The twelve months around 2026 are the densest regulatory period this trade has ever had. Waste shipment procedures went digital and disposal exports were banned in May 2026. Packaging rules apply from 12 August 2026. The deforestation regulation lands on 30 December 2026 for large operators, June 2027 for small ones. And the renewable quota steps that reprice every cargo took effect from January. This page puts those dates in one table, in the order they hit, each linked to the page that explains what to do about it. Book it, revisit it: the table is maintained by a desk that trades under these rules daily, not scraped from a consultant's newsletter.
- 1Quota steps from January
- 2Shipment rules digital since May
- 3Packaging rules in August
- 4Deforestation rules in December
- 5Each date linked to its detail page
Densest regulatory year this trade has had. The table is maintained by a desk that trades under these rules daily -- that is the part a consultant newsletter cannot copy.
The timeline
Dates are application dates -- when the obligation starts biting -- not the dates the laws were published. Where a date has already passed, the row says what is now in force rather than what was coming.
| 21 May 2025 -- passed | RED III transposition deadline: member states had to write the directive into national law. Implementation remains uneven, which is why quota value differs by country. -> RED III quotas and caps |
|---|---|
| 1 January 2025 -- in force | ReFuelEU Aviation blending begins: 2% SAF at EU airports in 2025, rising to 6% by 2030. Feedstock pull toward HEFA. -> SAF |
| 1 January 2025 -- in force | FuelEU Maritime starts: GHG intensity of bunkered fuel becomes a cost line, pulling marine bio-demand. -> Marine biofuels and FuelEU |
| 1 January 2026 -- in force | National quota steps: Germany's GHG quota rises to 12%, member-state sub-caps on UCO and fats apply per national law, and multiplier phase-outs move blenders back to real waste-based volumes. -> RED III quotas and caps |
| 21 May 2026 -- in force | Waste shipment rules apply: all procedures digital through DIWASS, disposal exports banned, non-OECD recovery exports tightened. -> Waste shipment rules |
| 12 August 2026 -- applies | Packaging regulation (PPWR) applies: recyclability requirements, PFAS ban in food packaging, reuse systems -- recycled-content demand anchors rPET and recyclate. -> Waste PET and rPET |
| 30 December 2026 -- applies | EUDR applies to large and medium operators: geolocation and due diligence for palm and other in-scope commodities and their direct derivatives. -> EUDR |
| 30 June 2027 -- applies | EUDR application date for micro and small operators. The deforestation cut-off (31 December 2020) applies regardless of company size. -> EUDR |
How to use this table
Work backwards from the date. A cargo nominated one month before a rule applies is a cargo the buyer will screen under that rule already -- compliance teams do not switch on the day.
Check the classification, not the product name. Most of these rules turn on what your stream legally is: waste or product, palm-derived or not, category 1, 2 or 3. That is a paperwork question you can settle quietly, long before a deadline makes it urgent.
Ask us which rows touch you. Every row has a page behind it, and every page ends with a desk that answers. If a date on this table intersects a cargo you are holding, that conversation is cheaper than the demurrage.
Frequently asked questions
Which of these dates matters most for UCO sellers?
The January quota steps: they set how much waste-based material each country's mandate rewards and at what multiplier, which is the demand side of your price. The May shipment rules matter for cross-border flows, and the EUDR only asks you to prove what UCO already is -- waste.
I missed the May 2026 waste shipment changes. What do I do now?
Nothing was grandfathered: since 21 May 2026 procedures run through DIWASS and disposal exports are banned. If you ship cross-border waste streams, your logistics and broker partners must be operating in that system today -- our waste shipment page has the map.
Does the PPWR date affect feedstock sellers or only packaging makers?
Both. The regulation binds packaging on the EU market, but its recycled-content requirements are what make food-grade rPET and clean recyclate streams structurally short -- which is the demand behind your bale and flake prices.
Is this table maintained?
Yes -- by a desk that trades under these rules daily, with each date checked against the official sources on its detail page. When a date moves, as EUDR's did twice, the table moves with it.
Market news
Recent headlines from across the feedstock and renewable fuel sector. Nothing specific to this market has come through the wires lately, so this is the wider view. The links go to the publisher; we do not host or edit their reporting, and a headline here is not our endorsement of it. Scroll for more.
- Singapore, Brazil move to build green fuel shipping corridor
- Auramarine builds business on marine fuel flexibility
- Stargate Hydrogen Strengthens Nordic Expansion with Petri Sarnes, Former Siemens Power Sector Director of FinBaltic region
- Econetix Adds New Biochar And Bamboo Project To Its Portfolio
- Open call for the second Circular Economy Awards for the Western Balkan region
- TFG Marine installs ISO-certified mass flow meters on two US Gulf bunker barges
- DNV flags ‘strong summer’ for alternative-fuelled vessel orders
- Everllence launches engine-supported air lubrication tech
- Continental Develops Tyre with More Than 40% Recycled Materials for EU Project
- Evaluating the Health Impact Assessment on the UK’s Tyre Recycling Sector
- Oiltraining’s Visser joins IBIA as new Training & Technical Advisor
- Global hydrogen fuel cell market to reach $13.1 billion by 2031, research finds
- OMV Petrom expands Its green hydrogen production capacity at the Petrobrazi refinery to 55 MW
- Innovation funding awarded for next phase of Northern Gas Networks hydrogen storage project
- Haffner targets deal for 12 biomass-to-hydrogen units in western US
- Alfa Laval selected as technology provider for electrolyzer cooling in one of Europe’s largest renewable hydrogen projects
- ABO Energy and the City of Oulu sign agreement to advance hydrogen plant zoning
- SK Innovation E&S and Deokyang Energen to build five combined hydrogen refueling stations in South Korea
18 headlines, updated automatically. Last refreshed .
Sources and further reading
Primary sources for the rules and figures on this page, so you can check them yourself. Legislation is amended: always read the consolidated text on the date that matters to you.
Who to ask about 2026 rules timeline
Just ask. A date on this table affects a cargo you are holding? Ask us what it means for your stream specifically. You get Bart van den Brug on the other end, same working day, in English or Dutch, and across the team also in French, Portuguese, Polish, Czech and Russian.
On how we work: on the feedstocks and fuels on this site we are a broker. We never take title, we do not trade our own book, and we are paid a commission on business that concludes. Additives are the one exception: those we also buy and sell for our own account, and we say in which capacity we are acting before you commit to anything. Either way you will hear it from us when the answer is no, or when your parcel is not ready for the conversation you want to have. A market read or a second opinion on a specification costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Happy to look at whatever you have, even if it is half an analysis and a question.
+31 6 115 83 448
bart@sustainablecommodities.eu
Sustainable Commodities 3 B.V., Lemmer, the Netherlands
Ask about 2026 rules timeline
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Or e-mail us directly: bart@sustainablecommodities.eu
Last reviewed 03 September 2026. Regulatory references are given for orientation and are not legal advice: verify against the current Official Journal text before contracting.