Rezyklatanteil: What It Means and What EU Law Now Demands

Rezyklatanteil is the share of recycled material in a product or packaging. It differs from the recycling rate, which only measures how much waste is collected. The EU’s new packaging regulation (PPWR) sets mandatory minimum thresholds starting in 2030, making Rezyklatanteil a legal requirement rather than just a sustainability claim.

Rezyklatanteil vs. Recycling Rate: Not the Same Thing

Most people use these terms as if they mean the same thing. They do not.

The recycling rate shows how much waste is collected and sent to a recycling facility. Rezyklatanteil tells you how much recycled material ends up in a new product. A country can report a 60% recycling rate while manufacturers still build products almost entirely from virgin raw materials. The recycled material gets collected, processed, and then goes… somewhere else.

Rezyklatanteil closes that loop. It measures the final step: actual reuse in production. Without a strong Rezyklatanteil, recycling remains a collection exercise, not a circular one.

This distinction matters because European law is now built around it. Policymakers recognized that high collection rates did not reduce demand for new raw materials. So they shifted focus to what goes in, not just what gets collected.

PCR vs PIR — Why the Source of Recyclate Matters

Not all recyclate counts equally, and this is where greenwashing becomes a real risk.

There are two main types of recycled content:

• Post-Consumer Recyclate (PCR): Material recovered after a consumer has used a product. PET bottles collected from a deposit system are a classic example.
• Post-Industrial Recyclate (PIR): Manufacturing offcuts and production waste reused within an industrial process. This material never reached a consumer and was never truly “waste” in the environmental sense.

Many companies have marketed PIR content as a high recyclatanteil. Regulators are closing this gap. Under the PPWR, the relevant quotas specifically refer to post-consumer content, not industrial offcuts. A brand claiming a high Rezyklatanteil built primarily on PIR will face increasing scrutiny.

What EU Law Now Requires

The regulatory landscape shifted significantly when the EU published Regulation 2025/40 — commonly called the PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation) — which came into force in February 2025. It replaces the 1994 Packaging Directive and becomes directly applicable across all EU member states in August 2026.

PPWR Quotas and Timelines

The PPWR sets binding minimum thresholds for the Rezyklatanteil of plastic packaging. These are not targets. They are legal minimums.

By 2030, the minimums are:

• 10% for contact-sensitive plastic packaging other than PET single-use bottles
• 25% for PET single-use beverage bottles
• 25% for plastic packaging other than single-use beverage bottles and contact-sensitive applications
• 30% for single-use beverage cups

By 2040, those thresholds will rise significantly. PET single-use bottles must reach 50%, and other plastic packaging categories must hit between 35% and 65%, depending on application type.

These apply to plastic specifically. The PPWR also establishes recyclability requirements across other materials and restricts certain packaging formats entirely.

Germany’s Verpackungsgesetz

Germany moved ahead of the PPWR. Under the Verpackungsgesetz (VerpackG), PET single-use bottles sold in Germany must contain at least 25% recycled plastic since 2025. This applies to all beverage manufacturers selling single-use PET bottles in the German market, regardless of where they are produced.

The German regulation focuses on post-consumer content and specifically excludes PIR from the calculation. It also requires proof through certified documentation.

How Rezyklatanteil Is Calculated

The basic formula is straightforward:

Rezyklatanteil (%) = (Weight of recycled material / Total material weight) × 100

In practice, calculating this accurately is more complex. Most manufacturers use the Massenbilanzansatz (mass balance approach). This method allows recycled content to be tracked through a supply chain even when recycled and virgin materials are physically mixed during processing.

Under the mass balance approach, a manufacturer does not need to guarantee that every plastic pellet in a product physically came from a recycled bottle. Instead, they need to document that the total recycled input across their production matches their claimed Rezyklatanteil.

This approach is accepted under PPWR but requires certified documentation from the full supply chain. Without it, a Rezyklatanteil claim carries no legal weight and cannot be used in product labeling.

Certification and Labeling You Need to Know

To credibly claim a specific Rezyklatanteil, manufacturers need third-party certification. Three schemes are most relevant in the EU and German market:

• EuCertPlast: The leading European certification for plastic recyclate. Certifies recycling facilities and confirms the origin and quality of recycled plastic.
• Blauer Engel: Germany’s national ecolabel with specific criteria for recycled content across various product categories.
• Flustix: A German certification specifically for plastic recycling claims; widely used on consumer packaging.

Labeling Rezyklatanteil on consumer packaging is currently voluntary in most categories. The PPWR includes provisions to standardize recycled-content labeling across the EU, with further delegated acts expected. Companies that label now without certification are at legal and reputational risk.

The Supply Problem No One Talks About

There is an uncomfortable reality that the regulation-focused conversation often overlooks: recycled material is not always available in the required volumes or quality.

High-quality PCR material, especially food-contact-grade rPET, is in short supply relative to demand. As mandatory quotas increase by 2030, every packaging producer in the EU will compete for the same pool of certified post-consumer plastic. Prices for high-quality recyclate have already exceeded virgin plastic in several categories.

This is not a reason to avoid compliance planning; it is the reason to start early. Companies that build supply chain relationships with certified recyclate providers now will be far better positioned when the 2030 deadlines hit. Those who wait will face shortages, premium prices, and potential non-compliance.

What a High Rezyklatanteil Actually Requires

Achieving a meaningful Rezyklatanteil is not just a procurement decision. It starts in product design.

Packaging designed for recyclability, meaning single-material, label-compatible, and free of problematic additives, produces higher-quality recyclate after use. That recyclate then re-enters supply chains at a grade suitable for closed-loop applications. A well-designed PET bottle can become another PET bottle. A laminated multi-layer structure usually cannot.

Design for recycling, certified recyclate sourcing, mass balance documentation, and third-party labeling certification are the four practical steps manufacturers need to combine. The PPWR will require all of them. Starting with any one of them now reduces the compliance burden later.

The Rezyklatanteil you report in 2030 will reflect the decisions you make today in procurement, design, and how you choose and qualify your material suppliers.