VerpackG
The current Packaging Act (Verpackungsgesetz - VerpackG) has already been in force since 1 January 2019. On this page, we inform you about this law and how you can have the licence fees invoiced by us.
What is the purpose of the Packaging Act?
The aim of the law is to motivate private households to recycle their waste and to use more ecologically beneficial and recyclable packaging. The " Central Packaging Register Office" (Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister, ZS), which was founded for this purpose, aims to establish a transparent and fair distribution of the costs of the disposal and recycling system within the Dual System.
To whom does the law apply?
Of course, this law is particularly relevant for us and our customers, in other words you. Since the packaging to be purchased from us is considered "system-participating" and you are defined as the "manufacturer" according to the Packaging Act, you must also pay the licence fees to the Dual System. The underlying fee system is obligatory for you and non-compliance can result in a distribution ban and high fines. To prevent this from happening, we would like to support you in paying your licence fees without much extra effort.
How does this work exactly?
As a manufacturer of packaging subject to system participation, you must register with the ZS from now on. According to the Packaging Act, you are considered a manufacturer because you put the packaging filled with goods into circulation. In addition, you must report the quantities of packaging subject to system participation that you put into circulation to the ZS once a year. Independent of this is the payment of the licence fee for each individual packaging by you to a partner of the Dual System. Reporting to the ZS is the control mechanism to ensure that everyone complies with the requirements. If it turns out that this is not the case, appropriate penalties can follow. As mentioned above, you can then be automatically banned from operating and fined up to €200,000 per case.
Don't panic - we will help you!
You can buy all Green Box products with system participation. If you wish, we will take over the billing of your packaging purchased from us with a company of the Dual System Germany. These "disposal costs" are then listed for you on every invoice. This makes it easier for you to report quantities and prove licensing. How exactly these disposal costs are calculated is explained briefly and concisely in the following table.
Licence costs at a glance
The net weight of the packaging unit or the unit weight of the article is used for the calculation. This is also displayed on your invoice and makes it easier for you to report to the ZS.
| Category | Price/kg 2024 (net) |
|---|---|
| Paper & cardboard | 0,27 € |
| Plastics | 0,97 € |
| Composites | 0,96 € |
| Other materials (formerly natural materials) |
0,10 € |
| Glass | 0,09 € |
The transport and sales packaging, e.g., the outer carton in which you receive the goods from us, is already pre-licensed by us. So you only pay the actual licence costs for the respective articles. You can also receive proof of this from us, which is then called "pre-licensing confirmation".
There are no disposal costs for items such as our cutlery or drinking straws, as these are not packaging in which you sell your food to others. However, they do fall under the new EU Plastic Packaging Directive (SUPD). You can find out more about this in our SUPD blog post.
Simply license your packaging through Green Box
Now you have three options. You can choose to have Green Box take care of the licensing for every order. In this case you will find the question in your customer account on biologischverpacken.de: "Do I have to pay the licence fees for every order via Green Box? Set this to "Yes" and you will receive licensed packaging from us.
If you prefer to decide on a case-by-case basis, you can choose with each order whether we should license your articles or not. This will then happen analogously to the procedure above when you check out of the shop.
Of course, you can take over the licensing completely on your own. No special step is necessary. Simply complete your order process without placing a check mark in our shop. For independent licensing, we recommend the online shop of Noventiz, which offers a service-oriented solution for packaging licensing.
Still have questions about the Packaging Act?
If you have further questions about the Packaging Act, please contact the Central Agency Packaging Register or our licensing partner Noventiz directly.
