The new Packaging Act of 9 June 2021, published in the Federal Law Gazette (Bun-desgesetzblatt, BGBl) on 14 June 2021, came into force on 3 July 2021. The changes in the Packaging Act also affect the distribution of beverage in disposable packaging.

From 1 January 2022, the mandatory deposit will also apply to the beverages listed below, which were previously exempted from the mandatory deposit. The condition is that they are filled in disposable plastic beverage bottles or in cans with a filling volume between 0.1 to 3.0 litres:

  • Sparkling wine, mixed sparkling wine drinks
  • Wine and mixed wine drinks
  • Wine-like drinks and mixed drinks
  • Alcohol products and other mixed drinks containing alcohol
  • Fruit juices and vegetable juices
  • Non-carbonated fruit nectars and non-carbonated vegetable nectars.

From 1 January 2022, the deposit obligation will also apply to

  • Milk and mixed milk drinks and other drinkable milk products
  • dietary beverages for infants or young children
    if these beverages are filled in cans.

If the retailer still has packaging on the shelf or in stock after 1 January 2022 that does not yet bear the DPG's deposit logo and that he has obtained from his supplier without paying a deposit, the beverage packaging can still be sold without a deposit. This transitional arrangement is valid until 1 July 2022 and is intended to prevent remaining stocks without a deposit logo from having to be destroyed. In many shops, customers will therefore find both for a maximum of 6 months: e.g. fruit juices or wine in cans with and without a deposit.

Please note: (Mixed) milk drinks and other drinkable milk products filled in disposable plastic beverage bottles will only be subject to a deposit from 1 January 2024 and cannot yet be included in the DPG System.

A short overview of the deposit obligation you can find here.


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