Regulation (EU) 2025/40 — Article 24
Economic operators filling grouped, transport, or e-commerce packaging must ensure the empty space ratio does not exceed 50% by 1 January 2030 (or 3 years after implementing acts are adopted, whichever is later). Sales packaging fillers must be minimised by 12 February 2028, with specific rules for certain product types.
Why this applies to you
- You ship furniture and leather goods to multiple EU countries from Germany, so you fill e-commerce packaging for delivery.
- You also use sales packaging for your products, which falls under the sales packaging rules.
- As a micro or small enterprise, you are still an economic operator who fills packaging, so the empty space limits apply to you.
What to do
Measure the empty space ratio in your shipping boxes and plan to reduce it to 50% or less
by 1 Jan 2030
“By 1 January 2030 or 3 years from the entry into force of the implementing acts adopted pursuant to paragraph 2, whichever is the latest, economic operators who fill grouped packaging, transport packaging or e-commerce packaging shall ensure that the maximum empty space ratio, expressed as a percentage, is 50 %.”— eur-lex.europa.eu
Review your product packaging and reduce empty space to the minimum needed for protection
by 12 Feb 2028
“By 12 February 2028, the economic operators who fill sales packaging shall ensure that empty space is reduced to the minimum necessary for ensuring the packaging functionality, including product protection.”— eur-lex.europa.eu
Obligations in the text
Ensure empty space ratio in grouped, transport or e-commerce packaging does not exceed 50%.
“By 1 January 2030 or 3 years from the entry into force of the implementing acts adopted pursuant to paragraph 2, whichever is the latest, economic operators who fill grouped packaging, transport packaging or e-commerce packaging shall ensure that the maximum empty space ratio, expressed as a percentage, is 50 %.”— eur-lex.europa.eu
Adopt implementing acts to establish the empty space ratio calculation methodology by 12 February 2028.
“By 12 February 2028, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts to establish the methodology for the calculation of the empty space ratio referred to in paragraph 1.”— eur-lex.europa.eu
Reduce empty space in sales packaging to the minimum necessary for functionality by 12 February 2028.
“By 12 February 2028, the economic operators who fill sales packaging shall ensure that empty space is reduced to the minimum necessary for ensuring the packaging functionality, including product protection.”— eur-lex.europa.eu
Consider space filled by filling materials as empty space when calculating ratios.
“Space filled by filling materials, such as paper cuttings, air cushions, bubble wraps, sponge fillers, foam fillers, wood wool, polystyrene or Styrofoam chips, shall be considered as empty space.”— eur-lex.europa.eu
Source
- Document
- https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/40
- Jurisdiction
- EU
- Dates
- 1 Jan 2030 · 12 Feb 2028 · 12 Feb 2032
- Fetched
- 19 Oct 2026 14:10 UTC
- Content hash
53b672adee81- Extracted by
- recorded seed run
- Classified by
- nvidia/Nemotron-3-Ultra-550b-a55b · $0.0086