GoKawiilEU's new PPWR packaging law threatens to bury small hardware makers like Lectronz sellers
Lectronz, a marketplace for open-source hardware and DIY electronics makers, warns that the EU's incoming Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), effective August 2026, will force even the smallest sellers to register and comply with separate Extended Producer Responsibility rules in every EU member state where their packaging ends up. While the underlying goal of making producers responsible for packaging waste is reasonable, the law's fragmented, country-by-country implementation creates a compliance burden that large companies can absorb but micro-entrepreneurs cannot.