Shoe boxes are considered to be packaging subject to system participation within the meaning of the Packaging Act. This was decided by the Gelsenkirchen Administrative Court on 28 November 2025, thus confirming the obligation of a shoe retail company operating nationwide to pay a contribution.
In the specific case, the plaintiff (Deichmann) wanted to ensure that shoe boxes from its own brand were exempt from the system participation requirement. It argued that customers typically left the boxes in the shops. The defendant authority rejected this. The appeal against this was unsuccessful.
According to the 9th Chamber of the Administrative Court, shoe boxes are predominantly generated as waste by private end consumers. The typical market route in the entire nationwide shoe market, including online and mail order, was decisive. A managing director of a packaging market research company called as an expert witness confirmed this typified market route. The Packaging Act expressly permits this abstract consideration, which is why the obligation to pay the contribution also applies to the plaintiff's own brands.
Court emphasises standardised market view
The court clarified that it is not the individual customer behaviour in each case that is decisive, but the predominant actual disposal situation in the overall market. Manufacturers of such packaging are therefore still obliged to participate in a dual system before placing it on the market in order to guarantee nationwide take-back.
The judgement is not yet legally binding. The plaintiff can apply to the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia for permission to appeal.
Source: Gelsenkirchen Administrative Court
