In the late 1980s, Germany grappled with a surge in packaging consumption driven by economic growth, exacerbating the strain on waste management facilities. Insufficient infrastructure, including landfills, incinerator plants, and composting facilities, could not accommodate the escalating packaging waste from private households and small-scale businesses. In response, the Government of Germany introduced the Packaging Waste Ordinance (VerpackV) in 1991, pioneering closed cycle economy principles and product responsibility. This landmark ordinance aimed to close the materials loop and reduce disposed packaging waste by integrating disposal costs into the product sales prices.
Over the years, the ordinance underwent revisions, notably in the late 1990s when extended producer responsibility (EPR) principles for packaging were introduced. Manufacturers and distributors were tasked with return and disposal obligations, inaugurating the Dual System—a nationwide collection and recycling system of used sales packaging. The system enabled producers to fulfill their take-back and recycling duties through delegation to third party operators.
However, challenges emerged, including inadequate participation from all obligated producers, giving rise to “free riders”. To ensure fair participation, the German Government replaced the Packaging Waste Ordinance with the Packaging Act(VerpackG) in 2019. The Act introduced universal registration requirements with the Central Agency before placing packaging with mandatory system participation on the market. This update aimed to level the playing field and enhance the effectiveness of packaging waste management. Further details on the Act are given below.
Table 1. Summary of regulations regarding EPR for packaging in Germany.
Regulations | Implementation Date | Status |
Packaging Waste Ordinance (VerpackV) | 1 December 1991 | Repealed |
Packaging Act (VerpackG) | 1 January 2019 | In effect |
The Packaging Act imposes registration obligation to anyone in Germany who produces, imports or additionally packages goods in packaging for private end customers, such as online retailers. There is no limit for small companies to this obligation.
The Act also imposes the obligation to file a declaration of completeness. Unlike the registration obligation, this obligation is imposed on selected producers who meet the criteria outlined in Table 2.
Table 2. The scope of businesses subject to the obligation of filing a declaration of completeness under Germany’s EPR scheme.
Sector | Scope of businesses |
Annual product distribution for the first time in the previous calendar year | |
Glass | More than 80,000 kilograms |
Paper, paperboard, and cardboard | More than 50,000 kilograms |
Aluminium packaging, ferrous metal packaging, beverage box packaging, or other composite packaging | More than 30,000 kilograms |
Companies are obliged when they use any packaging that typically ends up in a private consumer’s trash after use, including the packaging categories elaborated below.
E.g. shipping cartons, folding cartons, packing paper and paper bags
E.g. non-reusable bottles and jars (coloured or colourless)
E.g. plastic bags, wrap, bottles, blister packs and pots
E.g. beverage and food cans, tubes
E.g. bottle caps, foil for chocolate, tubes for cream
Laminated cardboard and plastic/aluminium composites
Consisting of at least two different materials bonded across their entire surface, e.g. vacuum packaging for coffee
E.g. cotton, wood, rubber, copper or ceramics
In addition to sales packaging—those which are directly marketed by respective producers—the Act also applies to service packaging, shipment packaging, and repackaging. Service packaging refers to packaging that is not filled until it reaches the final distributor, such as retailers, and is used to enable or support handing goods over to the final consumer. Examples of service packaging include takeaway coffee cups, pizza boxes, bakery bags, fast food containers, etc.
Specific mandatory deposits are imposed on single-use beverage packages such as non-returnable beverage bottles of beer, mineral water, soft drinks and mixed drinks containing alcohol, which amount to 25 cents.
To comply with the Packaging Act, producers are required to undertake the following steps:
Registration
Obligated producers are required to register in the LUCID public register, part of the Central Registry Packaging Regulation (Central Registry), and license their packaging with a nationwide take-back system for used sales packaging (system operator) before circulating their products. Registration entails providing the following information:
complete company and contract details,
national identity number including the European or national tax registration number of the manufacturer,
brand names under which the manufacturer sells his packaging that has to participate in a take-back system,
declaration that the legal obligation to contract with a take-back system has been fulfilled, declaration that all data given by the manufacturer is true.
The names of registered producers are made publicly available on the Central Agency’s website, ensuring complete transparency for all market players. As of March 2024, around 975,000 producers have registered in the LUCID packaging register.
System Participation
Producers must finance the recovery and recycling of their packaging by participating in one or more dual systems with a system operator to ensure nationwide take-back. Roles of the system operator include:
System operators take care of recovering packaging waste disposed by private final consumers in yellow bags/bins, paper bins and paper/glass containers and recycling them.
System operators ensure that packaging waste is collected, sorted and recycled across Germany, and that recycling quality is as high as possible.
Reporting
Producers must report the packaging data registered with the take-back system to the Central Registry without delay, including the following attributes:
registration number,
material category and quantity of the packaging registered,
name of the take-back system in which the packaging participates, and
period of participation in the take-back system.
This report can be prepared by a third party but must be submitted firsthand by the producer. Unlike in the case of the declaration of completeness, this reporting requirement is not subject to a de minimis threshold. This means that even those placing small quantities on to the market must submit their data to the Central Agency, as specified above.
Declaration of Completeness
Producers subject to the related obligation must submit a declaration of completeness that has been reviewed by registered experts, auditors, tax consultants or chartered accountants. In addition to this, producers must disclose deductions because of damaged or unsaleable packaged goods and the fulfillment of recycling requirements confirmed separately.
The elaborated steps are summarized in Figure 1.
The initial registration obligation takes effect immediately upon the enactment of the Packaging Act on January 1, 2019. Once registered, producers have to regularly submit data reports regarding the take-back system. Additionally, the declaration of completeness for the previous year must be submitted annually by May 15th.
The Packaging Act sets recycling targets that producers must meet every year, with details outlined in the table below.
Table 3. Germany’s recycling targets for different material categories.
Material category | Recycling Target | ||
Until 2018 | From 2019 | From 2022 | |
Glass | 75% | 80% | 90% |
Paper, board and cartons | 70% | 85% | 90% |
Ferrous metals | 70% | 80% | 90% |
Aluminum | 60% | 80% | 90% |
Beverage carton packages | 60% | 75% | 80% |
Other composites | 60% | 55% | 70% |
Plastics | N/A | 90% | 90% |
Mechanical recovery (plastics) | 36% | 58.5% | 635 |
(Source: Verpackungsgesetz, 2020, Der Grüne Punkt, n.d.)
In addition to the recycling targets, the Act also sets future targets to expand its coverage:
From 2023, caterers, delivery services and restaurants will be obligated to offer reusable containers for takeaway food and beverages in addition to disposable ones.
From 2025, non-refillable PET beverage bottles must contain a recycled plastic content of at least 25%. From 2030, this quota will be increased to at least 30%.
The EPR system under the Packaging Act is designed to incentivize the utilization of recyclates, renewable raw materials, and materials with high recyclability rates. These incentives are intended to be reflected in the participation or license fees to the system operator, which will be determined based on ecological criteria over the medium term, also known as modulated license fees. The specific criteria for these fees will be defined by the Central Agency under the supervision of the Environment Agency.
Table 4. Roles and responsibilities under Germany’s EPR scheme for packaging.
Responsibility | Upstream | Downstream | |
Product Design | Collection | Recycling | |
Physical responsibility | Producers | System operator | System operator |
Financial responsibility | Producers | Producers | Producers |
