Recyclability Performance Grades: What They Are and How to Prove Yours
Grades A to E, the 2030 and 2035 thresholds, and how the new classification will work in practice — including how fibre packaging documents its position in the paper stream.
By 2030 every packaging item in Europe must be recyclable; by 2035 it must be recyclable at scale. Between those two dates sits the mechanism that will decide which packaging survives: the PPWR's recyclability performance grades. This guide explains the system, what it means for your sourcing decisions, and how the evidence is documented.
The grading system in brief. The PPWR establishes five performance grades — A, B, C, D and E — reflecting how effectively a packaging type is recycled in real collection and recycling systems. Grade A represents the highest recycling performance (for example packaging that is widely collected, sorted and recycled with high efficiency in practice), and grade E the lowest. From 2030, packaging must be recyclable in accordance with design-for-recycling rules; from 2035, packaging must reach at least grade B (under the general rule, grades A and B qualify as recyclable at scale) to remain on the market.
How is a grade determined? Through a recyclability assessment performed against criteria set by the EU — the design-for-recycling criteria and the assessment methodology are being completed through implementing and delegated acts over the coming years. The assessment will look at the packaging's material composition, how it behaves in sorting (for example in paper, plastics and mixed streams), and whether recycling infrastructure for it exists at scale in the EU.
What this means for different materials: single-material paper, board and molded pulp are expected to grade strongly because they flow through established, high-volume paper streams with mature collection systems. Multi-material packaging — laminates, composites, plastic-coated paper with non-detachable coatings — faces a structural challenge: even where recycling is technically possible, the practical sorting and recycling infrastructure determines the grade. Plastic packaging faces the additional hurdle of the recycled-content requirements that apply from 2030.
How is recyclability documented for fibre packaging? The evidence chain runs from material declaration (what the product is made of, verified by the supplier's documentation) through design-for-recycling conformity to, ultimately, the performance grade issued under the EU's assessment procedure. For fibre products, the practical documents buyers should hold are: the material composition statement, the compostability certificate where applicable (EN 13432), and confirmation that the product is free of non-detachable coatings and contaminants that would disrupt the paper stream.
Why this matters for buyers now: choosing a material is a 2035 decision made today. Products you source now will still be on the market — and in the recycling stream — when the at-scale requirement bites. The procurement question is not "is this recyclable in theory?" but "where does this packaging sit in the EU's real recycling infrastructure, and will it still be there in 2035?" Fibre-based, single-material disposables are the category with the clearest answer today.
A note on transition: between 2026 and 2030, packaging must comply with the requirements that apply today (substances of concern, marking, documentation, and the PPWR's other applicable provisions). The recyclability grades govern the 2030/2035 horizon. Buying compliant fibre packaging now therefore solves both problems at once: it meets today's documentation requirements and positions you correctly for the grading system that is coming.
At PPWR, our molded pulp tableware is single-material fibre packaging with EN 13432 compostability certification, PFAS-free and food-contact documentation — the evidence chain that supports both today's compliance and tomorrow's grade. When you request the document pack, you are also building the file that will support your position in the 2030-2035 recyclability regime.
New to PPWR timelines? Read our buyer's guide to the 2030 requirements, or the history of how the regulation was born.