BRUSSELS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 11th Aug, 2026) The European Union will begin banning the use of PFAS chemicals in food packaging from Wednesday, 12th August, in one of the first steps towards implementing sweeping new EU packaging rules that will gradually reshape packaging and waste management across the bloc through 2040. They have been widely used in paper and cardboard food packaging to make the materials resistant to water and grease. The new regulation aims to reduce the growing volume of packaging waste in the EU, which currently stands at around 177.8 kilogrammes per inhabitant annually. According to data from the European Union's statistical office, Eurostat, packaging waste increased through 2021 before declining over the following two years. The new EU rules seek to reduce packaging waste by 15 percent by 2040.