Engineering reference hub › Tools
EU PPWR (Regulation (EU) 2025/40) 50% empty-space ratio and cartonization calculator
Check a grouped, transport or e-commerce pack against the empty-space ratio of Article 24 of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, and find the smallest of your candidate cartons that meets the Article 24 threshold. Not legal advice. Use it to prepare the evidence file for your conformity assessment and confirm the result with your adviser.[14]
| Date | What applies (as the sources describe it) |
|---|---|
| 11 February 2025 | Regulation (EU) 2025/40 in force[1] |
| 12 August 2026 | Application date of the Regulation; the Article 10 minimisation duty applies[1][2] |
| 1 January 2030, or 3 years after the implementing acts if that is later | Article 24: maximum empty space ratio of 50% for grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging; void fill counts as empty space[3][4][5][6] |
| 1 January 2030 at the earliest | Article 6: recyclability grades A, B and C; packaging below grade C may no longer be placed on the Union market[7][8] |
| 1 January 2030 | Article 29 reuse targets: transport packaging, e-commerce included, 40% quota; cardboard boxes excluded[9][10] |
| 1 January 2030 | Annex V: bans on certain single-use plastic formats, such as hotel miniatures and plastic overpackaging; they target plastic[11][12][13] |
- Formula: Empty-space ratio (%) = (inner box volume - product volume) ÷ inner box volume x 100. Void fill such as paper or air cushions sits inside the empty space; it does not lower the ratio.[15][5]
- Scope: Article 24's ratio targets grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging, not primary sales packaging. A product shipped in its own retail box without an outer shipping box is outside the 50% rule, though Article 10 minimisation still applies.[14][16]
- Worked check from one guide: a box with an internal volume of 20 liters holding a packaged product of 12 liters has 8 liters of empty space, a 40% ratio, which would meet the 50% limit.[17]
- Sources word the threshold differently. Under Article 24, as Packa quotes it, the maximum ratio is 50%, while the same article elsewhere says to keep the ratio below 50% from 1 January 2030, and notes that a 40% figure circulated for August 2026 is incorrect. Treat a result of exactly 50% as borderline and confirm with your adviser.[18][4][19][20]
- EUR-Lex did not return its summary page to an automated request, so the article references rest on the European Commission's packaging page and the secondary guides listed below. Check the Official Journal text before relying on a date.
Estimates from published formulas and third-party figures; confirm on an unprinted white sample.
Shangle Display fixed offers: US$300 fixed price for a custom printed sample; US$200 fixed price for structure and artwork proof from your brief. Otherwise order quantity and production schedule confirmed per project brief and verified on an unprinted white sample; neutral unbranded export master cartons and tape, and blind shipping.
Products inside (packaged product sizes)
| Item | Length (mm) | Width (mm) | Height (mm) | Quantity | Remove |
|---|
Enter the inner size of the pack and the products inside, then press Calculate ratio.
Cartonization: your candidate cartons
Enter the inner sizes of cartons you can source. The tool checks that each product fits by its dimensions and, for a single product line, that the quantity fits as a simple grid; mixed products get a volume check only, so confirm the physical pack-out.
| Carton name | Inner length (mm) | Inner width (mm) | Inner height (mm) | Remove |
|---|
Add candidate cartons, then press Find the smallest carton.
Sources and quotes
Each bracketed number in the tool points to the quote below. Sources were fetched on 2026-11-15 and kept only where the page answered HTTP 200 and contained the passage.
- European Commission, Packaging waste (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste Status: In force since 11 February 2025 Application date : 12 August 2026
- Manglai, PPWR empty space ratio (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
The general minimization duty in Article 10 has applied since 12 August 2026.
- Packa, PPWR and E-Commerce Packaging (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
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
- Packa, PPWR and E-Commerce Packaging (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
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%
- Biyopak, EU PPWR and paper packaging for exporters (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
Article 24(3) counts fill as empty space
- Packa, PPWR and E-Commerce Packaging (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
void fill is not a workaround - it counts as empty space
- Projet Celsius, PPWR regulation guide (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
From 1 January 2030 at the earliest, packaging that does not achieve at least recyclability grade C may no longer be placed on the Union market.
- Biyopak, EU PPWR and paper packaging for exporters (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
Recyclability grades A, B, C; packaging below grade C cannot be placed on the market (24 months after the design-for-recycling act, whichever is later) 6
- Biyopak, EU PPWR and paper packaging for exporters (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
Reuse targets (Article 29) do not apply to cardboard boxes (29(4)(d)).
- Projet Celsius, PPWR regulation guide (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
Transport packaging, e-commerce included (pallets, crates, containers, drums): 40% quota (70% targeted in 2040). Cardboard boxes excluded.
- Biyopak, EU PPWR and paper packaging for exporters (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
1 January 2030 Ban on certain single-use plastic packaging formats 25, Annex V
- Biyopak, EU PPWR and paper packaging for exporters (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
Annex V bans target single-use plastic formats.
- Projet Celsius, PPWR regulation guide (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
Annex V bans hotel miniatures, disposable on-site plastic packaging, plastic overpackaging and single-use plastic condiment portions in food service, excluding takeaways.
- Manglai, PPWR empty space ratio (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
Article 24's maximum empty space ratio targets grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging, not primary sales packaging
- Packa, PPWR and E-Commerce Packaging (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
Empty-space ratio (%) = (Inner box volume - Product volume) ÷ Inner box volume x 100
- Packa, PPWR and E-Commerce Packaging (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
If you ship a product in its original retail box without an outer shipping box, the 50% rule does not apply to that configuration - though Article 10 minimisation still does.
- Manglai, PPWR empty space ratio (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
an e-commerce box with an internal volume of 20 liters holding a packaged product of 12 liters has 8 liters of empty space, a 40% ratio: it would meet the 50% limit.
- Packa, PPWR and E-Commerce Packaging (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
Under Article 24 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40, the maximum empty-space ratio for grouped, transport, and e-commerce packaging is 50%, applying from 1 January 2030.
- Packa, PPWR and E-Commerce Packaging (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
must keep the empty space ratio below 50% from 1 January 2030
- Packa, PPWR and E-Commerce Packaging (HTTP 200, read 2026-11-15):
Several industry sources have cited a 40% threshold applying from August 2026. That figure is incorrect.