Digital portal for efficient enforcement of the Verpackungsgesetz

The Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (Central Agency Packaging Register – ZSVR) is advancing the progress of strategic digitalisation. The new LUCID Authorities Portal has been available since 12 April 2021. Transmitting evidence is becoming simpler and more secure. The portal automatically generates a digital file of suspected administrative offences that have been identified for state authorities.

The vast majority of state authority employees and their respective supervisory authorities have their own personalised logins to the portal. In the portal, they can download and work on the suspected cases documented there, speeding up the enforcement process. At the same time, LUCID uses an encryption technology that significantly increases data security compared to transmitting suspected cases the traditional way by e-mail.

The ZSVR has two overriding objectives: the recycling market has to function and the Verpackungsgesetz (Packaging Act) has to be effective. “To make that happen, the parties under obligation have to act lawfully in compliance with the Act and pay for the recycling of their packaging. Otherwise the necessary environmental impact cannot be achieved. As a lean agency, we are doing the logical thing by taking advantage of the potential of digitalisation and also reducing complexity,” commented Gunda Rachut, Chair of the ZSVR.

The LUCID Authorities Portal functions in two directions. The way enforcement authorities and the ZSVR work together has been strengthened significantly. The ZSVR makes data sets available and the enforcement authorities are able to actively look up information held by the ZSVR themselves. The processing agents can also submit a request for file inspection if there are grounds to suspect that a company has partially or fully failed to comply with its obligations under the Verpackungsgesetz. In future, it will also be possible to view an entire case history on the portal.

Connected authorities can set up individual assessments and access data so that enforcement proceedings can be pursued in a targeted way at the state level. In the medium term, there are plans to make information about packaging collection volumes and volume flow reports from the systems available to the enforcement authorities.

Compliance and enforcement are extremely important to the impact of the Verpackungsgesetz. Since 2019, the ZSVR has identified approximately 6,000 administrative offences. Carrying out enforcement action is the responsibility of the appropriate state authority after the e-file has been submitted. The Authorities Portal project was launched in 2020. The Authorities Portal’s operation, content and processes were tested and optimised in an extensive pilot phase with state enforcement authorities. The IT project represents another way in which the ZSVR has demonstrated that it is a tremendously innovative force in e-government. Rachut: “The LUCID Authorities Portal and our close cooperation with state authorities are an example of how digital transformation in administration can look. It’s the foundation for the full impact of the Verpackungsgesetz being felt.”