Plastics producers fear adverse ecological impacts of Germany’s potential €450M levy

07 Nov 2022 --- The German federal government has passed a bill stipulating that single-use plastic producers must contribute to the costs of waste disposal in parks and streets as of 2025. According to the law, manufacturers pay an annual fee to a central fund administered by the federal environment agency. The fund’s income is estimated at up to €450 million (US$448 million) per year.

International associations such as Plastics Europe worry that the tax might not be sufficiently inclusive. “Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is an integral part of a circular economy. However, an economic incentive has to be pinpointed,” Dr. Alexander Kronimus, director circular economy and climate protection, Plastics Europe Deutschland tells PackagingInsights.

“As the plastic bill is restricted to plastic-containing products, there is a risk of substitution with materials revealing adverse ecological impact. The underlying systematics should have been made on a material neutral base.”

The levy amount will be based on the type and quantity of the products that were previously placed on the market, explains the agency. Municipalities can receive the fund’s money to cover their costs for waste management and awareness-raising measures.

Products made of single-use plastic that are affected include, for example, tobacco products with filters containing plastic, beverage containers and cups and to-go food containers.

“We are awaiting the completion of a comprehensive study by the German environment agency in early 2023. This study will be an important source to define the exact criteria and the level of the levy in a regulation that will follow the new law,” a spokesperson for the German federal ministry for the environment tells us.

Kronimus criticizes that incentives should be material neutral as not only plastic causes pollution in parks and forests.Embedding incentives
The ministry is committed to driving this rethinking together with Germany’s international partners. “Since March of this year, we have been actively negotiating the first global agreement against unnecessary, harmful plastic and plastic waste,” says the German environment minister, Steffi Lemke.

She worries that cigarette butts, bottles, to-go cups and disposable food containers all too often end up in the wrong places such as in parks and forests and are an expression of the pollution crisis.

“The general public should change that: Those who base their business on bringing single-use plastic products to the market should contribute to the collection and cleaning costs of the municipalities,” adds Lemke.

“This waste of raw materials is a major factor in fueling the global pollution crisis. With the new act, we are counteracting the waste of resources and environmental pollution and at the same time relieving the burden on cities and communities.”

Kronimus says that the bill is one of several levies already established or to be introduced. “To create the right incentives, these instruments have to be embedded into and coordinated in the upcoming German national circular economy strategy. Contradictory effects of the instruments are to be omitted.”

Material neutrality?
Lemke asserts that the new standard should not be disposable plastic but reusable plastic. “I am also actively promoting this rethinking with Germany’s international partners. Since March of this year, we have been actively negotiating the first global treaty against unnecessary, harmful plastic and plastic waste.”

Manufacturers have to pay the fee for products made of single-use plastic that are placed on the market for the first time in spring 2025, based on the product volume placed on the market in the 2024 calendar year. The concrete amount of the levy rates for the manufacturers, as well as the payment system to the municipalities and other beneficiaries, will be determined by an ordinance.

The database required for this is currently being determined by a research project commissioned by the Federal Environment Agency. The final report on the research project will be presented before the parliamentary deliberations.

In autumn 2025, municipalities will receive money from the disposable plastic fund for waste management services provided in 2024. In autumn 2025, the municipalities will then receive money from the disposable plastic fund for the waste management services provided in 2024.

“Incentives are crucial for a circular economy. To prevent adverse material substitution, such frameworks should be material neutral,” criticizes Kronimus.

Building on UN resolution
The disposable plastic fund law must be passed by the Bundestag and then passed by the Bundesrat. The associated ordinance – which will determine the tax rates, among other things – is currently being drafted.

Negotiations are underway for a legally binding UN agreement to end plastic pollution of the environment and seas. An intergovernmental negotiating committee will develop the draft for the global plastic agreement by 2024.

The preliminary negotiations at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Program in Nairobi, Kenya, started in March 2022 with the draft resolution “End Plastic Pollution – Toward a Legally Binding Agreement” set important cornerstones for the scope and level of ambition of the new agreement, highlights the German ministry.

“Plastic pollution is not acceptable. EPR is one instrument to tackle pollution. However, it has to be complemented by additional measures such as reuse, reduction and circularity. When waste becomes a resource the likelihood of pollution decreases. Therefore circularity and raising the awareness of consumers and other roles within a circular economy for the value of secondary resources is crucial,” concludes Kronimus.

By Natalie Schwertheim

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