In addition to the new obligations introduced by the German Packaging Act (VerpackG), the law also introduced many new terms, which often do not explain themselves at first glance. One of these terms is the so-called "sales packaging": Initial distributors are obligated to license the sales packaging they put into circulation for a fee through system participation and thus to co-finance the disposal and recycling process of the packaging waste arising from this.
Within the framework of the German Packaging Act (VerpackG), no company concerned can avoid dealing with the term and definition of so-called sales packaging. After all, it is the packaging that is the subject of the obligation to participate in the system as defined in the law, according to which the initial commercial distributors of the sales packaging in question are obliged to license it annually and thus ensure its recycling.
The trade with goods bought on the Internet is constantly increasing. The number of shipped goods in e-commerce is growing every year in the double-digit range. This ongoing boom is casually generating a huge additional mountain of packaging waste. Politicians reacted by introducing a new, stricter German Packaging Act (VerpackG). What do online retailers have to do? We present an overview of the most important facts including instructions.
Within the framework of the still relatively new Packaging Act, which came into force in January 2019, a whole series of new obligations have been introduced with which companies are currently confronted. Companies that hand out products to private end users and use packaging for the first time must comply with a number of regulations. These include, among other measures, the so-called System Participation Obligation. What does this mean? What do companies have to take into account in order to act in accordance with the law and fulfill the requirements? We have put together the most important information on how to participate in a dual system.
The significant increase in recycling rates, to which the German Packaging Act (VerpackG) requires dual systems to adhere, is accompanied by a major investment mandate for the systems. For example, the planned quotas for plastics from 36 percent to 58.5 percent and in a second step to 63 percent from 2022 can only be achieved if the sorting systems are technically upgraded. This applies both to the quantitative sorting capacity and the qualitative sorting potential. A similar picture is emerging for paper-based packaging: Here, the quota initially rose from 70 to 85 percent, and from 2022, 90 percent is the benchmark to be met.
The Corona crisis has incentivized many retailers to digitize their business models and open up sales channels online. As online retailers often lack the spatial capacity to carry out order processing themselves, many started looking for fulfillment service providers who can support them in this endeavor. At the same time, well-established e-commerce-companies have also reacted to the fickle development, motivated to find crisis-resistant and flexible logistics solutions for their business.
The to-go mentality, online shopping boom or even single household goods - these and other trends nowadays cause packaging waste to rise continuously. In order to increase the recycling rates of packaging waste and thus take a step towards environmental protection, Germany enacted the Packaging Act (VerpackG) on 1 January 2019.
One of the most error-prone obligations of the German Packaging Act (VerpackG) is the data report. If the quantities in the LUCID customer account do not match the values of the dual system, sanctions such as fines or formal warnings can be threatened. The problem: the quantities must always be reported twice – 1x to the dual system 1x to LUCID. Even small typing errors are enough and the company concerned acts disorderly.
The Packaging Act (VerpackG) entered into force in Germany on 1 January 2019. The new law replaces the old Packaging Ordinance while also introducing a number of key changes. The Act affects all companies that are initial sellers of packaging intended for consumers in Germany or are the first to import such packaging into German territory. What do companies need to know if they intend to ship their goods to Germany? And what are the changes in the law compared with the old Packaging Ordinance? We provide you with a summary of the key changes introduced by the German Packaging Law (VerpackG).
