A delegated regulation defines ten grounds on which businesses may destroy unsold consumer products under the Ecodesign Regulation’s ban. Safety hazards, IP rights breaches, and technical defects are among the permitted exceptions. Documentation is mandatory
The Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 will prohibit the destruction of unsold consumer products from 19 July 2026. The regulation required the Commission to define permitted exceptions. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/296, adopted on 9 February 2026, provides the full list of grounds on which businesses may legally destroy goods that would otherwise be banned from destruction.
The regulation lists ten circumstances where destruction is permitted. Businesses may destroy products that pose a safety hazard under Regulation (EU) 2023/988. They may destroy goods that breach EU or national law for reasons other than safety, where destruction is mandatory or the proportionate corrective measure. Products that infringe IP rights via court ruling, authority decision, or internal investigation may also be destroyed. Goods subject to valid licences restricting sale after an agreed period fall into the same category.
Physical damage, manufacturing defects, and technical impossibility of relabelling for resale also qualify as grounds. For goods that fall outside those categories, operators must first offer the products to at least three EU social economy organisations for at least eight weeks before destroying them. Only if no organisation accepts the donation can the goods then be destroyed. Social economy entities that receive donated goods but cannot find recipients may themselves destroy the products.
Documentation requirements are strict. Businesses must retain records for five years and provide them to national authorities within 30 days of a request. Where multiple products share the same destruction grounds, collective documentation is permitted for the batch. The regulation also requires operators to declare the applicable exception to their waste treatment operator, supporting classification and circular economy tracking. The Commission will review the rules by 12 May 2031 as recycling technology evolves.
