The countdown has begun. On 1 July 2022, the long-discussed amendment of the German Packaging Act is coming into force. By this date, all companies that put packaged goods on the market in Germany must have registered in the public packaging register known as Lucid and specified the types of packaging they use. Companies that fail to do this will no longer be permitted to distribute the goods in question. Germany’s central packaging register office Stiftung Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (ZSVR, Osnabrück; www.verpackungsregister.org) has issued a further reminder to this effect.

This will in future be a requirement for online platforms in particular. “Many mail-order companies have so far ignored the fact that they have to pay for their packaging to be recycled. The pressure is now being stepped up with the new requirement to register”, stressed ZSVR chair Gunda Rachut. Electronic marketplaces will have to make sure that the online retailers selling goods on their platforms are complying with the requirements. If the retailers are in breach of legal provisions, marketplaces will no longer be able to let them sell their goods.

Adjustments are also being made in the to-go segment. Registration in the Lucid packaging register is also mandatory for those who sell products in pizza boxes, to-go coffee cups, bakery bags, the film used by butchers, and all other types of packaging that are filled with goods on site in shops or at markets.

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ZSVR chair Rachut reports that registration numbers in the Lucid packaging register are currently skyrocketing. More than 3,500 registrations from all over the globe are being recorded every day. A disproportionately high number is coming from online retailers in the Asia region, as well as in the US and the UK.