Microns prove nothing. Grams per pallet do

The PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation) entered into force on 11 February 2025 and has largely applied since 12 August 2026; other obligations are being phased in. For pallet film, it comes down to two questions you must be able to answer: how much material do you actually use, and are your supplier's statements about that material accurate?

The first question almost always comes unstuck over the unit. Microns are a property of the roll, not a measure of consumption. The quantity used on each pallet also depends on the pre-stretch percentage, number of revolutions, overlap between passes and film width. Two films of the same thickness can differ in consumption by tens of percentage points. The only unit you can substantiate is grams of film per pallet, which can be calculated once you know how many metres leave the roll.

That is a reduction of more than half, but only on paper. Above all, the example shows that the saving comes from two controls: thickness and pre-stretch. Thin film on a machine that does not achieve its stated pre-stretch will not deliver the saving. Measure current consumption before ordering a thinner roll. The properties of each film type are listed in the material guide; the principles of pre-stretch are covered in the technical FAQ.

For board, the limit is compression strength; for film, it is containment force. That limit is stricter because a shifting pallet causes not only damage but also a safety risk. Pallet safety is determined by containment force multiplied by the number of layers, not by the pre-stretch percentage. If pre-stretch is taken too far, the film is already at its limit and containment force actually falls.

The sequence therefore matters. Do not reduce first and then see what happens. First establish the containment force your load requires, then find the lightest film that achieves it. A reduction that causes one damaged pallet per week consumes more material than it saves through repacking, returns and replacement shipments.

For plastic packaging outside the separate categories, Article 7 of the PPWR specifies 35% post-consumer recycled content from 1 January 2030, or later if the required implementing act enters into force later, rising to 65% from 2040. This may sound like a figure you can simply put on a roll of film, which is precisely the misconception. Four qualifications must accompany the percentage:

• It concerns the residual category of plastic packaging. Whether your film falls into it must be established for each packaging unit.
• It concerns post-consumer recycled content, not recovered production waste. This distinction is regularly omitted from claims.
• It is an average per manufacturing plant, per year, per packaging type and format, not a minimum for each roll.
• There are exemptions, and implementation is still being developed. Establish what applies for each packaging unit and manufacturer.

In practice, do not ask a supplier whether its film complies with the PPWR, because a roll of film is not compliant in itself. Ask what percentage is claimed, whether it is post-consumer material, which unit was used to measure it, and what evidence supports it. Also ask for the product version and revision date, because reformulated film is a different product from the one you assessed.

Keep one technical point in mind: recycled material is more difficult to use in thin stretch film than in thick film, because contamination and gel formation are more likely to cause perforations at low thicknesses. A high recycled-content percentage combined with a low micron rating is therefore a claim you should test on your own pallet, using a trial roll, before switching.

Pallet film has an advantage that most industrial packaging does not: it becomes available at the recipient clean, dry and sorted, in large quantities at one location. This makes film collection relatively straightforward, provided the film is recognisably a single material.

This is also where the points requiring attention arise. Black and heavily coloured film is harder to sort than transparent film. Heavy printing and composite films with other polymer layers make processing more difficult. Film contaminated with labels, tape or residues loses value in the stream. None of these points constitutes a prohibition; they must be weighed against the reason for using the colour or print. If, for example, pallets are colour-coded by customer, consider whether a coloured label could serve the same purpose.

The broader logic of collection, sorting, recycling and end markets, including where packaging can fall out of the process, is explained on the page about recyclability and packaging design.

• EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2025/40 — including Article 7 on recycled content in plastic packaging. Opens in a new window.
• Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) — EU packaging requirements (PPWR) — Dutch government information. Opens in a new window.
• Verpact — All about the PPWR — timeline and implementation for the Netherlands. Opens in a new window.

Content reviewed on 20 August 2026 against the sources above.

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