This glossary covers the terminology you will encounter across the PPWR guides, the Carbonorm app, member-state implementing acts, and supplier declarations. Where a term has its own deep-dive, the entry links to it.

A C D E F L M P R S T V W

A

Annex II: The annex of PPWR (Regulation (EU) 2025/40) defining the methodology to assess a packaging item’s recyclability. Uses a worst-of approach: every component is graded independently and the worst component sets the overall grade. See Article 6 — Design for Recycling.
Authorised representative: A natural or legal person established in the EU who has received a written mandate from a non-EU manufacturer to act on its behalf in PPWR compliance matters. Defined in Article 3.

C

CEP: Cepi — Confederation of European Paper Industries. The recognised materia-knowledge body for paper recyclability assessment under Annex II. Publishes the Recyclability Laboratory Test Method.
CITEO: The French Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) that operates the household-packaging EPR scheme. Modulates fees by recyclability grade and recycled-content disclosure.
CONAI: The Italian National Packaging Consortium — operator of the Italian EPR scheme. Applies modulated fees for packaging types based on recyclability.
Chain of custody: The documented sequence of custody, transfer, and verification of recycled material from source to final packaging product, used to substantiate Article 7 recycled-content claims via mass balance.

D

DfR (Design for Recycling): The discipline of designing packaging so that its components are sortable and recyclable in existing infrastructure. Codified for PPWR purposes by the recognised materia-knowledge bodies (RecyClass, Cepi, FEFCO, Metal Packaging Europe, FEVE). See Article 6 — DfR.
DoC (Declaration of Conformity): The manufacturer’s self-declaration that a packaging type complies with PPWR Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (as applicable). Required per packaging type from 12 August 2026. Retention: 10 years. See Article 11 — DoC.

E

Economic operator: An umbrella term in Article 3 that covers manufacturers, importers, authorised representatives, and distributors. Each role has separate compliance obligations under PPWR.
EOF (Extractable Organic Fluorine): The screening parameter measured under EN 17681-1 to detect total PFAS presence in packaging material. A positive EOF result triggers targeted LC-MS/MS analysis to quantify the regulated PFAS species against the 25 ppb limit.
EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility): A policy approach making producers responsible for the end-of-life management of their packaging. In PPWR, EPR fees are modulated by recyclability grade — grade C/D packaging pays surcharges from 2027 onwards.

F

FEFCO: European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers. The recognised materia-knowledge body for corrugated board recyclability. Publishes the Industry Recyclability Statement used in Annex II assessment.
FEVE: The European Container Glass Federation — recognised body for glass packaging recyclability assessment.
Food-contact packaging: Packaging that is, or may become, in direct contact with food during normal or foreseeable use. Subject to Article 5 PFAS restrictions and parallel obligations under the Food Contact Materials Regulation (EC) 1935/2004.

L

LC-MS/MS: Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The accepted laboratory method for targeted PFAS quantification under EN 17681-2.
LoQ (Limit of Quantification): The lowest concentration of an analyte that can be reliably quantified by a test method. For PFAS testing, LoQ values typically sit below the 25 ppb PPWR threshold; results below LoQ are reported as “not detected”.

M

Mass balance: The accounting approach used to substantiate Article 7 recycled-content claims when recycled and virgin feedstocks are mixed in a single process. Outputs are allocated to inputs on a mass basis.
Multilayer packaging: Packaging composed of two or more layers of different materials (e.g. paper + aluminium + polymer). Assessed under Annex II with the dominant material as the recycling stream and other layers as contaminants.

P

PCR (Post-Consumer Recyclate): Plastic, paper, or other material recycled from products that have completed their first use by an end consumer. Counts toward Article 7 thresholds; pre-consumer (industrial off-cut) recyclate does not.
PFAS: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. A family of ~10,000 synthetic chemicals restricted in food-contact packaging by Article 5 of PPWR — sum of all PFAS must not exceed 25 µg/kg. See Article 5 — PFAS.
PPWR: Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2025/40. Replaces Directive 94/62/EC. Application date: 12 August 2026. See the pillar guide.
PRO (Producer Responsibility Organisation): The national entity that operates the EPR scheme on behalf of producers. Examples: CITEO (France), DSD / Der Grüne Punkt (Germany), CONAI (Italy), Ecoembes (Spain).

R

RecyClass: The recognised materia-knowledge body for plastic packaging recyclability under Annex II. Publishes the Design-for-Recycling guidelines (current version v2.4) cited in DoCs.
Recyclable at scale: The criterion in Article 6(6) — applicable from 2035 — requiring that packaging is not only well-designed for recycling but is in fact collected, sorted, and recycled at scale in the relevant member state. Stricter bar than “design recyclability”.
Recyclability grade (A–E): The five-band scale introduced by Article 6 to classify packaging by recyclability: A (excellent), B (good), C (sufficient), D (limited), E (not recyclable). Grade E is banned from 12 August 2030.

S

Substance of concern: A chemical that is hazardous to human health or the environment, the use of which is restricted or prohibited under Article 5. PFAS is the headline substance category; the Commission may add others by delegated act.

T

Technical documentation file: The supporting evidence behind the Declaration of Conformity — test reports, material certificates, mass-balance audits, supplier declarations. Required by Article 12; retained for 10 years.

V

VerpackG: The German Packaging Act (Verpackungsgesetz) — the national implementing law that translates EU packaging policy into German enforcement. PPWR replaces the EU baseline; VerpackG continues to handle national-level penalties and registration.
VVO: Verpackungsverordnung — the historical German packaging ordinance, now superseded by VerpackG. The acronym is still widely used in DACH packaging compliance discussions.

W

Worst-of grading: The Annex II methodology: every component of a packaging item is graded independently and the worst-graded component sets the overall PPWR Article 6 grade. A small contaminating component can dominate an otherwise high-quality item. See Article 6 — DfR.