Packaging categorisation and system participation
What types of packaging are there? What are the statutory obligations that come with each of them?
Packaging law obligations of manufacturers of goods
Are you producing goods that you then package and distribute to your customers? If the answer is 'yes', then you are considered to be a producer under German packaging law. That means you have certain obligations to fulfil – even if you produce and package goods as a contract packager on behalf of a retail company. The obligations that you have to fulfil depend on your packaging.
Regardless of what type of packaging you use to distribute your goods commercially in Germany, the Verpackungsgesetz (Packaging Act) requires you to have registered with the LUCID Packaging Register. Depending on the packaging type, you might also be required to pay for the recycling of your packaging and report your packaging volumes.
Obligations for packaging subject to system participation: registration, participation, reporting
Are you using retail, grouped or shipment packaging to distribute the goods that you produce? This packaging typically accumulates as waste with private final consumers. That is why you must pay for that packaging's recycling. This is called 'system participation'. There are three things you need to do to fulfil all of your obligations under packaging law:
Register with the LUCID Packaging Register.
Enter into a system participation agreement with a system operator. Please refer to this list for an overview of system operators.
You now have to regularly report your packaging volumes to both your system operator and the LUCID Packaging Register (data reporting).
To learn more about private final consumers, check out our knowledge base dedicated to packaging types.
Obligations for packaging not subject to system participation: registration
Packaging not subject to system participation includes transport packaging, industrial packaging or reusable packaging. If you are also or exclusively using this packaging type to distribute your products, you must register with the LUCID Packaging Register. You do not need to fulfil the system participation requirement and you do not need to report your packaging volumes. However, you are required to fulfil certain return and recovery obligations and to provide evidence that you have done so. For details, please refer to section 15 VerpackG (Packaging Act).
What you need to know
You can use the system participation requirement catalogue to search for the products that you distribute and find out if their specific packaging is subject to system participation. The search results are broken down by material, packaging type and delineation criterion of the respective packaging (quantity for food products, volume or unit for non-food products).
Contract packaging applies if the following three criteria are met:
- the packaging is filled with goods at the instruction of a third party (e.g. a supermarket),
- the filled packaging is handed over to that third party, and
- only the name or brand of that third party is visible on the packaging.
As a general rule, the party filling the packaging is considered the producer within the meaning of the Verpackungsgesetz. The answer as to whether you are under obligation for the respective retail packaging you fill with goods depends on the packaging's specific labelling.
Shipment packaging ...
- facilitates the shipment of goods to final consumers
- typically accumulates as waste with private households or comparable sources of waste generation
- is subject to system participation (a few exceptions apply)
Transport packaging ...
- serves to facilitate the handling and the transportation of goods between individual distributors and to prevent damage from occurring during transit
- typically does not accumulate as waste with private final consumers and instead remains with retailers
- is not subject to system participation
To learn more about the different packaging types and the obligations that come with each of them, check out our knowledge base dedicated to packaging types.
A level playing field is key if we want to protect our environment. Companies must ensure that their packaging harms the environment as little as possible. This is referred to as assuming 'producer responsibility', which governed by the Verpackungsgesetz (Packaging Act). Where packaging cannot be prevented, all market players that distribute packaged goods must be registered with the LUCID Packaging Register. Another factor is that 'high-quality' recycling of packaging waste is only possible in a financially sound market. That is why you are required to pay for the recycling of your retail, grouped or shipment packaging that is subject to system participation by concluding a 'system participation agreement' with a system operator.
Watch this video to learn what system participation means and what you have to do to fulfil your obligations.
Video about system participation
Watch this video to learn what system participation means and what you have to do to fulfil your obligations.
