On 12 August 2026, the European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) officially went into effect. This regulation shifts the financial responsibility for packaging collection and recycling onto the person who introduces that packaging into an EU member state.
If you sell and ship physical merch like vinyl records, CDs or cassettes to fans in the EU, these rules likely affect you. Here is a breakdown of what is changing, what it means for your EU orders, and how Bandcamp is approaching these updates.
What's changing
The PPWR operates on a "first placement" rule. This means whoever first introduces packaging into an EU country is responsible for contributing to its recycling and disposal costs.
For artists and labels selling on Bandcamp, this applies directly to the materials you use to fulfill and ship your orders. This could include cardboard mailers, bubble wrap, corrugated stiffeners, packing tape, shipping labels, and outer sleeves.
If you ship a package to a buyer located in an EU country, you may be legally treated as the "producer" of that packaging within the buyer's country.
This is separate from VAT and Customs Duties
PPWR compliance operates entirely independently of existing tax and customs structures:
VAT: This continues to run smoothly through Bandcamp's Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) registration just as it does today.
Customs Duties: The €3 customs duty introduced on 1 July remains unchanged and operates as outlined in our Customs and Shipping Guide.
PPWR: This is a distinct compliance regime with its own separate requirements. Your VAT or customs setup does not cover your packaging responsibilities.
Registration is country-by-country
There is currently no single, EU-wide registration portal for packaging waste, and there is no equivalent to the IOSS system for PPWR. Each EU member state runs its own independent registry, meaning you must register in each individual country where your buyers are located.
Authorized Representatives: Depending on where your business is legally based, you may be required to appoint an Authorized Representative in EU countries where you do not have a physical presence.
Fees: While initial registration with national registries is often free, you will typically owe scheme fees. These fees are calculated based on the material types (e.g., paper, plastic) and the total weight of the packaging you ship into that country.
Because local regulations and enforcement strategies are still evolving, we highly recommend checking for up-to-date requirements for your specific shipping destinations.
What this means for you
If you ship physical goods to the EU, we recommend taking the following steps:
Review your shipping history: Identify which EU countries you ship to most frequently or in the highest volumes.
Check individual country registries: Review the specific rules, deadlines, and fee thresholds for your top EU shipping destinations, as policies still vary between member states. Please note that many countries are not yet set up to manage registrations for the new regulation - the EU has set a deadline in early 2027 for member states to get these systems in place.
Keep packaging records: Start tracking the approximate weight and material types of your shipping supplies, alongside the total volume sent to each EU country.
Please note: Bandcamp cannot provide legal or regulatory advice. For explicit compliance requirements, thresholds, and registration steps tailored to your specific setup, please consult your national packaging register or a professional legal adviser.
We are actively monitoring how individual EU member states implement and enforce these guidelines, and are in consultation with other platforms and trade bodies both within and outside of the EU. We are doing everything we can to make this as easy as possible for our Bandcamp community of artists and labels.
Get a head start: If you determine that PPWR rules apply to your business, we recommend initiating the registration process with your primary EU destination countries now.
Keep your numbers handy: Looking ahead, we may introduce a feature that allows you to add your national Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) registration numbers directly to your Bandcamp account. If you are registering now, please keep these numbers filed away safely.
How this new regulation works in practical terms is still being worked out. Our expectation is that guidance around the processes you need to take to be compliant will become clearer in the coming months. We are actively monitoring this with our partners in the EU and will keep this article updated with new information as it reaches us.
Still have questions about setting up your physical shipping? Contact Bandcamp Support.