not abandoned

In June, APCO confirmed it would not implement the proposed EPR fee model in FY27. While this announcement provided short-term relief for some organisations, it did not signal a reversal of direction.

Instead, the pause reflected the need for regulatory alignment, governance clarity, and integration with broader Commonwealth packaging reform. The underlying message remained consistent: a more formalised, mandatory system is approaching.

In Europe the European Commission reinforced PPWR as a “turning point” milestone for the future of packaging in Europe, accelerating implementation readiness across the value chain.

Also in June Anna Perlina and myself presented webinar with Packaging Europe, a structured approach to guide you through the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, watch it here.

July: Single-Use Plastic Directive Tightening

While Europe has not banned plastic packaging overall, 2025 confirmed the continued tightening of rules through two major instruments: the SUP Directive (already banning specific single-use plastic items since 2021) and the PPWR (entering into force in 2025 and progressively restricting unnecessary packaging formats while raising the bar for recyclability). Together, they are effectively restricting the plastic content in food packaging not accepting any "chemically modified plastic" in paper packaging on the EU market. Read more in this article.

Surfers against sewage in Geneva during the UN Plastic Treaty.

August: Systems over statements

Mid-year, many organisations shifted focus inward. Packaging portfolios were reviewed, materials rationalised, and reporting systems strengthened in anticipation of future regulation.

At the same time, UN Global Plastics Treaty negotiations resumed, reinforcing international momentum around plastics reduction, chemicals management, and circular design. While outcomes remained unresolved, the direction of travel was unmistakable.

September: Single-use plastic bans take effect

September marked a significant enforcement milestone in Australia, as South Australia's 2025 single-use plastic bans came into effect. These bans targeted items with low recovery rates and high litter potential, especially in foodservice contexts.

This highlighted a broader national trend: policy focus is moving away from easily replaceable items to packaging formats that pose systemic recovery challenges.

Following the SA SUP Ban, which received global media attention, other Australian states like NSW, VIC, and WA have announced their plans for single-use plastic bans as well. Read more here.

October: Europe sets the pace

October was one of the most telling months of 2025, because European conferences made one thing clear: packaging innovation is no longer happening in isolation — it is happening in direct response to regulation. Across the month, the industry’s attention shifted from general sustainability messaging to one critical question: how do we design packaging that remains legally and technically viable in the EU market under PPWR?

At the Fibre-Based Packaging Conference in Valencia, the momentum behind fibre solutions was undeniable. The conversations were not simply about replacing plastics with paper; they were about the next generation of fibre packaging — barrier performance, functional coatings, compostability claims vs recyclability reality, and, most importantly, whether these materials can scale without compromising circularity outcomes. It was clear that fibre is being positioned as a major pathway for compliance and market acceptance, but also that fibre-based formats are coming under closer scrutiny: sustainability in 2026 will demand proof, not perception.

At Sustainability in Packaging Europe in Barcelona, the PPWR dominated conversations not as a distant policy document, but as an operational agenda. Discussions moved beyond “should we change packaging?” into “how fast can we transition, and how do we prove compliance?” What stood out was the growing maturity of the sector: recyclability claims are no longer enough, and companies are looking for evidence-backed solutions supported by test methods, clear material specifications, and realistic end-of-life pathways.

In parallel, the Materials Conference in Budapest reinforced that innovation is accelerating — but under a new lens. Performance materials are now evaluated not only by functionality and aesthetics, but also by compatibility with recycling systems, regulatory acceptance, and circularity outcomes. October felt like a turning point where the European market confirmed that packaging innovation in 2026 will not be driven by trends, but by regulatory requirements and system design. Read about each conference in our blog.

For companies supplying into Europe, it became clear that EU policy is no longer just a regional compliance issue — it is shaping global packaging specifications.

November: Global alignment around regulation

By November, the packaging conversations were no longer regional — they were undeniably global. The Sustainable Packaging Summit (SPS) in Utrecht brought together brand owners, material suppliers, policymakers, recyclers and innovators, and what stood out was the shared understanding that Europe is setting the pace for packaging transformation worldwide. PPWR readiness, EPR mechanisms, and the economic reality of reuse were not discussed as separate topics; they were treated as one integrated challenge: how to make packaging circular at scale, without destabilising supply chains. One of the strongest themes I saw was that “recyclable” is becoming a minimum expectation, while future-proof packaging needs to be simple, compatible, and demonstrably recoverable — with data to prove it. The summit also highlighted the growing tension between ambition and practicality: reuse and refilling models are accelerating, but they must compete with hygiene requirements, logistics feasibility, consumer behaviour and cost. SPS in Utrecht made it clear that 2026 will demand not just innovation, but execution at speed, and that companies exporting into Europe will be impacted whether they operate in Europe or not.

My presentation this year was about the Latin America emerging Packaging EPRs and the importance of understanding the local systems to have a successful EPR.

December: Preparing for what comes next

December closed the year with a shift from industry conversation to structural direction in Australia. After months of consultations and increasing alignment with global regulatory frameworks, APCO released its FY26–27 Business Plan, reinforcing the message that Australia is moving toward a stronger, more consistent national system for packaging outcomes. While APCO paused the proposed EPR fee model earlier in the year, December was a reminder that the pause was about getting governance and regulatory alignment right — not abandoning the path. This moment matters because it reflects what many of us have been witnessing across the industry: voluntary efforts alone will not deliver the outcomes needed, particularly when regulatory expectations are rising globally.

December also marked an important personal milestone for me with my PhD presentation, which reinforced how closely academic research and real-world packaging systems are now intersecting. As we enter 2026, the opportunity for businesses is clear: those who invest in readiness — packaging data, supplier engagement, evidence-based recyclability assessments, and portfolio simplification — will not only reduce compliance risk, they will build a real competitive advantage.

What 2025 really changed

2025 was not about setting new targets. It was about building systems.

Packaging design choices now determine:

• market access

• compliance risk

• and future cost exposure

As regulation tightens and alignment increases across jurisdictions, the businesses that invested in readiness early will be best positioned to navigate what comes next.

How thrive in 2026

2025 was the year the foundations were laid, 2026 is the year of action and delivery of the promises made in 2025.

To thrive in 2026, packaging businesses will need to move beyond “compliance as a checkbox” and treat regulation as a strategic advantage. With PPWR implementation accelerating in Europe, EPR reform continuing to mature in Australia, and single-use plastic bans expanding in scope and enforcement, the companies that win will be the ones that act early and build capability: clean packaging data, robust supplier declarations, documented recyclability evidence, and a packaging portfolio that is simplified, defensible and designed for real recovery pathways. Thriving in 2026 will mean investing in systems rather than reactive redesigns — embedding packaging governance across procurement, marketing and product teams, prioritising formats that are low-risk across multiple jurisdictions, and using regulation as a commercial lens to reduce complexity, protect market access, and unlock innovation.

If you want to enter 2026 with confidence, now is the time to assess your packaging portfolio, identify high-risk formats, and build a clear compliance roadmap — reach out if you’d like support to prioritise actions, engage suppliers, and get your packaging strategy ready for what’s coming.