A Description and Analysis of the German Packaging Take-Back System

Abstract

The German packaging ordinance is an example of legislated extended producer responsibility (also known as product take-back). Consumers can leave packaging with retailers, and packagers are required to pay for their recycling and disposal. It can be considered to be successful in reducing waste, spurring the redesign of packaging to be more environmentally sustainable, and increasing refilling and recycling. The exception is waste packaging made of plastics, which faces the problems of export due to lack of markets for recycled products within Germany, the lack of capacity for recycling, the allowance for energy recovery within the ordinance, and the manufacturers’ focus on back-to-feedstock rather than back-to-plastics as a solution. This article looks at the ordinance and its effects to consider why this take-back program worked better than others.

Keywords

packaging take-back extended producer responsibility German packaging ordinance end-of-life products

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Duales System Deutschland GmbH (Hg.) . (1993). Der Ökologische Wandel bei Verpackungen. Daten und Fakten zum Grünen Punkt [The ecological change in packaging. Green Dot data and facts]. Bonn, Germany: Author.

Duales System Deutschland GmbH (Hg.) . (1995a). Geschäftsbericht 1994 [Annual report 1994]. Bonn, Germany: Author.

Duales System Deutschland GmbH (Hg.) . (1995b). Wertstoff-recycling in Zahlen—Techniken und Trends: Daten und Fakten zum Grünen Punkt [Recycling in numbers—Techniques and trends: Green Dot data and facts]. Bonn, Germany: Author.

Duales System Deutschland GmbH (Hg.) . (1996). Geschäftsbericht 1995 [Annual report 1995]. Bonn, Germany: Author.

Duales System Deutschland GmbH (Hg) . (2006). List of license fees and bases of assessment valid from 01.01.2006. Bonn, Germany: Author.

Federal Ministry for the Environment , Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety . (2005a). 2005 amendment of the ordinance. Bonn, Germany: Author.

Federal Ministry for the Environment , Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety . (2005b). Ordinance on the avoidance and recovery of packaging wastes (Packaging ordinance—Verpackungsverordnung—VerpackV1) of 21 August 1998. Federal Law Gazette, 1, 2379-2379.

Nakajima, N. , & Vanderburg, W. H. (2005a). A failing grade for our efforts to make our civilization more environmentally sustainable. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 25, 129-144.

Nakajima, N. , & Vanderburg, W. H. (2005b). A failing grade for the German end-of-life vehicles take-back system. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 25, 170-186.

10.

Nakajima, N. , & Vanderburg, W. H. (2005c). A failing grade for WEEE take-back programs for information technology equipment. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 25, 507-517.

11.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Group on Pollution Prevention and Control . (1998). Extended producer responsibility Phase 2: Case study on the German packaging ordinance. Paris: Author.