SUMMARY

On July 19 2026, the Delegated Regulation setting out derogations from the ESPR prohibition on the destruction of unsold consumer products has entered into application. ‍

Members can find the full legal text of the Delegated Regulation here.

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The Regulation complements Article 25 of the ESPR, which prohibits the destruction of unsold consumer products listed in Annex VII, including apparel, clothing accessories and footwear.

The Delegated Regulation specifies the circumstances under which destruction may still be allowed, as well as the related documentation and verification requirements.

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MORE INFORMATION

The prohibition now applies (since 19 July 2026) to large-sized enterprises, and will apply to medium-sized companies from 19 July 2030.

Micro and small enterprises are exempt from the ban; nevertheless, economic operators not directly covered by the prohibition are also prevented from destroying products supplied to them for the purpose of circumventing the rules.

Under the Delegated Regulation, destruction of unsold consumer products may only take place under specific derogations. These include, for example, cases where products are dangerous or non-compliant with Union or national law, infringe or are covered by contractual requirements protecting intellectual property rights, cannot be reused or remanufactured, are damaged or defective, or where reasonable efforts to donate or redistribute them have failed.

Economic operators relying on a derogation must retain the relevant documentation for five years. This documentation must be provided electronically to competent authorities within 30 working days upon request, unless the information is already available under another legal act.

The Regulation also links with EU waste rules by requiring economic operators to provide a statement identifying the applicable derogation when delivering unsold consumer products to a waste treatment operator.