It's getting concrete: With the amendment of the German Packaging Act (VerpackG), the Federal Environment Ministry (BMUV) is pursuing the goal of further reducing packaging waste by expanding reusable, return and deposit systems. Consumers are to be given more choice in the matter of reusable packaging, and the return options for empty containers are to be expanded at the same time. In addition, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety is taking action against deceptive packaging.
The action list for this contains five strands of action that are to be taken into account in the amendment to the law:
"Strengthening consumers' freedom of choice in supermarkets and discounters, which in future must offer at least one reusable alternative for each type of beverage;
consumers should be able to hand in their reusable bottles wherever beverages are available;
the mandatory reusable offer for food and beverages to go since 1.1.2023 will be extended to all materials - up to now, a reusable alternative has only had to be offered for single-use plastic;
no more single-use packaging for on-site consumption of burgers, pizzas and the like;
an end to deceptive packaging: Clarification that reducing the filling quantity while keeping the packaging the same is generally not permissible."
However, the new reusable requirements are only aimed at businesses with more than 200 m2 of floor space. In the regulatory area "To Go for Food and Drink", businesses with an area of less than 80 m2 and 5 employees remain exempt.
Regulations on chemical recycling in the second step
According to the BMUV, the other goals from the coalition agreement for the packaging sector are to be addressed in a second legislative step, depending on clarity at the European level.
The recyclability of packaging is to be increased. To this end, the further development of § 21 of the Packaging Act is being prepared, which regulates the ecological design of the fees that packaging manufacturers pay to the dual waste disposal systems. According to the BMUV, the work on the concrete legal implementation has not yet been completed and will be further advanced.
In the key issues paper, the ministry points out that, in particular, efforts are currently being made at the European level within the framework of negotiations on a packaging regulation for ambitious targets to increase the recyclability of packaging.
Also in preparation is the inclusion of chemical separation processes (chemical recycling), such as pyrolysis, in the Packaging Act, as provided for in the coalition agreement. "The aim is to integrate the new technical processes into the Packaging Act in such a way that they provide real added value for resource recovery in the packaging sector in accordance with European requirements," says the BMUV statement in the key issues paper.
Here to the BMUV key point paper (German only)