This article was published on 28 Jun 2022. Software and regulations change, so please check details before you decide.
Whether it’s a paper bread bag, a beer bottle or a shipping box, the amount of packaging waste produced in Germany every day keeps rising. It comes to more than 200 kilograms per person, an enormous quantity and a serious problem for the environment. To counter this trend decisively, Germany introduced the new Packaging Act (Verpackungsgesetz, VerpackG) on 1 January 2019. It puts more responsibility on every company involved in the economic cycle and ensures that they pay for the collection and recycling of their packaging.
Who does the Packaging Act apply to and which packaging is affected?
A good question, and the answer is simple: it applies to everyone who places packaging on the market that is filled with goods and ends up with the end consumer (including filling material). Online retailers are therefore affected too. The principle of extended producer responsibility applies, so anyone who puts filled packaging into circulation is responsible for its take-back and recycling. The umbrella term “sales packaging” covers direct product packaging and outer packaging as well as service and shipping packaging, including padding and filling material.
Packaging that merely serves to hand over goods must also be registered. This so-called service packaging is found at the bakery, at the market or in a café, for example: even the bread bag or the disposable coffee-to-go cup may only be sold after registration. As for the material, it makes no difference whether the packaging is made of paper and cardboard, plastic, glass, ferrous metals, aluminium or composite materials.
What obligations does the Packaging Act impose?
The VerpackG involves three obligations. Producers must register with the Central Agency Packaging Register (ZSVR). They then register their packaging volumes with a dual system in order to license them. Finally, the licensed packaging volumes and the chosen dual system are reported to the ZSVR.
What changes with the amendment to the VerpackG on 1 July 2022?
To transpose EU law into national law and to develop the Packaging Act further from an ecological point of view, an amendment was passed that extends and tightens the Act. Online retail is among the areas affected by the new rules, so the following changes apply from July 2022:
- Online marketplaces must check that their sellers meet their obligations under the VerpackG. If sellers cannot prove compliance, they are banned from selling
- Fulfilment service providers are no longer responsible for licensing shipping packaging, as this obligation passes without exception to the retailers who commission them
- Fulfilment service providers must also ask the commissioning retailers for proof that they meet their obligations under the VerpackG. If this proof is not provided, the fulfilment provider may no longer carry out services such as storage, packing or shipping
What are the penalties for infringements?
Manufacturers, importers and retailers who breach the Packaging Act risk various penalties and other sanctions. Failing to comply with the Act is an administrative offence that can be punished from day one with heavy fines of up to 200,000 euros as well as sales bans.
As an online retailer, you need to deal with the changes
As the operator of an online shop, you should therefore familiarise yourself with the new rules in the Packaging Act to avoid any nasty surprises. Make sure you take care of the necessary registrations and licences in good time.
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