A new EU-wide rule, with real teeth
From this month on, a single set of packaging rules applies across the whole European Union. For the first time, it makes recycled plastic a legal requirement rather than a voluntary goal. Hitting those targets will depend on how well we can recycle plastics like PET. One promising approach uses enzymes, natural molecules that speed up chemical reactions, to take PET apart. EXPLORA is searching for exactly these kinds of plastic-degrading enzymes, in some of Earth’s most extreme environments.
Regulation (EU) 2025/40, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), entered into force in February 2025. It generally applies from 12 August 2026. Because it’s a regulation rather than a directive, it applies directly to all 27 Member States, with no national transposition needed. It also sits firmly within the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan.
The headline goal is ambitious: all packaging on the EU market should be recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030. The Regulation also restricts certain single-use plastic formats, and limits substances of concern, including PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), in food-contact packaging above set thresholds. Many obligations phase in gradually, stretching from 2026 through to 2040.
For plastics specifically, the most demanding provisions concern minimum recycled content, and these apply from 2030. Single-use beverage bottles made mostly of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) must contain at least 30% recycled content by 2030, rising to 65% by 2040. Other contact-sensitive PET packaging must reach 30% by 2030, then 50% by 2040. Crucially, only material recovered from post-consumer waste counts towards these figures.
The recycling bottleneck
These targets are demanding for a simple reason: high-quality, food-grade recycled plastic is scarce. Today, mechanical recycling reliably delivers food-contact quality mainly for PET, and even then, the plastic tends to lose quality with each cycle. Chemical recycling can break PET back into its raw ingredients, but it needs very high temperatures, and can produce unwanted byproducts. Both routes also consume a lot of energy.
In practice, the rules raise demand for recycled PET faster than current technology can comfortably supply it. Closing that gap means building capacity, but it also means developing cleaner ways to recover the plastic. Importantly, the Regulation sets targets, not methods or any specific technology. That leaves real room for emerging approaches to step in.
The enzyme route
One promising approach uses enzymes, natural molecules that speed up chemical reactions, to take PET apart. Instead of relying on heat and harsh chemicals, enzymatic recycling breaks the plastic into its two building blocks: terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol. Researchers can then reassemble those building blocks into new PET, with the same quality as virgin material. This creates a genuine, closed loop, where old bottles become new ones.
The field is moving fast. A review in Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews counts more than 255 verified plastic-active enzymes, across over 11 microbial groups. However, durability remains the obstacle. Most of these enzymes aren’t stable enough to survive real industrial conditions, where PET gets processed warm and often under stress. In fact, research in Nature Communications found that fewer than one in ten known PET-degrading enzymes stay active in the temperature range where the plastic softens enough to work on.
Connection to EXPLORA
This durability gap is exactly the challenge EXPLORA is taking on. The project looks for enzymes in microorganisms from extreme environments, including the acidic waters of the Río Tinto in Spain and the cold of Antarctica. The premise is straightforward: life adapted to acid, heat or cold may yield enzymes rugged enough for industrial use. These “extremozymes” include acidophilic candidates with potential relevance for breaking down PET.
EXPLORA combines field sampling, AI-guided screening and laboratory testing to identify and characterise the most promising enzymes. This is early-stage research, not proven technology, and that’s exactly where it fits the moment. The PPWR doesn’t ask for enzymatic recycling specifically. But its rising recycled-content targets will reward any method that recovers PET more cleanly, and enzymatic recycling is one avenue that could, over time, help deliver exactly that.
For a closer look at how these enzymes work, and why extreme microbes are so valuable, see our articles on extremozymes and PET recycling and polyextremophiles.
Frequently asked questions about the EU Packaging Regulation, PET recycling and EXPLORA research
When does the new EU Packaging Regulation apply?
Regulation (EU) 2025/40, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), generally applies from 12 August 2026, across all 27 EU Member States. Several obligations phase in later, and the recycled-content targets for plastics, for example, mostly apply from 1 January 2030.
What are the recycled-content targets for PET packaging?
From 2030, single-use beverage bottles made mostly of PET must contain at least 30% recycled content, rising to 65% by 2040. Other contact-sensitive PET packaging must reach 30% by 2030 and 50% by 2040. Only plastic recovered from post-consumer waste counts towards these figures.
Does the Regulation require enzymatic recycling?
No. The PPWR sets targets and outcomes, such as how much recycled content packaging must contain and how recyclable it must be, but it doesn’t prescribe any particular recycling technology. Enzymatic recycling is one emerging approach that could help meet those targets, not a legal requirement.
What is enzymatic PET recycling?
It uses enzymes, natural molecules that speed up chemical reactions, to break PET into its two building blocks: terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol. Researchers can then reassemble these into new PET of virgin quality, creating a closed loop where old bottles become new ones, without the high temperatures and harsh chemicals of conventional chemical recycling.
Is enzymatic recycling available at industrial scale today?
Not widely. The main obstacle is durability: PET only softens enough for efficient enzyme attack at around 65–85°C, and most known PET-degrading enzymes aren’t stable in that range. Making the process robust and affordable at scale remains an active field of research, rather than a mature industrial solution.
What is EXPLORA’s role?
EXPLORA searches for “extremozymes”, enzymes from microbes in extreme environments such as the acidic Río Tinto river in Spain and Antarctica, that may stay active under the harsh conditions industrial recycling demands. This is early-stage research, not a validated technology. It explores one avenue that could, over time, support the kind of targets the PPWR sets.
