Commission’s interpretation:

Whether an item qualifies as packaging must be assessed based on the definition of packaging set out in Article 3(1), point (1). Annex I is indicative only and, in line with the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (3) under Directive 94/62/EC on Packaging and Packaging Waste, applied by analogy, the inclusion of an item in Annex I alone is not sufficient for it to be classified as packaging. It is also necessary to verify whether the item meets the elements of the packaging definition, in particular whether it is intended to be used by an economic operator to contain, protect, handle, deliver or present a product, without being an integral part of that product, and whether it is intended to be used, consumed or disposed of together with the product, or constitutes an integrated component or an ancillary element performing a packaging function. For example, if a beverage cup is sold empty in a supermarket to consumers for their private use, it is not considered to be packaging. On the other hand, if the supermarket fills such cups with a product (e.g. coffee) at a refill station, such cups are packaging, more particularly, ‘service’ packaging. Tea lights or graveside lights’ containers, or other candle containers such as filled glasses and ceramic bowls, are not packaging, as these containers do not fit the definition of packaging in Article 3(1), point (1), and ‘graveside lights (containers for candles)’ are listed as examples of non-packaging in Annex I of the Regulation. As regards adhesive films used in the production processes of goods, they can be packaging or not depending on their function. Adhesive process films can be designed to enable or facilitate the transformation of raw or intermediate materials into semi-finished or final products, through manufacturing processes. If such films remain on the semi-finished products until their transformation and/or assemblage into subsequent semi-finished products or final products, and act as enablers of the manufacturing cycle and address distinct technical needs of such processes, they are not packaging under Article 3(1) point (1). Dust bags for shoes and garments are deemed packaging if they are intended to be used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery or presentation of products to an end user. There is no exemption for textile packaging from the general packaging definition contained in Article 3(1), point (1), but textile sales packaging (4) is exempted from the recyclability requirements (Article 6(11)(g)). Dust bags for shoes and garments packaging may be packaging if they meet the regulatory definition of packaging. This will depend on their function, i.e. if they are used for the containment or protection of garments or shoes during their handling, delivery, or presentation, and on their intended use, i.e., whether they have been placed on the market by an economic operator as part of a product supply. Such items are not packaging when they are integral to the product (i.e. part of the product and necessary for its intrinsic use, not just for protection or handling), or if they are not placed on the market for packaging use, i.e. if they are sold separately by the consumer or provided free of charge in a non-commercial context. Flower and plant pots, including seed trays, qualify as packaging where they are intended to be used for sale or transport, including pots and trays, in which the plant was cultivated at the last stage and in which it is sold to the end user. Conversely, pots and trays used by business operators (such as nurseries and growers) as part of their production cycle are not packaging, as they are mere enables of the manufacturing cycle. This applies except to the last pot or tray that is intended to be sold together with the plant to the end user. While the wording for both ‘packaging’ and ‘non-packaging’ in Annex I includes the element of selling, in practice, flowers and plants are not transplanted into separate ‘transport’ or ‘sales’ pots for marketing purposes. Rather, the same pots in which the plants were grown are used also for transport and sale. The classification of such pots must therefore follow the general definition of packaging, consider their function and intended use, rather than just relying on the indicative wording of Annex I. While the definition of packaging also covers items used in business-to-business relations, flowerpots that merely enable the production process, such as larger growing pots (for example, those exceeding 10 cm in diameter) used throughout the cultivation cycle, should not be regarded as packaging under Article 3(1), point (1). Intravenous (IV) bags and syringes do not fall within the definition of packaging under Article 3(1), point (1), including where they are placed on the market pre-filled with medicines or saline. Although they may physically contain a substance, IV bags and syringes are not placed on the market merely to contain, protect, transport or present a product. Rather, they are designed, manufactured and regulated as integral delivery devices that enable safe, sterile and accurate administration of fluids or medicines to patients. When supplied pre-filled, the IV bag or syringe forms an integral part of the medicinal or medical product itself, such that the product cannot perform its intended function independently of the device. In this context, the IV bag or syringe is not a packaging component that is discarded to access its contents, but a functional part of the product placed on the market.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.