Licensing country:
Germany
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English
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The Packaging Ordinance

The Packaging Ordinance (Verpackungsverordnung – VerpackV) governs how used packaging should be handled

In Germany, the Packaging Ordinance came into force on 12 June 1991 and specifies that you as manufacturer or distributor are responsible for ensuring that the packaging for the products that you distribute is returned and recycled. It is irrelevant what material this is made from and whether the packaging becomes waste in retail, industry, commerce or private homes. The Packaging Ordinance removes the responsibility for the disposal of packaging waste from communities and places it with manufacturers and distributors. The Packaging Ordinance has been revised multiple times since 1991. Today, the version that applies is from 21 August 1998, and was most recently amended by its seventh revision on 17 November 2014. The ordinance has proven to have a positive effect since then. The goals of the Packaging Ordinance are:

  • To reduce or prevent the impact of packaging waste on the environment and to govern market behaviour, so that waste-reducing targets are achieved and all market participants are protected against unfair competition;
  • To increase the proportion of reusable drinks packaging (target: 80%);
  • To ensure all market players abide by the recovery quotas prescribed for their packaging.

For packaging made from paper, glass, tinplate, aluminium, paper and compounds that becomes waste at the sites of private consumers, the Packaging Ordinance specifies quotas for material recycling. These quotas are 60 percent for aluminium and compound packaging, 70 percent for tinplate and paper packaging and 75 percent for glass packaging. For plastic packaging, there is material recycling quota of 36% and overall recycling quota of 60%. As the initial distributor of the packaging, you do not need to take care of its recovery yourself. By involving the packaging you introduce onto the market in a compliance scheme, such as a system offered by Reclay Systems GmbH, you can fulfil your obligations arising from the ordinance.


Licensing packaging as per the Packaging Ordinance with Reclay Systems GmbH

In packaging, a distinction is made between sales packaging, transport packaging and outer packaging. Transport packaging is only accrued by retailers. Outer packaging is often used for advertising purposes or to improve storage of the products. If the customer does not leave this behind directly at the retailer in its collection points, it is treated in the same way as sales packaging in accordance with the Packaging Ordinance. Even smaller retailers and traders and those who sell their products on online platforms are affected by the Packaging Ordinance. The Reclay Group is a leading corporate group in the field of recovery solutions for packaging in Germany, and offers you the legally compliant return and recycling of your used packaging in accordance with the Packaging Ordinance. For traders who only bring a small volume of goods packaging into circulation, it is often difficult to find a suitable return solution via compliance schemes and to observe the Packaging Ordinance. Reclay Systems GmbH has launched the activate – by Reclay online shop precisely for this target market. Here, you can involve your packaging in a compliance scheme in accordance with the Packaging Ordinance without any long-term contractual commitments or minimum order values, and the process is quick and easy. You receive a quantity certificate which serves as evidence of your compliance with your packaging-related obligations for the volumes that you register.

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