VerpackG: The new German Packaging Act of 2019

When it comes to en­vi­ron­men­tal pro­tec­tion, everyone has to get involved, including companies. The German gov­ern­ment has in­tro­duced new packaging reg­u­la­tions that will apply from January 1^st 2019. The Packaging Ordinance has become the Packaging Act. Why is this relevant to you? If you are a US business owner who sells to the German market, and you ship your goods in packaging, you will be required to comply with the new leg­is­la­tion. Here is an outline of the new changes and how you can implement them.

Until December 31^st 2018, retailers selling to the German market were required to comply with the German packaging law known as Packaging Ordinance (VerpackV). This had been in force since 1991 and trans­ferred re­spon­si­bil­i­ty for the disposal of certain materials from the municipal ad­min­is­tra­tion to industry. The aim was to allow man­u­fac­tur­ers and dis­trib­u­tors of packaging materials to share the disposal costs. Therefore, the dual system was created, which is rec­og­niz­able by the Green Dot.

On January 1^st 2019, the Packaging Act (VerpackG) will replace this ordinance. The leg­is­la­tor’s aim is not only to make sure companies con­tribute more to en­vi­ron­men­tal costs, but above all to generally reduce packaging waste as much as possible. In addition, recycling and re­uti­liza­tion will be further promoted. In par­tic­u­lar, the use of one-way drinks packaging is to be sig­nif­i­cant­ly reduced by the new packaging law.

In the past, dealers re­peat­ed­ly failed to meet their re­spon­si­bil­i­ties and did not con­tribute to the disposal costs. This will also be covered by the new packaging law. Since the re­spon­si­ble companies have up until now had to cover the costs for those who refused to pay, the packaging law should also con­tribute to fairer com­pe­ti­tion.

Like the Packaging Ordinance, VerpackG also applies to all packaging that is disposed of as waste by the customer. At the moment, these are being trans­port­ed from the customer using a yellow bin, waste glass container and paper bin. According to the old ordinance, man­u­fac­tur­ers of this packaging and initial dis­trib­u­tors already had to con­tribute fi­nan­cial­ly to the disposal of these materials. However, few man­u­fac­tur­ers and dis­trib­u­tors have done so. The largest change in the new packaging law is that one must now register them­selves as a dealer, before they can bring any packaging materials into Germany.

The LUCID central registry assigns a unique reg­is­tra­tion number to each company that has duly reg­is­tered. This number is specified again for the Dual System. Those who do not have a reg­is­tra­tion number can no longer par­tic­i­pate in the Dual System from January 1^st 2019 and are therefore not allowed to circulate packaging materials.

In LUCID, dealers and man­u­fac­tur­ers give their com­mer­cial register number and tax number – as well as all the brand names of the products they sell. The register is public and open to customer scrutiny. In this way, VerpackG provides ad­di­tion­al trans­paren­cy.

In the past, man­u­fac­tur­ers had to indicate how much and what type of packaging they had placed on the market so that the level of cost sharing could be de­ter­mined. With the new packaging law, this in­for­ma­tion does not just have to be made available to the disposal system, but is also to be forwarded to the Central Packaging Register Foun­da­tion in the same form.

The Foun­da­tion is also re­spon­si­ble for pub­lish­ing in­for­ma­tion on packaging materials that require com­pli­ance. This is done through a catalog of packaging subject to system par­tic­i­pa­tion (currently only available in German).

The new Packaging Act affects everyone who has already been held re­spon­si­ble by the Packaging Ordinance. This means that everyone who is con­sid­ered to be the initial dis­trib­u­tor will be affected. Every man­u­fac­tur­er or retailer who issues a filled packaging (which excludes the man­u­fac­tur­ers of packaging them­selves) to a customer (B2C) for the first time is required to take part in packaging disposal. If the man­u­fac­tur­er is not located in Germany (e.g. the US) and the product is only entering the German market via an importer, this importer is regarded as the initial dis­trib­u­tor.

Packaging waste also expressly includes repack­ag­ing and shipping packaging. An online retailer who sends an already packaged product in a shipping crate or parcel must also pay for this crate or parcel, as well as for filling material and adhesive tape. Nothing has changed in this area. Reusable packaging continues to be exempt from system par­tic­i­pa­tion.

What has changed with the new packaging law, however, is the reg­is­tra­tion. Anyone who is not reg­is­tered in the LUCID public register from January 1^st 2019 cannot create a valid contract with a dual system and therefore may not sell packaged goods in Germany (sales ban). Anyone who dis­re­gards the law will face severe penalties. If a company is not properly reg­is­tered and still offers goods (an actual sale is not necessary), a fine of up to €100,000 (approx. $115,000) per case may be imposed. If one chooses to ignore the disposal law com­plete­ly, therefore not taking part in disposal costs, the pun­ish­ment is doubled.

In the past, the packaging law stated that en­tre­pre­neurs had to indicate each year what quan­ti­ties and types of packaging they were putting into cir­cu­la­tion. This had to be done twice: at the beginning of the year, you offered an estimate and at the end of the calendar year the company finally submitted the actual quantity. This is still the case, but what has changed is that these two de­c­la­ra­tions must also be sent to ZSVR from 2019 onwards. Every report to the system (if companies report actual stocks several times a year) must therefore be made twice. This will be mandatory from January 1^st 2019. Failure to notify the Central Office will result in fines of up to €10,000€ (approx. $12,000).

For large companies, the oblig­a­tion to submit a de­c­la­ra­tion of com­plete­ness also continues to apply with the new packaging law: Anyone who places more than 60,000kg of glass, 50,000kg of paper/cardboard or 30,000kg of metal/plastics on the market must have the actual quantity of packaging certified by a reg­is­tered inspector. This de­c­la­ra­tion must also be filed in the LUCID register in future. If this oblig­a­tion is not complied with, fines of up to €100,000 (approx. $115,000) may be imposed.

What do dealers and man­u­fac­tur­ers have to do to comply with VerpackG?

• Register with the central packaging register office
• Enter their reg­is­tra­tion number in the Dual System
• Send messages about the amount of packaging both to the Dual System and to do ZSVR.

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