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In May 2021, the Bundestag and Bundestag Council passed the long-awaited amendment to the Packaging Act. From 1 January 2022, additional single-use plastic drinks bottles and drinks cans will be subject to a 25 cent deposit. This means that from this date, fruit and vegetable juices and nectars in this packaging, which were previously exempt, will also be subject to the deposit - a change that both the PET Forum in the IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen e.V. (IK) and the Verband der deutschen Fruchtsaft-Industrie e. V. (Association of the German Fruit Juice Industry) are in favour of.
A deposit has long been compulsory for beer, mineral water and soft drinks in PET bottles. This is followed by fruit and vegetable juices, nectars and alcoholic drinks. Milk-based drinks will be included in the deposit system in 2024. All one-way bottles will be taken back in the same machines. Extending the mandatory deposit to all beverage categories will not only make the system easier for consumers to understand - it will also make it easier for them to buy back the bottles. the commitment is also a clear commitment to strengthening the bottle-to-bottle cycle.
High-quality recycling through a deposit system
„In the past, it was incomprehensible to consumers that apple juice spritzer was labelled but apple juice was not. This German deposit system for non-returnable PET beverage bottles enables high collection rates and high-quality recycling in closed material cycles. It also effectively reduces careless littering and thus contributes to environmental protection.“
Isabell Schmidt, IK-Managing Director Circular Economy
A study by the Society for Packaging Market Research (GVM) from 2020 confirms these statements: in 2019, the recycling rate of single-use PET beverage bottles with a deposit was 97.4 per cent. Thanks to the extension of the mandatory deposit, the closed recycling loop for PET beverage bottles will be strengthened. Schmidt expects an additional 44 kilotonnes of plastic material to be added to the bottle-to-bottle recycling loop each year, an increase of more than 10 percent.
Plastics and beverage industry in favour of amendment to the Packaging Act
The Association of the German Fruit Juice Industry e. V. welcomes the extension of the mandatory deposit. Managing Director Klaus Heitlinger praises the possibility of the early solution at Deutsche Pfandsystem GmbH: „Thanks to this option, beverage manufacturers have been able to label their bottles with a deposit since May 2021.“ Heitlinger is also in favour of the fact that beverage containers already on the market may still be sold deposit-free until July 2022 at the latest. This prevents food waste.
Until now, the majority of PET beverage bottles for sensitive products contained oxygen barriers. These have a positive effect on product quality, for example by protecting vitamins and extending the shelf life of juices and nectars. At the same time, however, the barrier materials used to date reduce the recyclability of the packaging. To minimise the To strengthen the bottle-to-bottle cycle, more and more juice and nectar producers are therefore opting for alternative solutions that are 100 per cent recyclable.
Obligation to use more rPET enshrined in law
In addition to the extension of the mandatory deposit, the amendment to the Packaging Act also provides for a Recyclate quota for disposable PET beverage bottles stipulates. From 2025, plastic containers must contain at least 25 per cent recycled PET (rPET), and from 2030 even at least 30 per cent.
„High recyclate quotas are certainly the right way to strengthen the closed bottle-to-bottle cycle and further improve the eco-balance of PET beverage bottles. German companies are leading by example. According to the GVM study, an average of 34.4 per cent of PET beverage bottles produced in Germany in 2019 consisted of recycled PET.“
Isabell Schmidt
Nevertheless, Schmidt is concerned about the legal obligation to use recyclate: „The demand for recycled PET from beverage bottles has risen sharply in recent years, especially outside the beverage sector, because many international companies want to use the material from the German deposit system for their products.“ There are signs of a growing shortage of materials, the prices for recycled PET are rising accordingly.
Introducing additional legal obligations in such a tight market would put great pressure on small manufacturers in particular, who would no longer be able to keep up with rising recyclate prices. „There are concerns as to whether they will be able to fulfil the legal quota from 2025,“ says Schmidt. That's why the extension of the deposit obligation is an important step towards keeping even more material in circulation. At the same time, it is important to establish efficient deposit systems in other European countries as well, in order to fulfil the corresponding EU requirements.
Source: Forum PET
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