Throughout Europe, the European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC with its requirements for the recycling of packaging waste forms the basis for legislation in the various EU member states. These differ considerably from country to country. In the following article we take a closer look at how the implementation looks in Germany as an important target market for many retailers and producers:
With the German Packaging Act – “VerpackG” for short – in addition to producers and stationary trade, online and marketplace sellers in particular have been obliged since 01 January 2019 to license their packaging in Germany and thus comply with their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR for short). For foreign sellers, this includes all sales packaging imported into Germany that is sent to end consumers directly or through fulfilment service providers. The licensing of packaging is regulated throughout Germany by so-called dual systems and applies from the first packaging that is put into circulation.
The selectable dual system organises – financed by the licence fees paid by those putting the packaging into circulation – the collection, sorting and recycling of the packaging waste generated. The Packaging Act thus helps to ensure that packaging can be recycled to large amounts and thus resources can be saved. The dual systems provide the necessary infrastructure for returning the packaging waste to the recycling loop.
Measures and duties for online sellers
Anyone who imports goods into Germany and does not process them via an importer but delivers them directly to the end customer is obliged to license their product and shipping packaging with a dual system and also register with the Central Agency Packaging Register (ZSVR) in the LUCID reporting register. This also applies to sellers who do not ship directly via their own online shop but use a marketplace or fulfilment. In order to comply with the registration obligation, this means for online sellers in concrete terms:
- Registering as a “producer” (don’t be confused by the term, it refers to all companies putting sales packaging into circulation) in the LUCID register with all relevant company data.
- Conclude a licensing agreement for your sales packaging with a dual system such as Lizenzero.
- Report the licensed volumes of sales packaging and the name of your dual system to LUCID.
Exceptions and specifics
Exceptions to the system participation obligation for online sellers apply, among other things, if they ship their goods to end consumers via an importer. If a seller based in Germany continues to ship the goods to end customers, the responsibility for the product as well as the packaging (and thus licensing) is usually transferred to the German based seller functioning as an importer when the goods cross the border. Important: This should be contractually regulated between the respective parties.
When using dropshipping, the service provider is also responsible for licensing the product and shipping packaging. In this case, however, the online seller must be able to provide proof of licensing by the dropshipping service provider.
Non-compliance with the German Packaging Law
If sellers do not license their sales packaging correctly, they face warnings, fines of up to 200,000 euros and sales bans. Since 1 July 2022, operators of electronic marketplaces have also been subject to an control obligation under the german Packaging Law. They are thus obliged to obtain evidence of the licensing of their sellers’ sales packaging. For this purpose, sellers must transmit the LUCID registration number to the marketplace. The same applies to fulfilment service providers. No products may be sold or shipped without the corresponding proof.
In order not to lose track of the licensing obligations and requirements, various dual systems offer online licensing platforms. This includes Lizenzero, the online shop for packaging licensing of the dual system Interseroh+, where companies concerned can conclude and manage their licences online in just a few steps. An additional advisory service provides all-round security and support in licensing matters. Thus, even for small online sellers, obliging with the Law is easy and quick.
About Lizenzero.de
With Lizenzero, companies find a strong partner when it comes to packaging licensing. With many years of expertise and an on-demand customer account, Lizenzero offers lasting convenience in packaging licensing from just €39 per year. In addition to the packaging licence, Lizenzero offers further free additional services such as a volume download for LUCID, a resource protection certificate and personal support, aiming to help obliged companies to be fully covered year after year.