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Planned extension of the reusable packaging obligation meets with criticism

Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) is planning to significantly extend the requirements for more reusable packaging in the catering and retail sectors. Criticism has come from industry and environmental organisations alike. Read the reactions to the ministry's plans here. 

Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) is planning to significantly extend the requirements for more reusable packaging in the catering and retail sectors. Criticism has come from industry and environmental organisations alike. Read the reactions to the ministry's plans here. 

The plans - The reactions

Supermarkets, for example, will in future be required to sell At least one product with reusable packaging as outlined in a key issues paper published by the ministry on Tuesday (27 June). In addition, the obligation to offer reusable takeaway food and drinks, which has been in force since January, is to be tightened.

According to the ministry, the requirement for a reusable alternative is to apply to the categories Water, beer, soft drinks, juice and milk apply. Shops with a sales area of more than 200 square metres would then have to offer at least one product from each segment in a returnable bottle. In addition, all businesses of this size that sell drinks will have to accept every returnable bottle.

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Returning deposit bottles (Image: shutterstock.com/aleks333)

The new legislation in force since this year Mandatory for catering businesses above a certain size, a reusable option for takeaway food and drinks According to the Ministry of the Environment, this is to be extended to all materials. So far, only plastic packaging has to be used as an alternative for food, not aluminium trays or pizza boxes, for example. It will also be prohibited to serve food in disposable packaging when eating in restaurants.

IK Plastic Packaging: The same requirements for all

Picture by Dr Isabell Schmidt, Managing Director of IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen e.V.
Dr Isabel Schmidt, IK Managing Director

(30.06.23) The IK supports the goals, the Reduce the amount of packaging regardless of the material and promote reusable packagingprovided that these are demonstrably ecologically favourable. Accordingly, the association is critical of the fact that the The obligation to offer reusable beverage packaging is not based on a current life cycle assessment will. The IK expressly welcomes the fact that the German government intends to amend Section 21 of the Packaging Act before the end of this legislative period with the aim of promoting the recyclability of packaging through financial incentive systems as a decisive step towards an efficient circular economy for packaging.

The association regrets that the legislator has not analysed the supposed ecological advantages of reusable packaging in the beverage sector in a current life cycle assessment - as repeatedly demanded by the industry - and that the Reusable packaging promotion also not linked to ecological requirements for packaging has. "Today's disposable bottles are recycled and do not need to shy away from ecological comparison with reusable bottles. Instead of a blanket promotion of reusable bottles, we would have considered it more expedient to promote the further ecological development of disposable and reusable containers," says Schmidt.

Federal Association of System Catering: Plans cannot be implemented

BdS Managing Director Markus Suchert

(29.06.23) The Bundesverband der Systemgastronomie e. V. (BdS) is very critical of the planned reform of the Packaging Act. They would hit the already hard-hit system catering industry hard. A general ban on disposable packaging does not take into account the questionable ecological balance of reusable packaging, the recyclability of paper packaging or aspects of food safety and hygiene. Furthermore, the complete switch to reusable alternatives would require an enormous organisational and financial effort on the part of system catering companies. This would massively increase the complexity of restaurant processes.

The association believes that the new proposals from the Federal Ministry for the Environment cannot be implemented in practice, especially with the tight transitional periods. They would seriously jeopardise the profitability of system catering companies.

Divided response from environmental organisations

A reusable coffee cup lies on a turquoise background.

The environmental organisation Greenpeace particularly welcomed the extension of the obligation to offer reusable packaging for to-go food and drinks. "Greenpeace had called for this improvement, as fast food chains and delivery services have so far evaded the current law by replacing single-use plastic packaging for goods for direct consumption with other disposable packaging," the organisation explained.

The German Environmental Aid however, the plans from the Federal Ministry for the Environment are not far-reaching enough. Read more here

Metal can manufacturers: Plans are not expedient

Aluminium cycle Beverage cans

(27.06.23) The Association of Metal Can Manufacturers has criticised the focus on reusable products as "not expedient". Depending on the context, reusable systems "even have a worse environmental balance" than well-optimised single-use cycles such as the German can deposit, explained Claudia Bierth, Managing Director of Forum Getränkedose. She therefore calls in particular for EU-wide mandatory single-use deposit systems and "market-based incentives for recycling".

BDE: "Draft falls short of expectations"

The BDE particularly criticises the ecological structure of the packaging fees.

(30.06.23) The BDE Federal Association of the German Waste Management, Water and Circular Economy is positive about the planned guidelines on packaging sizes and regulations against bundles. The association takes a critical view of the ecological structure of the packaging fees. In the association's opinion, the upcoming departmental consultation should be used to strengthen the extended producer responsibility enshrined in the Packaging Act and the current system of private-sector waste collection and recycling. The focus should be on the further development of Section 21 of the Packaging Act, which regulates the ecological structure of the fees that packaging manufacturers pay to the dual systems for waste disposal. 

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