- To which packaging does the VerpackG apply?
- Who does the packaging law affect?
- What innovations & obligations do you have to consider Brand?
Packaging Act summarized
The Packaging Act (VerpackG) is the German law on the EU Packaging Directive 94/62/EC (PACK for short) and replaced the Packaging Ordinance (VerpackV) in 2019. The VerpackG regulates the introduction of new packaging and the return and recycling of packaging waste. With the Packaging Act 2 (VerpackG2), the VerpackG1 was extensively amended and implements two EU directives on single-use plastics and the waste framework in German law since July 3, 2021. The new obligations of the packaging law are a central part of the extended producer responsibility within the framework of the circular economy aimed at throughout Europe. The aim of the Packaging Act is to give priority to avoiding packaging waste, but also to prepare packaging waste for reuse or recycling. At the same time, the VerpackG sets certain targets, such as the proportion of reusable beverage packaging and the quota for the valuable recycling of individual packaging materials such as wood, plastics & metals and glass, paper & cardboard. To disappear from sale 9 specific disposable products: Disposable cutlery and plates, drinking straws, stirrers, cotton swabs, plastic balloon wands, and certain to-go food containers and beverage cups such as containers made of foamed expanded polystyrene.
To which packaging does the Packaging Act apply?
The Packaging Act applies initially to all packaging.
Packaging according to the Packaging Act are products made of any materials, which carry goods in any form, whether for protection, handling, delivery or presentation of the goods.
For you as a Granola Brand, this means that both your Granola bag (sales packaging) and your sales unit with a certain number of Granola bags to the organic market (outer packaging) as well as the delivery box in which you send individual Granola bags to your customers from your online store (transport packaging) are considered packaging in the sense of the VerpackG and are therefore also subject to the obligations of the VerpackG.
To whom does the packaging law apply?
The Packaging Act (VerpackG) applies to all those who place packaging filled with goods and accumulating at the end consumer on the market. Especially for you as a brand, it is important to consider the basic obligations of the VerpackG when planning your product packaging in order to avoid warnings or even penalties. The legislator has newly extended the obligations to a large number of companies. He himself reckons with 350,000 affected companies.
What are the obligations?
The legislator has extended the special obligations to a large number of companies. In principle, this means that the following obligations apply to approximately 350,000 affected companies:
- General packaging requirements
- System participation obligation
- Obligation to report
- Take-back obligation
Too much packaging material, boxes that are far too large for the product being transported, or unnecessarily complex material compounds - all of these regulate the general requirements for packaging. Your packaging must be developed, manufactured or used in such a way that, for example, the packaging volume is limited & reuse or recycling is not only possible but also as free of harmful substances as possible, with the aim of increasing the proportion of recycled materials in new packaging as high as possible.
The material restrictions regulate the maximum values of harmful components such as lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium.
Labelling to identify the packaging material is now also specified. The material your packaging is made of must be indicated on your packaging with specified numbers and abbreviations.
An additional obligation is the system participation obligation. This obligation covers all packaging that typically ends up in the waste after receipt, i.e. repackaging or shipping packaging. Anyone who sends such packaging is obligated to participate in one or more systems for the nationwide return of this packaging, such as the Green Dot, before it is placed on the market.
In order for these systems to know how much packaging material is put into circulation each year, it is necessary to comply with the reporting obligation. This stipulates that companies must report their packaging requirements once a year to the system for return and to the competent authority, called LUCID (Internet platform of the Stiftung Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister).
Likewise, the obligation to take back the transport packaging placed on the market arises. This obligation states that companies that put packaging into circulation also undertake to take it back empty without payment. This mostly concerns packaging that typically does not end up with the end consumer but is only needed for transport.
But what does this mean for you? Let's assume you own your own granola brand. You have estimated that you need about 100 kg of cardboard boxes and product packaging per year to ship your products. To meet your obligations, you register online with a system of your choice and submit the amount of packaging waste produced. Depending on the amount, you pay an annual amount to this system and thus fulfill your obligation to participate in the system. If you deliver a larger quantity of your granola to a trading partner, such as a large supermarket chain, you are responsible for taking back the materials used to ship this quantity. Again, there are third party providers that can help you with the take back. We can advise you on this, just get in touch via our contact form on our website.
What are the penalties for non-compliance with the packaging law?
Violations of the Packaging Act are by no means regarded by the law as a petty offense and can have serious consequences. For example, the regulatory authority sets the maximum penalty at 200k EUR and also reserves the right to impose a ban on the sale of the goods concerned.In addition to penalties imposed by the regulatory authorities, competitors can obtain warnings, which can result in fines as well as time-consuming expenses.
You want to learn more about the packaging law? Click here to go to the Text of the law.
Otherwise, you can contact us at any time at hello@palamo.com. We are looking forward to meeting you!
