From 1 January 2022, a ban on plastic bags will apply in Germany. Following the approval of the Bundestag a few weeks ago (see Plasteurope.com of 04.12.2020), on 18 December 2020 the Bundesrat (Upper House) allowed a corresponding amendment for the Packaging Act to pass. In the future, lightweight plastic bags with thicknesses of 15 to 50 µm will no longer be put into circulation.

Ultra-thin plastic bags of less than 15 µm, will not be banned. They primarily ensure hygienic handling of open and perishable foods, such as fruits and vegetables, meat or sausage products. There is no good alternative for this purpose yet. Therefore, as a result of a ban, more (pre)packaging might come into the market, which could lead to an increase in packaging waste.

Plastic carrier bags with a thickness of more than 50 µm are also exempt from the ban. They are comparatively stable and are therefore typically used more often.

In Germany, 1.49 bn lightweight plastic bags with thicknesses below 50 µm were still in circulation in 2019, which corresponds to about 18 plastic bags per person (this is about 14% lesser than in 2018). In the fruit and vegetable departments of supermarkets, customers used about 3 bn “shirt carrier bags” – or ultra lightweight plastic bags – (which is about 1% lesser than in 2018), according to the latest report by the Gesellschaft für Verpackungsmarktforschung (GVM, Mainz / Germany; www.gvmonline.de).

The plastic bag ban was launched by Germany’s federal cabinet just over a year ago (see Plasteurope.com of 12.11.2019).