Country reports

Purpose

These reports are the Theme 2 jurisdiction accounts. Each country has one operational report covering mandatory marks, voluntary schemes, proposals, enforcement and primary sources. Cross-cutting articles on Union instruments, private schemes and questions that are not a single-country account sit beside this series.

Published reports

Jurisdiction	On-pack status	Current position
01. Australia	mixed	Australia does not currently impose a general statutory on-pack recyclability label. The Australasian Recycling Label is a voluntary licensed scheme, while packaging stewardship and truthful-claims duties are legally binding and national mandatory packaging rules remain under development.
02. Austria	mixed	Austria does not impose a general national sorting label on all packaging. It does, however, require the Austrian deposit symbol and barcode on covered single-use beverage containers, permits a defined material-coding system, and is now subject to the PPWR transition toward harmonised EU labels.
03. Belgium	mixed	Belgium imposes binding reporting, take-back and prevention obligations on responsible companies, but its familiar Fost Plus sorting artwork is a voluntary scheme convention rather than a statutory mark. The PPWR will progressively replace national divergence with harmonised EU labelling.
04. Brazil	mixed	Brazil has binding packaging-design, waste-information, reverse-logistics and plastic recycled-content duties, but no single generally prescribed federal consumer recycling pictogram. Material symbols remain principally technical-standard and voluntary practice.
05. Bulgaria	mandatory	Bulgaria requires the Annex 2 material identification number and/or abbreviation on every package. The Annex 3 recycling graphic and Annex 4 separate-collection mark have been voluntary since 16 December 2022. There is no operating national deposit-return logo.
06. Canada	mixed	Canada has no general federal recycling label for packaging. Binding duties arise through provincial deposit systems, Quebec-specific container marking, bilingual consumer information and substantiated environmental claims, while the federal plastics-labelling framework remains a proposal rather than an enacted rule.
07. Chile	mixed	Chile combines a voluntary certified recyclability seal with binding rules for certain single-use plastics and beverage bottles. A proposed general environmental-labelling procedure was formally terminated in 2025, while the certified-plastic mark depends on the administrative conditions specified in Law 21.368 and its regulation.
08. China	mixed	China’s principal packaging-recycling mark standard, GB/T 18455-2022, is recommended rather than universally compulsory. Mandatory controls nevertheless apply to excessive packaging in covered products, while environmental representations remain subject to advertising and consumer-protection rules.
09. Colombia	mixed	Colombia has binding packaging EPR and single-use-plastics duties, but the detailed technical labelling regulation required by Article 11 of Law 2232 has not been identified as adopted. Businesses must not treat the unissued regulation as a current standardized artwork requirement.
10. Croatia	mixed	Croatia requires covered beverage packaging in its deposit-return system to carry the prescribed deposit mark and a registered GTIN barcode. There is no equivalent universal Croatian sorting label for all packaging, and the PPWR harmonised labels follow later Union timetables.
11. Cyprus	mixed	Cyprus imposes packaging producer-responsibility duties but does not currently prescribe a universal national sorting label for ordinary packaging. Green Dot participation and trademark use operate through an approved collective system, while future harmonised labels follow the PPWR timetable.
12. Czechia	mixed	Czech law does not require material identification on every package. Where a business chooses to identify the packaging material, section 6 of the Packaging Act requires use of the EU system; separate rules apply to returnable deposit packaging, and the PPWR harmonised label applies later.
13. Denmark	mixed	Denmark requires the Danish deposit mark and approved barcode on covered one-way beverage packaging. The national waste pictogram system is widely used but generally voluntary on consumer packaging, and PPWR harmonised labels will apply on later Union dates.
14. Egypt	mixed	Egypt does not require a general recycling or sorting label. Prime Minister’s Decree 662/2025 imposes an EPR fee of EGP 37.5 per kilogram on plastic shopping bags; that is a financing duty, not an instruction to print a resin code or destination bin.
15. Estonia	mixed	Estonia requires packaging subject to deposit to carry the prescribed deposit marking and, where obligations are transferred to a recovery organization, its registered barcode. The requirement is targeted rather than a universal national sorting label, and PPWR labels apply later.
16. Ethiopia	mixed	Ethiopia does not require a general recycling or sorting label. Single-use plastic bags have been prohibited from 31 January 2026 under Proclamation 1383/2025.
17. Finland	mixed	Finland requires beverage containers in an approved return system to indicate the deposit and participation in that system. General material identification and Nordic sorting pictograms remain voluntary, while future PPWR harmonised labels follow later implementation dates.
18. France	mandatory	France requires the Triman symbol and an approved Info-tri sorting instruction on most household products and packaging covered by extended producer responsibility. The national rules remain operative while an EU infringement action is pending, and future PPWR labels follow a separate timetable.
19. Germany	mixed	Germany does not require a universal sorting label on ordinary packaging. Binding consumer identification is concentrated in the deposit and reusable-offer systems, while the national minimum standard for recyclability is principally an EPR fee-assessment tool rather than an on-pack authorization.
20. Ghana	proposed	Ghana does not require a general recycling or sorting label. An expanded-polystyrene product ban has been announced for 1 January 2027; producer-financed collection remains proposed.
21. Greece	proposed	Greece has adopted the legal and technical framework for a national deposit-return system, including future package identification, but the operator reports that licensing and phased activation remain incomplete. The deposit mark must therefore be recorded as adopted or pending rather than fully in force.
22. Hungary	mixed	Hungary requires covered beverage containers in the mandatory return system to bear prescribed MOHU identification and a registered barcode. The rule is operational, but it is product-specific and should not be generalized into a mandatory sorting label for all Hungarian packaging.
23. Iceland	voluntary	Iceland permits standardized material identification but no longer requires it on every package. Nordic sorting pictograms are voluntary, while the national beverage-container deposit system is operational; PPWR obligations depend on incorporation into the EEA framework and Icelandic implementation.
24. India	mandatory	India requires several category-specific markings for plastic packaging, including producer registration identifiers and prescribed information for recycled, compostable and biodegradable plastic. The rules are not a single generic recycling logo and must be applied according to material and package type.
25. Indonesia	mixed	Indonesia requires covered producers to implement packaging-waste reduction roadmaps through 2029, but it does not currently prescribe one universal recycling pictogram for all packaging. A stronger producer-responsibility regulation announced in 2026 remains proposed until promulgated.
26. Ireland	mixed	Ireland requires in-scope beverage containers to display the Re-turn logo and a registered barcode. The scheme-specific mark is mandatory and operational, but Ireland has no equivalent national sorting label for all packaging; PPWR harmonised labels apply later.
27. Israel	mixed	Israel requires covered beverage containers to be indelibly marked with a deposit statement and the refund amount. Packaging producers and importers also have EPR duties, but there is no universal government recycling logo for all ordinary packaging.
28. Italy	mandatory	Italy requires packaging material identification using the EU alphanumeric codes and requires consumer packaging to provide appropriate collection information. Business-to-business packaging is also within scope, although required information may be supplied through commercial or digital documentation.
29. Japan	mandatory	Japan requires prescribed material-identification marks on specified plastic and paper packaging, PET beverage and condiment bottles, and beverage cans. Corrugated-board, paper-carton and glass-container marks remain voluntary industry systems.
30. Kenya	mandatory	Kenya requires plastic packaging, including packaging on imported products, to carry the seller’s name and contacts, a recyclable or non-recyclable mark with resin identification codes, and, where those facts apply, recycled-content percentage and buy-back details. The duty is LN 181/2024; EPR under LN 176 is off-pack.
31. Latvia	mixed	Latvia’s enforceable consumer mark is the deposit sign plus barcode on in-scope beverage packaging from 1 February 2022. Material identification under Cabinet Regulation No. 140 is the authorised alphabet if a mark is applied; the small-pack exemptions often copied from older notes were deleted in 2005.
32. Lithuania	mixed	Lithuania requires covered beverage packaging to carry the relevant deposit-system mark and an identifying barcode. The Nordic sorting pictograms remain voluntary, and the PPWR harmonised material label follows a later timetable.
33. Luxembourg	mixed	Luxembourg requires responsible packaging businesses to participate in the applicable EPR system, but it does not prescribe one national on-pack sorting panel for ordinary packaging. Valorlux and Green Dot communications operate through scheme and trademark rules.
34. Mexico	mixed	Mexico has mandatory Spanish-language commercial information and a new prohibition on false circular-economy representations, but its plastics identification symbols and National Circular Economy Distinction are voluntary unless another binding instrument incorporates them.
35. Morocco	mixed	Morocco does not require a general recycling or sorting label. Law 77-15 banned specified plastic bags from 1 July 2016; packaging EPR remains in design. French Triman on Maghreb files is a dual-market fact, not a Moroccan mandate.
36. Netherlands	mixed	The Netherlands requires covered deposit containers to carry a clear and indelible deposit indication, implemented through the national logos and barcode system. The Weggooiwijzer disposal icons remain voluntary and do not certify recyclability.
37. New Zealand	voluntary	New Zealand supports the voluntary Australasian Recycling Label but does not require a general national recycling mark. The proposed beverage-container return scheme remains deferred, while environmental claims must be accurate and substantiated under the Fair Trading Act.
38. Nigeria	mixed	Nigeria has no located general recycling or material-identification label. NESREA is operationalising packaging-plastics EPR and has set rPET content floors from 2028; a nationwide single-use plastics ban announced for January 2025 remains a phased announcement rather than a fully enforced national prohibition.
39. Norway	mixed	Norway requires beverage packaging within a deposit arrangement to carry a deposit mark showing the refund rate. The national sorting pictograms remain voluntary, and PPWR requirements depend on EEA incorporation and Norwegian implementation.
40. Peru	mandatory	Peru prescribes a detailed Spanish-language information panel for biodegradable plastic bags. The duty is product-specific rather than a universal packaging label, and a 2025 proposal to revise the certification route remains unadopted.
41. Poland	mixed	Poland’s deposit-return system is operational. Covered plastic bottles, metal cans and reusable glass bottles carry the statutory deposit logo and amount; Poland otherwise has no universal national sorting label for ordinary packaging.
42. Portugal	mixed	Portugal now requires covered single-use beverage packaging to carry the Volta deposit symbol and a registered GTIN/EAN code. The deposit system has operated nationwide since 10 April 2026; Portugal does not otherwise prescribe one universal national sorting panel.
43. Romania	mixed	Romania requires covered non-refillable beverage packaging to carry the national SGR symbol and a compliant barcode. The deposit-return system has operated since 30 November 2023; no universal national sorting panel applies to all packaging.
44. Rwanda	mixed	Rwanda does not require a general recycling or sorting label on remaining packaging. Polythene bags have been prohibited since 2008, with a 2019 extension to specified single-use plastics; the bans are strictly enforced relative to regional peers.
45. Saudi Arabia	mandatory	Saudi Arabia requires defined degradable plastic products, including specified packaging and bags, to obtain SASO authorization and carry the controlled degradable-plastic logo and prescribed Arabic information. This is not a universal recycling label for all packaging.
46. Singapore	mixed	Singapore does not require a general recycling label. Covered plastic and metal beverage containers must carry the prescribed BCRS deposit mark and a barcode from 1 October 2026. Mandatory Packaging Reporting is an off-pack duty.
47. Slovakia	mixed	Slovakia requires covered beverage bottles and cans to carry the national Z deposit symbol, the word ZALOHOVANE and a registered barcode. General material coding is not a universal national on-pack obligation.
48. Slovenia	mixed	Slovenia does not currently require a universal national sorting label. Packaging may identify its material, but the government states that this is optional; producer-responsibility duties apply independently and the PPWR label follows later.
49. South Africa	mixed	South Africa requires EPR scheme membership for identified packaging and environmental declarations in accordance with SANS 14021. That is a claims-standard duty, not a national sorting pictogram. The SA Plastics Pact OPRL is a voluntary member guide, not the UK scheme.
50. South Korea	mandatory	South Korea requires packaging subject to recycling obligations to carry the applicable separate-discharge mark, subject to defined exemptions. Obligated producers also assess packaging recyclability, and packaging rated difficult to recycle carries that grade.
51. Spain	mandatory	Spain requires household packaging to identify the waste fraction or container in which it should be deposited. It expressly leaves Decision 97/129 material codes voluntary, prescribes additional information for reusable and compostable packaging, and prohibits “environmentally friendly” wording that may encourage littering.
52. Sweden	mixed	Sweden requires covered plastic beverage bottles and metal cans to belong to an approved return system and carry a mark identifying the system and refund amount. Common sorting pictograms remain voluntary.
53. Switzerland	mixed	Switzerland adopted VerpV on 24 June 2026, applying from 1 January 2027. The only consumer-facing on-pack duty is to mark reusable beverage packaging as reusable and to state the deposit. There is no Swiss Triman and no PPWR composition label.
54. Taiwan	mandatory	Taiwan requires designated responsible enterprises to place the official four-arrow recycling emblem on regulated containers, packaging or labels. Plastic regulated containers also carry a monochrome 1–7 resin code. Plastic liners and blisters take the material code only — never the emblem — from 1 July 2027, with a 30 September 2027 backstop for already-registered enterprises.
55. Tanzania	mixed	Tanzania does not require a general recycling or sorting label on remaining packaging. Government Notice 394 of 2019 prohibited plastic carrier bags regardless of thickness.
56. Thailand	proposed	Thailand has not enacted the proposed Sustainable Packaging Management Act. Work toward packaging EPR continues, but no universal mandatory recycling or sustainability label currently follows from the draft.
57. Tunisia	mixed	Tunisia’s ECO-Lef system is a mandatory packaging-recovery and eco-tax scheme. A clause making the ECO-Lef logo a general condition of lawful sale was not located. Conventional single-use plastic bags have been prohibited since 1 March 2020.
58. Turkey	mixed	Turkey requires beverage packaging within the national deposit-management system to carry the controlled DOA/DYS mark and an approved system barcode. The nationwide return network began on 1 July 2026. Ordinary material and sorting marks outside that system are not a universal mandatory label.
59. Uganda	mixed	Uganda does not require a general recycling or sorting label. The National Environment Act 2019 restricts specified thin plastics, with a 30-micron threshold commonly applied and scheduled exceptions, and introduces EPR language that is off-pack.
60. United Arab Emirates	mixed	The UAE federal measure is principally a staged prohibition on specified single-use products, not a general package-labelling law. The second phase applied from 1 January 2026. Environmental or conformity marks remain product-specific and do not override federal or emirate-level bans.
61. United Kingdom	mixed	The United Kingdom does not currently require a universal recycling label on ordinary packaging. Large producers must assess and report packaging recyclability, OPRL remains voluntary, and covered deposit containers will require a scheme label when the relevant deposit systems begin on 1 October 2027.
62. United States	mixed	The United States has no comprehensive federal recycling label for packaging. Federal law regulates deceptive environmental claims, while state statutes create divergent resin-code, recyclability, compostability, deposit and producer-responsibility requirements. Pending federal bills are not law.
63. Vietnam	mixed	Vietnam applies mandatory extended producer responsibility to covered packaging, but the duty is principally recycling performance, contribution, declaration and reporting. Decree No. 110/2026/ND-CP does not prescribe a universal consumer recycling mark. The Vietnam Green Label remains voluntary.

How to read these reports

Each report distinguishes mandatory marks, voluntary schemes, adopted rules awaiting application, proposals and measures that have stalled. It identifies the instrument, obligated party, prohibited or restricted representations, dates, enforcement route, interaction with neighbouring regimes and primary sources. The status shown beside a country describes the consumer-facing on-pack position; it does not imply that packaging stewardship or reporting duties are voluntary.

Coverage and sequence

The 63 published country reports run alphabetically from Australia through Vietnam, now including ten African markets — Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda — alongside Singapore, South Africa and Switzerland. The United States retains its own country-level overview and a separate state-report collection because the legally significant labelling rules are often enacted and enforced at state level.

Published reports: 63. Last updated: 24 August 2026.