German Packaging Law yields positive results

Two years after the German Packaging Law came into force, the Foundation Central Agency Packaging Register (ZSVR) has released data – compiled in cooperation with the country’s Federal Environment Agency (UBA) – which shows that significantly more packaging is being recycled and more manufacturers are meeting their obligations than under the previous legal framework.

According to the new data, a total of 5.3 million tonnes of waste packaging was recycled in 2019, an increase of 13% compared to the previous year. For plastic packaging, the increase was as much as 50%.

The growth in recycling is driven by both the higher targets of the Packaging Law and the higher volumes of packaging resulting from the newly introduced and stricter enforcement regime.

The participation rate is over 75% and, at the end of November 2020, nearly 200,000 manufacturers were registered in the LUCID packaging register, compared to just 60,000 four years ago.

The Packaging Law has also helped to significantly reduce the number of free riders.

Further information and figures can be found in this presentation by ZVSR and UBA (in German).