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The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) announced information about the draft of the 3rd amendment of the Packaging Act on 27 June 2023. The draft law has already been sent by the Federal Ministry for the Environment to various departments for internal review. A summary of the main points and FAQs have also been published. The aim of the amendment is to avoid unnecessary packaging while promoting ecologically beneficial reusable packaging.
More reusable packaging and a general reduction in the consumption of single-use plastic products
If the amendment is implemented in its current form, there will be a number of advantages for consumers. For one thing, supermarkets and discounters will have to offer at least one reusable alternative for several types of beverage. In addition, a take-back obligation for reusable beverage containers is to be introduced, under which final beverage distributors will have to take back reusable beverage containers and outer packaging. Furthermore, the mandatory offer of reusable to-go packaging made of single-use plastic for food and drinks, which has been in place since 1 January 2023, is to be extended to all materials. At the same time, single-use packaging may no longer be offered for on-site consumption. The law also aims to take action against so-called deceptive packaging. It should no longer be permissible to reduce the filling quantity while maintaining the same packaging size. Ultimately, the regulations also serve to implement Article 4 of the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive more effectively than has been the case to date in order to reduce consumption.
Objections to the reusable packaging requirement
Recently, party-led departments objected to the sending of the draft law to the associations. The main reason for this is the planned requirement for reusable packaging. In this context, the lack of evidence of the ecological advantage of reusable solutions has been criticised.A compromise must now be sought within the framework of the coalition agreement. Another point of criticism is chemical recycling, which should be included in the amendment as an equivalent recycling method if possible. A hearing of the associations was originally scheduled for August.Following this hearing, the draft law was to be submitted to the EU Commission for notification. According to the plan, it could have been passed in December and come into force in July 2024. However, delays may now occur in its implementation due to the objection.
