Classification of industrial used cores and tubes (29.07.2026)
The new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) was adopted on
16th of December 2024 and will apply from 12th of August 2026.
As a regulation, the PPWR will directly apply in all EU member states, has immediate effect, and does not require any national implementing legislation.
Annex I of the new PPWR, just like the preceding Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD), classifies cores and tubes as follows:
PPWR ANNEX I Indicative list of items in the scope of the definition of packaging:
“Rolls, tubes and cylinders around which flexible material (e.g. plastic film, aluminium, paper) is wound, except rolls, tubes and cylinders intended as parts of production machinery and not used to present a product as a sales unit”
Based on this classification and in the spirit of a fair and free European single market, ECTA recommends the following differentiation, uniformly applicable in all EU member states:
Cores and tubes for domestic application are used as handling item for transport or product utilisation and can therefore be regarded as packaging.
Examples: cores for toilet paper, cling film or aluminium foil (household)
Industrially used cores are not packaging but rather a product in its own right. They are used in machines as winding axis for the production of paper, foil, printing, textile, and metal coils. The cores are a moving part of the production machinery and have to satisfy various technical requirements in operation (strength and dynamic values). They are not intended for private end users.
Download ECTA statement regarding classification of industrial used cores and tubes as PDF
A detailed expert report, as base to the ECTA statement, is available from the ECTA secretariat upon request.