Protecting the German deposit system: amendments to the draft Packaging Implementation Act necessary

For almost 20 years now, the German deposit system for one-way beverage packaging has been one of the most efficient deposit and return systems in Europe. With around 20 billion packaging items collected annually and a return rate of over 98 per cent, it is a mainstay of the German circular economy. The new EU Packaging Ordinance (PPWR) confirms the importance of such established systems and explicitly contains grandfathering provisions.

 This makes it all the more important that national implementation regulations support the full maintenance of the German deposit system. 

 Present situation

 The draft Packaging Implementation Act continues to use the terms ‘producer’ (Hersteller) and ‘distributor’ (Vertreiber). However, the EU Packaging Ordinance has given these terms a fundamentally new meaning. In our view, continuing to use these terms in the same way in the area of mandatory deposit requirements (Section 36 VerpackDG-RE) would have serious consequences for the structure and functioning of the German deposit system.

 Key risks

 In our view, the reference to the term ‘producer’ as amended by the PPWR is particularly critical. This would mean that numerous companies based in other EU countries that were previously included in the deposit system would no longer be directly addressed. As a result, labelling and deposit settlement obligations would have to be transferred to national trading companies at short notice.

 The planned use of the term ‘distributor’ as amended by the PPWR also carries considerable risks. It would result in the removal of collection and deposit obligations for certain distribution levels. This would create gaps in the collection infrastructure and call into question many years of practice in the settlement of deposit payments between collectors and First Distributors, including their tax treatment.

 With the early entry into force from August 2026, there would be no realistic possibility of compensating for these structural disruptions in the short term.

 Necessary amendments

 In order to keep the deposit system working beyond 12 August 2026, we propose an amendment to the terms used in the draft Act: 

 The terms ‘producer’ and ‘distributor’ used in Section 36 should be replaced by terms that cover those parties currently subject to obligations under the deposit system: 

• Replacement of ‘producer’(Hersteller) with ‘first distributor’ (Erstinverkehrbringer)
• Replacement of ‘distributor’(Vertreiber) with ‘seller’ (Inverkehrbringer)
• Corresponding addition of these definitions to the glossary (Section 3) and adjustments in further paragraphs of Section 36.

 Statement available for download

 Our complete statement on the draft Packaging Act Implementation Act (as of 13 January 2026) is available for download here:
DPG statement on the draft Packaging Act Implementation Act (PDF)