According to the new Packaging Act, the Central Agency Packaging Register will begin its work on 1 January 2019. There is still a lot to do before then. Everything is aimed at centralising information on packaging quantities and detecting irregularities more quickly. In this interview, CEO Gunda Rachut gives tips on what companies can already look out for in 2018.
pj: The Packaging Act does not come into force until 1 January 2019. Your foundation was established in June of this year. What will your tasks be until it „really gets going“ in 14 months' time?
Gunda Rachut: Firstly, we have just issued a Europe-wide invitation to tender for the creation of the Database so that by the middle of next year all companies will be able to register with the Central office is possible. We are working on implementing the tasks from the legal text, setting up structures and standards for this and have to find the right employees - a total of around 30 at our site Osnabrück. In addition to the three expert groups on register/data reporting/standards, legal/IT and recycling-friendly design, which the Board of Trustees took over from the project company, a fourth expert group on communication and a fifth for financing agreements will be added in October. From the beginning of 2018, a final group of experts on the topics of proof of volume flow and industry solutions will begin its work.
Gunda Rachut was founded in June by the founders of the Central Agency Packaging Register to the Management Board has been appointed. The environmental lawyer lives in Osnabrück and was already Managing Director of the project company for the establishment of the Packaging Register Foundation. This company was founded in 2015 by the Federal Association of the German Food Industry (BVE), the German Retail Association (HDE), the IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen and the Markenverband. She was previously a sought-after expert as a freelance expert, among other things for concepts for sorting and volume flow analyses in the field of packaging, used electrical appliances and plastics recycling as well as their accompanying IT systems.
pj: In addition to the registration of companies producing and distributing packaging and the recording and monitoring of packaging quantities, the tasks also include standardisation for more recycling-friendly packaging design. What does this mean in concrete terms?
Gunda Rachut: The law requires the ecological design of participation fees. The report on this must be submitted to the central office in June 2019. Together with the Federal Environment Agency The Central Office will therefore, with the help of the expert groups, define the final minimum standards for the measurement of the Recyclability by 1 September 2019. Preliminary standards, which take into account the individual recycling routes and the respective type of material, will already be available as a „guideline“ in 2018.
pj: Until now, manufacturers and distributors of packaged products were required to report to various dual systems. In future, the Central Agency is to become the sole point of contact. Will this be a purely organisational change, or will there also be changes for companies in terms of content?
Gunda Rachut: There is one central reason for this change, and that is: Transparency. Until now, there have been various databases for the quantities on the market, which could only be partially synchronised with each other. The central office will create a joint register database and thus take over a monitoring function that was previously divided between the state authorities, chambers of industry and commerce and the clearing centre of the dual systems. Irregularities will now become visible very quickly thanks to the centralised register of data - even retrospectively - and can lead to fines and even distribution bans if the reporting obligations are breached.
Recognise and report packaging quantities correctly
pj: You advise companies to review their processes now so that they can invoice the actual values in 2019 in compliance with the law. What do they need to pay particular attention to?
Gunda Rachut: With the Licence agreements it is essential to correctly recognise and report the quantities of packaging produced. Sales packaging are subject to a licence, packaging for large-scale commercial use and transport packaging must be distinguished from this. Blanket deductions from the quantities due to theft or shrinkage are not permitted, nor are blanket allocations to packaging types. Licensed companies must be aware that they are liable for administrative offences - not those who may have acted as brokers or consultants to support them. From 1 January 2019, the Central Office will also have access to all data provided before 2019 thanks to the complete data transfer from the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK). In plain language, this means that the new transparency for the Quantity reports already applies for 2018.
pj: Will companies incur additional costs as a result of the change in reporting procedures?
Gunda Rachut: No.
pj: Where can I get help and advice on the Packaging Act?
Gunda Rachut: The Central Office will successively post the necessary information on the Foundation's website. In addition, we will develop target group-oriented materials in order to provide all branches of industry with an optimal basis for fulfilling their legal obligations. Further information can still be requested from all chambers of industry and commerce, the dual system operators and the Central Agency.
Consumers can obtain transparent information about the packaging quantities of products
pj: Consumers should also be able to view the packaging register. What information will it contain that is important for private purchasing decisions?
Gunda Rachut: The register will list all companies that have duly registered. In addition to the company, the products sold must be registered with their brand name. This will allow consumers to check whether the product they have purchased has been properly registered with the Central Agency.
pj: Critical voices have been heard time and again, questioning whether the Central Agency is the right instrument to achieve the ambitious recycling quotas set out in the Packaging Act. For example, the strong involvement of companies and their associations in the establishment and financing of the foundation is criticised. What do you say to the sceptics?
Gunda Rachut: The Central Agency will use its legal basis to ensure greater transparency and fairness in the system. This is intended to provide the impetus for further development of the circular economy, as the aim is to restore lost trust in the system. The foundation will act as an authority. It will be monitored by the Federal Environment Agency, the Federal Cartel Office and the Federal Audit Office, among others, and all decisions will be subject to judicial review. Decisions based on vested interests are excluded by the very structure of the foundation and would be immediately reversed by a court ruling. The Foundation must first build up a reputation, that is correct, and it will do so with expertise and a consistently transparent and clear approach - that is my task as a member of the Executive Board, which I take very seriously.
[infotext icon]Overview: What does the new law want?
You can find an overview of the content and discussions surrounding the new Packaging Act in this article:
Adapt processes in good time: New packaging law casts its shadow ahead[/infotext]
