Plastics And Packaging Laws In Germany

1. What is the general legislative framework regulating packaging and plastic waste in your jurisdiction?

Regulations for packaging waste are set out in the German Packaging Act (Verpackungsgesetz). It contains the following main obligations: 

1. General requirements for packaging including requirements on packaging volume and mass, reusability and recyclability and the use of secondary raw materials; 
2. Restrictions for lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium VI in packaging and packaging components; 
3. Requirements for the labelling of packaging materials; however, there is no obligation to label; 
4. Producers/first distributors of system-relevant packaging filled with goods are obliged to register with the packaging register LUCID of the Central Agency ZSVR (Stiftung Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister), to participate in a take-back system and to report different data;