Every year, rivers, wind and rain wash several million tonnes of carelessly disposed plastic waste into the oceans. Finely ground into micro plastics, it remains undecomposed in the environment. The result: marine life, which is essential for the balance of our ecosystem, dies or starves to death, and through fish and seafood, the plastic also enters the human food chain affecting our health.

Roughly two-and-a-half years after its initial enactment, the first Amendment of the German Packaging Act has now become law. Many of its changes affect merchants who distribute their goods to private customers. They now need to comply with more stringent versions of existing registration, proof and record-keeping duties. Other changes to the Act affect wholesale traders who place transport packaging on the market. What are the details of the changes introduced by the Packaging Act Amendment and what action do you need to take as an affected business? We have summarised the key information below.

The German Packaging Act (VerpackG) entered into force in January 2019. Since that date, some 200,000 companies have now registered their details in the official LUCID database. Yet many businesses are still not fulfilling their duties when it comes to product responsibility. To address this problem, the Federal Environment Ministry proposed an amendment to the Act in autumn 2020.

International shipping is an important economic growth factor, especially for the e-commerce sector. The EU has also recognized this and has therefore adjusted its tax regulations accordingly since July 2021. In addition to fulfilling the requirements of the German Packaging Act (VerpackG) or the German Packaging Ordinance (DSGVO), for example, retailers are now subject to additional obligations as soon as they ship products to end consumers in other EU countries.

With the Packaging Act (VerpackG), the German federal government passed a new law on January 1st, 2019 that regulates the disposal and recycling of packaging waste. For retailers in Great Britain who do business with German customers and send goods to Germany, some obligations have to be fulfilled. What do companies have to consider under the German Packaging Act in the UK? We have put together the most important information for you.

Retailers on the Amazon marketplace can choose to ship the goods they sell to customers on their own – or use FBA. FBA stands for Fulfilment by Amazon (or officially: Fulfilled by Amazon). This means that the marketplace retailer makes its products available to the major retailer Amazon. In the event of a sale, the mail-order giant ships the items – usually with the benefits of Amazon Prime service that are popular with customers. Of course, the additional service creates some Amazon FBA Costs for the marketplace participant. How expensive is shipping through Amazon? We summarized all the important information for you.

Since as early as January 2019, companies that place sales packaging on the market have to comply with various requirements at different points in time in accordance with the German Packaging Act. This can quickly lead to confusion: Which obligation must be completed by when? What do companies have to do only once, and what recurrently?

All kinds of goods are sold on the Internet by numerous small, large and international online stores. Customers can purchase all products imaginable and have them convenient-ly shipped to their homes. Among the most popular goods are items of clothing, often including sustainable clothing.

Just as big companies, small stores and solo self-employed people have to take a few things into account to ensure that the shipping of goods is also resource-friendly – there is a need for action, particularly with regard to the German Packaging Act (VerpackG) for small businesses. We have compiled the most important information for you.

Since 2019, the German Packaging Act (VerpackG) obliges all initial distributors of sales packaging (product, service and shipping packaging) to comply with three obligations. These must take place at two different points: at a dual system of choice and in the LUCID reporting register, provided by the Central Agency Packaging Register (ZSVR).

Especially at Christmas time it becomes clear why packaging waste in Germany is increasing yearly. This year the trend is additionally strengthened by the current COVID restrictions: Consumers buy more and more products up to their front door. But this is not only a problem in Germany: The increasing waste is also becoming visible in other EU countries – and at the expense of the environment.

It is one of the three obligations of the German Packaging Act (VerpackG), valid since 01.01.2019: The registration with LUCID. Behind the LUCID packaging register is the authority Central Agency Packaging Register, which checks the correct compliance with the specifications of the VerpackG. Often companies, which have to comply with the Packaging Act, are not completely or incorrectly registered. How is the registration fully completed? What has to be considered? You can find answers and an overview of your obligations here.

Since the beginning of 2019, the German Packaging Act (VerpackG) has made companies that bring so-called sales packaging into circulation more accountable for the waste generated in this way. However, the implementation of these obligations continues to cause confusion for many companies. One of the reasons for it are the numerous, formal-legal terms, which are in the law text, which one cannot avoid for the correct default fulfilment however. One of these terms is the already mentioned term "sales packaging": What exactly is hidden behind it? Which packagings belong to it? And which not?