Day 1: Regulatory Landscape and Industry ComplianceWednesday, 25 March 2026

• Critical insights on secondary legislation and delegated acts coming into force
• Timeline for implementation and compliance deadlines through 2030

• Preview of the upcoming Circular Economy Act and its connection to packaging
• Implications for waste framework revisions and extended producer responsibility

• Identifying practical barriers to compliance for different packaging types
• Collaborative problem-solving for industrial vs. consumer packaging requirements

• Addressing fragmentation challenges across 27 national implementations
• Balancing environmental goals with single market integrity

• Lessons from companies managing compliance across multiple jurisdictions
  Tools and strategies for efficient reporting and fee management
  

• Understanding concentration limits and testing methodologies
• Developing compliant alternatives for barrier properties
• Industry collaboration is needed to agree on methods for meeting limits in food packaging.

Food contact packaging that meets EU or FDA requirements is widely assumed to be safe, but growing scientific evidence, regulatory shifts, and market expectations are challenging this assumption. This talk highlights why chemical migration and NIAS are becoming critical issues for everyone in the packaging value chain. It aims to raise awareness of the gap between regulatory compliance and real-world safety, and why this gap is increasingly difficult for industry to ignore.

• The growing disconnect between regulatory compliance and public/scientific expectations of safety.

• How NIAS, supply-chain opacity, and emerging contaminants create hidden risks in otherwise “compliant” packaging.

• Why regulators, retailers, NGOs, and consumers are converging on chemical safety as a key concern.

• What brands, retailers, converters, and suppliers could do now to future-proof materials and improve supply-chain transparency.

• German Excellence: Streamlined reporting systems and effective enforcement mechanisms achieving 90%+ compliance rates
• Dutch Digital Innovation: Integrated platforms connecting stakeholders reduced administrative burden by 40%
• French EPR Evolution: Innovative eco-modulation driving measurable packaging design improvements
• Cross-Border Collaboration: Regional cooperation models that successfully harmonised collection systems and reporting requirements
  

• Decoding Consumer Behavior: Understanding the psychology behind recycling confusion and what drives effective disposal decisions based on extensive research insights

• Smart Labelling Solutions: How on-pack information and specialist labels build consumer confidence while QR codes and digital tools provide enhanced guidance for complex packaging

• Beyond Standard Recycling: Communicating refill, reuse, and alternative disposal methods to consumers when traditional recycling isn't an option

• Comparing material-specific vs. binary recyclability labelling systems
• Addressing consumer confusion through standardised communication

The Circular Economy Act represents a fundamental shift in how Europe approaches packaging waste management and sustainability. This session will explore the practical implications and implementation challenges facing Producer Responsibility Organizations, waste management companies, and the broader packaging value chain.

• Digital Transformation & Cross-Border Harmonisation: How will the Circular Economy Act accelerate the development of harmonized data systems and what does this mean for cross-border packaging compliance tracking?

• EPR System Evolution: What are the implications of expanding Extended Producer Responsibility frameworks under the Act, and how are different member states preparing their PRO systems for these changes?

• Reuse Integration Mandates: How will the Act's circular design requirements reshape reuse obligations, particularly for industrial and tertiary packaging systems?

• Cross-Border Waste Flow Management: What new compliance frameworks will emerge for international packaging waste movements, and how will this impact existing recovery and recycling networks?

• Technology-Enabled Compliance: How can digital tracking and AI solutions help manage the increased complexity of circular economy reporting requirements?

• Economic Model Transformation: What role will circular economy principles play in reshaping EPR fee structures, plastic taxes, and producer incentive systems?