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Beverage manufacturers and importers (First Distributors)
Focus on what you do best: The production and distribution of high quality beverages. As one of our most important players, we are happy to support our partners in the beverage industry with everything that is necessary to bring drinks that are subject to the mandatory deposit to the market in a legally compliant manner. Get the initial information here. We will clarify everything else in a personal conversation, depending on your specific needs.
You should be aware of this.
- Anyone who sells beverages commercially in Germany - regardless of whether they come from their own production or imported into the country - takes the initial step towards the end consumer when they enter the market and is therefore considered to be the “First Distributor”.
- If it concerns a beverage that is subject to the German mandatory deposit - for example beer, mineral water or soft drinks in one-way beverage packaging - it is necessary to clarify which precautions have to be observed within the deposit process.
- For initial orientation, the DPG has created an overview of beverages subject to a mandatory deposit depending on the selected disposable beverage packaging to make it easier for you, as the first distributor, to check whether a mandatory deposit applies. You can find this overview of beverages subject to deposit here.
- Anyone who is considered to be a First Distributor under the German Packaging Act must be also properly registered in the LUCID Packaging Register of the Central Agency Packaging Register (Stiftung Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister - ZSVR) since July 1, 2022. More information here.
Your contact for First Distributors
Phone: +49 (30) 800 974 390 | Fax: +49 (30) 800 974 191
saskia.sellnau@dpg-pfandsystem.de
1. Application for company identifier at GS1 in case of existing deposit obligation
The global location number (GLN) assigned by the GS1 Organisation in Germany and in many other countries is like a fingerprint for national and international business. With the GLN companies and parts of companies - including individual locations or warehouses – can be identified and assigned without any doubt. If you would like to become part of the DPG one-way deposit system as the First Distributor, you need such a global location number (GLN) and also the unique 8 or 13-digit global item number (Global Trade Item Number, GTIN), which you can configure independently and exclusively for the German market.
2. Registration with the DPG
Beverage manufacturers and importers who decide to participate in the DPG System sign the Terms and Conditions of Participation, by which you undertake to adhere to the DPG System rules. It is primarily a matter of recognising the obligations laid down in the German Packaging Act for distributors of one-way beverage packaging subject to a deposit as well as realising quick and unbureaucratic settlement of deposit money – so-called “deposit clearing”. Request info for participation in the DPG system here.
3. Registration of the DPG System Database
After concluding their framework agreement with the DPG, beverage manufacturers and importers receive individual access to the password-protected DPG website and the separate DPG System Database. In the System Database all participating First Distributors are registered under their GLN (Global Location Number) with their item data and the associated GTIN (Global Trade Item Number). This creates the basis for contacting all other system partners (Reverse Vending Machine Manufacturers, Sorting Plants, Users DPG Ink and Clearing Service Providers) on a confidential internal level.
4. Product labelling
The mandatory labelling required by the applicable Packaging Act is based in the DPG System on a special DPG Marking combined with an unmistakable GTIN, represented as a barcode. Beverage manufacturers and importers should know that the DPG Marking can only be applied to beverage cans by certified can manufacturers and on all other one-way beverage packaging only by approved label printers - the associated Users of DPG Ink - may be implemented.
5. Deposit collection and management
The DPG one-way deposit system is based on a well-functioning cooperation between those who put one-way beverage packaging into circulation (First Distributors) and those who take it back (Collectors) and duly reimburse the packaging deposit paid in advance by the end user (deposit clearing process). The deposit of 25 cents per packaging can be controlled, managed and finally billed precisely in the time window from the placing on the marketplace and the sale of an one-way deposit product through to taking it back and sending it to recycling.
How is the deposit settlement structured from the point of view of beverage manufacturers and importers?
6. Deposit settlement
The requirements that are placed on First Distributors in the context of the deposit clearing process are quite demanding and complex. That is why many choose to commission approved Clearing Service Providers. These experts are also connected to the DPG System and bring with them the necessary experience and current process know-how as well as all the necessary personnel and technical capacities. This highly professional cooperation between the actors involved once again proves the basic idea of DPG’s approach: Being able to use optimal processes and structures together creates sustainable added value that goes beyond their own interests for everyone who integrates into the German one-way deposit system - also in terms of environmental protection.
