What is the PPWR and when does it apply?

PPWR — the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, i.e. Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council on packaging and packaging waste. It replaces the earlier Directive 94/62/EC and applies directly in the Member States from 12 August 2026 — no national transposition needed. It introduces mandatory recycled content thresholds for plastic packaging, design for recycling, empty-space reduction, and reuse requirements.

What specific recycled content thresholds does the PPWR introduce?

Requirements vary by packaging type. For PET bottles: 30% recyclate from 2030, 65% from 2035. For other PE/PP packaging (e.g. food contact): 10% from 2026, 35% from 2030, higher from 2040. Transport packaging (films, pallets, crates) — separate requirements, including reuse.

Why does the PPWR increase recyclate transport?

Recyclate (regranulate) must be physically delivered to the plant producing the packaging. The chain looks like this: packaging waste → sorting plant → chemical or mechanical recycler → packaging producer. Each of these stages is a new transport leg. The higher the recycled content in packaging, the more kilometres to cover. Industry estimates: regranulate haulage in the EU will grow 5–10x between 2026 and 2035.

How does transporting R-PET / R-HDPE / R-PP differ from virgin material?

Recyclates are usually somewhat less uniform in density and pellet size than virgin material. They require silo trailers with tighter temperature control (in chemical PET recycling, pellets can enter transport still slightly warm) and stricter cleanliness — contamination narrows the available sales markets. From the driver's and silo trailer equipment perspective — the technical difference is minimal, the procedural difference bigger (documentation of origin, compounding certificate).

Are there certificates confirming the quality of recyclate transport?

Yes. The main ones: RecyClass (Plastics Recyclers Europe) — certifies the entire recyclate supply chain; ISCC PLUS — a mass-balance chain-of-custody scheme for recovered materials; PCR Content Certification (UL, TÜV, SGS) — confirmation of recyclate content. For a haulier, participation in RecyClass is key — it guarantees that transport does not contaminate the recyclate and full traceability is maintained.

Where will Poland source recyclates from?

Poland is one of the largest importers/recipients of waste plastic in the EU — with an extensive sorting and processing infrastructure. Main R-PET producers in Poland: Anwil, Plastics Recyclers Poland, BoryszewERG. R-HDPE/R-PP: a broad base of regional recyclers. After the PPWR takes effect and the export ban on plastic waste to non-OECD countries (November 2026) — domestic production will grow, and exporting recyclate to the DACH region will be the main sales direction.

regulacje transport 25.10.2024 PHS Magnum

PPWR 2026 — Demand for R-PET, R-HDPE Recyclate Transport

DAF silo trailer in bulk material transport

In short

PPWR — the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation — applies from 12 August 2026 across the EU. The most important effect for logistics: mandatory recycled content in plastic packaging. For PET bottles: 30% from 2030, 65% from 2035. For PE/PP: 10% from 2026, 35% from 2030. The consequence: a 5–10x rise in demand for R-PET, R-HDPE, and R-PP regranulate transport in the EU over the decade. Poland — with its strong recycling base — is becoming a recyclate supplier for the whole DACH region. Silo trailer transport is becoming the bottleneck.

Where the demand growth comes from

Before the PPWR takes effect, around 15% of plastic packaging in the EU contains recyclate (mainly PET bottles). A forced jump to 30–65% within 10 years means a several-fold increase in the volume of recyclate circulating in the supply chain:

2026: ~5 million tonnes/year of PE/PP/PET recyclate in EU circulation
2030: ~10–12 million tonnes/year
2035: ~20–25 million tonnes/year

Every tonne of recyclate requires transport from where it is produced to the processing plant. Unlike virgin material (often produced right next to a chemical plant), recyclate has dispersed sources (sorting plants in many cities) and concentrated destinations (packaging producers, PET bottles, food-grade films).

This is a geometric increase in tonne-kilometres in the EU plastics trade.

The three main recyclate types and their transport characteristics

R-PET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate)

Main application segment: beverage bottles, food packaging. Form: crystalline or amorphous pellets. Density: 1.3–1.4 g/cm³.

In chemical recycling (depolymerisation), pellets may leave the reactor slightly warm — a silo trailer capable of carrying material up to 60°C is required. Cleanliness is critical: contamination with PVC or polyolefins significantly reduces the recyclate’s value.

Main routes: Germany, Italy (chemical recycling plants) → Poland, Czechia, Spain (bottle production plants). Poland — positioned as both producer and recipient.

R-HDPE (recycled high-density polyethylene)

Main applications: bottles for household chemicals, cosmetics, transport packaging. Density: 0.94–0.97 g/cm³.

Pellets at ambient temperature — no special thermal requirements. Cleanliness matters, but tolerance for minimal contamination is higher than with R-PET.

Routes: recyclate producers dispersed across the EU → HDPE packaging producers mainly in DE, FR, PL, IT.

R-PP (recycled polypropylene)

Applications: food packaging (cups, containers), closures, transport packaging (crates), technical textiles. Density: 0.90–0.92 g/cm³.

The newest segment certified for food contact — strong growth dynamics after the PPWR (the first recycled content requirements for food-grade PP take effect in 2026).

Routes: newly built chemical PP recycling plants in the Netherlands, Austria, Poland → packaging producers in DACH and Western Europe.

What the PPWR forces on the recyclate supply chain

1. Chain of custody certification Every recyclate transport must have documented origin — from the sorting site to the packaging producer. Schemes: RecyClass, ISCC PLUS, EuCertPlast.

2. Transport traceability Batch number, recyclate production date, loading location, silo trailer number, driver — this is the data set the shipper and recipient must see with every delivery. Most hauliers will need digital tracking systems (electronic CMR, GPS, loading photos).

3. Category cleanliness protection A silo trailer carrying food-grade R-PET must not previously have been used for materials outside the food-grade range (cement, lime, but also e.g. non-food R-HDPE). This narrows the pool of silo trailers “dedicated” to food-grade — a premium on the transport market from 2026 onward.

4. Full PPLP compliance Recyclates are a type of plastic pellet — they fall under Regulation (EU) 2025/2365. Recyclate transport = pellet transport. The OCS and RMP requirements apply exactly as they do for virgin material.

Questions to ask a haulier before the first recyclate run

A practical list for shippers:

Do you have silo trailers dedicated to food-grade (never used for non-food materials)?
Do you hold a RecyClass / ISCC PLUS certificate for the supply chain?
What traceability procedures do you have (electronic CMR, GPS, photos)?
What is the silo trailer cleaning procedure between two recyclate loads of different categories?
Are your drivers trained in PPLP procedures (Regulation 2025/2365)?
Do you hold ISO 9001:2015 certification as the base of your quality management system?

Hauliers meeting all six criteria are a minority in 2026 — a recyclate shipper gains real market value by finding and maintaining a stable partnership with such a carrier.

Poland as a recyclate hub for DACH

Poland has three structural advantages in the segment:

Scale of waste plastic imports (by 2026, the export ban to non-OECD countries redirects the stream to recyclers inside the EU — Poland is the largest recipient in the region)
Geography — Poland ranks among the top EU countries by number of mechanical recycling plants; a growing chemical recycling base
Location relative to DACH — 180–300 km to most packaging producers’ plants in Germany and Austria

PHS Magnum, based in Chorula (4 km from the A4, 180 km from the German border) — sits at the natural crossing point of Poland → DACH recyclate routes.

Timeline of the PPWR’s impact on transport

Year	What happens in recyclate transport
2026	First mandatory PP/HDPE recycled content requirements (10%). A step change in demand.
2027–2028	Full PPLP rollout — hauliers without OCS excluded from major shippers’ tenders.
2030	30% recycled content for PET bottles, 35% for PE/PP. A second volume jump.
2035	65% recycled content for PET bottles. Recyclates dominate over virgin in some segments.
2040	Further threshold increases (indicative).

Operational takeaway for the industry

Silo transport in the EU faces a deep reconfiguration in 2026–2035:

less virgin material (growing substitution by recyclate)
more recyclates (geometric growth)
higher procedural requirements (PPLP + PPWR)
a premium for early-certified hauliers (OCS, RecyClass, ISCC)
market consolidation — smaller hauliers without certificates drop out

Shippers planning operations for 2027 and beyond — the time to start talks with hauliers is 2026.

About the author

This content was prepared by the PHS Magnum team in cooperation with Aleksy Pasternak — Managing Partner of the company and a bulk material transport expert with 35 years of experience in trading plastic pellets, recyclates, and industrial minerals in the EU. Aleksy publishes industry analyses on the expert portal pasternak.me, covering regulatory topics (PPLP, PPWR, OCS), technical topics (silo trailers, TDT), and operations (big-bag transloading, contract packing).