On January 1, 2024, the Single-Use Plastic Fund Act (EWKFondsG) came into force in Germany. This requires manufacturers of certain single-use plastic products such as balloons, to-go cups or cigarette filters to register with an online register provided by the Federal Environment Agency and (from 2025) to pay taxes into a disposable plastic fund managed by the Federal Environment Agency. Online retailers are affected by the law in that they are not allowed to offer corresponding products if their manufacturers are not properly registered. We will shed more light on the background to the new law in the following article.
Aim of the law
The Single-Use Plastic Fund Act serves to implement the extended producer responsibility in accordance with Article 8 paragraphs 1 to 7 of Directive (EU) 2019/904 (EU Single-Use Plastics Directive) and is the last measure for the time being to implement this directive. The aim of the law is to avoid and reduce the impact of certain single-use plastic products on the environment, particularly the marine environment, and human health, and to promote innovative and sustainable business models, products and materials. In order to achieve these waste management goals, the law should also regulate the market behavior of those obliged to do so.
The law is intended to counteract environmental pollution and the waste of resources by imposing a tax on certain environmentally harmful products. The income should be made available to municipalities so that they can offset their costs for cleaning and disposing of single-use plastic waste in public spaces.
The law therefore has similarities to the Packaging Act, in which those who place packaging on the market are responsible for the disposal costs of certain packaging.
Affected Products
The following product categories are affected:
1. Food containers, that is, containers, such as boxes with or without lids, for food
a) are intended to be consumed immediately, either on site or as a take-away meal,
b) are usually consumed out of the container and
c) can be consumed without further preparation such as cooking, boiling or heating;
Food containers in this sense do not include beverage containers, beverage cups, plates as well as bags and foil packaging, such as wrappers, containing food;
2. Bags and film packaging made from flexible material, such as wrappers, with food contents
a) is intended to be consumed directly from the bag or foil pack and
b) does not require any further preparation;
3. Beverage containers with a filling volume of up to 3 liters, that is, containers used to hold liquids, such as deposited and non-deposited beverage bottles and composite beverage packaging, including their closures and lids; no beverage containers in this sense are beverage containers made of glass or metal with closures, lids, labels, stickers or wrappings made of plastic;
4. Beverage cups including their closures and lids;
5. lightweight plastic carrier bags, that is, plastic carrier bags with a wall thickness of less than 50 micrometers, with or without a handle, offered to consumers at the point of sale of the goods or products;
6. Wet wipes, that is, soaked wipes for personal and household care;
7. Balloons; Excluded are balloons for industrial or commercial uses and applications that are not sold to consumers;
8. Tobacco products with filters and filters intended for use in combination with tobacco products.
Affected people
The law is aimed at the manufacturers of affected product categories.
A manufacturer within the meaning of the law is any natural or legal person or partnership with legal capacity who
a) is established in Germany and, as a producer, filler, seller or importer, makes affected single-use plastic products commercially available on the market in Germany for the first time, regardless of the sales method, including distance selling contracts within the meaning of Section 312c of the Civil Code, or
b) is not established in Germany and commercially sells affected single-use plastic products directly to private households or other users in Germany using means of distance communication within the meaning of Section 312c paragraph 2 of the Civil Code (e.g. Internet, telephone, e-mail).
Any supply of a product for distribution, consumption or use on the market in Germany as part of a business activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge, is considered to be made available on the market within the meaning of the law.
Obligations of data subjects
From 2025, affected people will have to pay into a single-use plastic fund managed by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). From January 1, 2024, the single-use plastic fund will be made available digitally by the UBA via the single-use plastic platform DIVID for registrations and reports, including a register for manufacturers and beneficiaries.
From 2025, the UBA will determine the amount of taxes to be paid by individual manufacturers as well as the amount of payments to municipalities and other beneficiaries. The tax obligation begins on January 1st, 2024 and must be paid for the first time in 2025 for single-use plastic products placed on the market in 2024.
The amount of the levy is based on the Single-Use Plastic Fund Ordinance (EWKFondsV), which also comes into force on January 1, 2024. Taking into account the legal requirements from the Disposable Plastic Fund Act, this determines the levy rates for the affected plastic products and the points system for payments to those entitled to them.
The tax rates and the point system must be reviewed regularly, but at least every three years, by a commission appointed for this purpose. The first review of the tax rates will take place on January 1st, 2026.
Impact on online trading
The Single-Use Plastic Fund Act primarily imposes obligations on manufacturers in the narrower sense. However, the law also has an impact on online trading. Online retailers must ensure that the manufacturers of corresponding products are actually registered with the UBA. If registration is missing, they are not allowed to offer the products or they must first register themselves as manufacturers with the UBA.
Violations of the Single-Use Plastic Fund Act result in fines on the one hand and warnings under competition law on the other, as the law is a rule of market conduct that must be observed by all affected market participants.
Conclusion
On January 1, 2024, the Single-Use Plastic Fund Act (EWKFondsG) will come into force in Germany, which requires manufacturers of certain single-use plastic products to register with an online register provided by the UBA and (from 2025) to pay taxes into a single-use plastic fund managed by the UBA. The income should be made available to municipalities so that they can offset their costs for cleaning and disposing of single-use plastic waste in public spaces.
The law primarily makes the manufacturers of affected single-use plastic products responsible, but also affects online trading, as corresponding products may not be offered if their manufacturers are not registered. Violations of the Single-Use Plastic Fund Act result in fines on the one hand and warnings under competition law on the other.
Online retailers who (also) offer affected single-use plastic products for sale should therefore ensure from January 1st, 2024 that the manufacturers of such products are registered in the DIVID online register provided by the UBA. If the required registration cannot be determined, the dealer must either register himself as a manufacturer before selling the corresponding products or he should refrain from selling them.
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