The Packaging Law Implementation Act (VerpackDG) is the national regulation implementing the European Packaging Regulation (PPWR) in Germany. The VerpackDG specifies the requirements of the PPWR and further develops existing packaging law.

For companies, this primarily means greater obligations in fulfilling their responsibilities. Issues such as packaging take-back, recycling, producer responsibility, authorization, and record-keeping are being formalized to a greater extent. This is particularly relevant for companies that place packaging on the market in the commercial or industrial sectors.

The foundation for complying with legal obligations is a careful analysis of one’s own situation. Companies should therefore first clarify the following:

• What role do we play in the supply chain?
• What types of packaging do we place on the market in Germany?
• What legal obligations arise from this?
• Do we organize the take-back ourselves or through a specialized organization?
• What documentation and processes must be established internally?

Those who answer these questions early on and structure their processes accordingly lay the foundation for legally compliant packaging management and reduce risks in day-to-day operations.

Anyone who fails to comply with legal obligations must expect significant consequences. Failure to register, participate, or obtain approval, or submission of incomplete documentation, may result in packaging or packaged products being deemed unmarketable.

Possible consequences include, among others:

• Sales bans
• Fines
• Prohibition on making the product available on the market
• Withdrawal or recall measures
• Additional regulatory and economic risks

It is therefore crucial for companies to implement their legal obligations reliably—not only formally but also operationally.

Importers, retailers, and companies not based in Germany may also be affected by the Packaging Act (VerpackungsDG). Anyone who imports packaged goods into Germany or makes them available here must carefully assess their own role under packaging law.

Key points include:

• Importers must ensure that the packaging complies with the law and that the required documentation is available
• Retailers may not make products available if there are obvious compliance issues
• As things stand, companies without a branch in Germany generally need an authorized representative
• A German VAT ID alone does not replace an actual place of business in Germany

An early compliance review is particularly important, especially in international supply chains.

Companies must document their packaging compliance obligations in a transparent manner. The specific documents required depend on the type of packaging, the company’s role, and its distribution model.

Typical supporting documents include, among others:

• Proof of registration
• Quantity and packaging data
• Evidence of take-back and recycling
• Documentation regarding the organization of compliance efforts
• Proof of financing
• Technical documentation and conformity documents, if applicable

It is important that these documents be complete, reliable, and readily available when needed.

In Germany, a dual system is responsible for packaging subject to mandatory participation in the system—that is, generally packaging generated by private end consumers.

An organization for producer responsibility, on the other hand, handles tasks related to other types of packaging, particularly packaging not subject to the dual system. This includes, for example, take-back, recycling, organization, and record-keeping for packaging from the industrial and commercial sectors.

This distinction is important because it results in different obligations and implementation approaches for companies.

Companies can also delegate their obligations regarding take-back, recycling, and organization to a specialized producer responsibility organization.

This can be particularly useful for industrial and commercial packaging as well as transport packaging, as it allows companies to comply with legal requirements efficiently and in a legally compliant manner. For companies, this means a significant reduction in the burden of organization, documentation, and record-keeping.

RIGK has been supporting companies for many years with take-back and recycling solutions for the industrial and commercial sectors and is preparing to provide practical guidance to customers even under the new Packaging Act (VerpackDG).

In principle, companies may continue to take back their own packaging. In the future, however, this will be subject to stricter requirements. Any company wishing to independently organize its own take-back, recycling, and documentation obligations must be able to demonstrate that its plan is legally sound, robust, and sustainable in the long term.

This includes, in particular:

• a legally compliant take-back system
• sufficient financial safeguards
• reliable evidence and documentation
• the required authorization as well as a financing agreement with the ZSVR
• a long-term, sustainable structure for nationwide implementation

Self-take-back is therefore no longer a simple, off-the-shelf solution, but rather requires careful preparation and robust processes.

For companies, August 12, 2026, is a particularly important deadline. By that date, roles, types of packaging, responsibilities, and internal processes should have been clearly reviewed and documented.

Anyone placing packaging on the market in Germany should ensure well in advance that all relevant requirements regarding compliance, organization, documentation, and take-back are met on time. Delayed preparation can lead to operational and legal risks.

The packaging supplier generally provides technical information, specifications, and documentation. However, legal responsibility does not depend solely on the manufacture of the packaging, but rather on the respective role in placing the product on the market.

Anyone who places packaged products on the market in Germany or the EU is responsible, depending on the circumstances, for ensuring that the packaging complies with legal requirements. Companies should therefore not rely solely on suppliers but should actively assess their own role and responsibilities.

Companies that place packaging on the market in Germany must comply with various legal obligations depending on the type of packaging and their role in the supply chain. These include, in particular:

• the take-back and recycling obligation
• registration in the ZSVR’s LUCID registry
• Information obligations toward customers
• Record-keeping and documentation obligations
• Financing obligations
• If applicable, a license if take-back is organized internally

Transparent and reliable documentation will become even more important in the future, particularly for B2B packaging and packaging not subject to mandatory participation in a recycling system.

The company that manufactured the packaging is not automatically responsible for taking it back. Rather, the decisive factor is who first places the packaging—or the packaged product—on the market in Germany.

Depending on the circumstances, responsibility may therefore lie with different parties:

• when importing from a third country, it is generally the importing company
• for private-label products, it is often the retailer
• in the case of contract manufacturing, often with the company placing the order
• in cross-border distribution, it varies depending on the market and distribution structure

Many companies assume multiple roles simultaneously. As a result, several obligations may exist in parallel. This makes it all the more important to determine one’s own role in a legally sound manner.

The Packaging Act (VerpackDG) primarily applies to packaging for which companies in Germany must fulfill take-back, recycling, and/or reporting obligations. These include, in particular:

• packaging subject to mandatory participation in a recycling system
• packaging not subject to mandatory participation in a recycling system
• Retail packaging
• Service packaging
• Outer packaging 
• Transport packaging
• Primary production packaging
• Packaging for e-commerce
• Disposable packaging 
• Reusable packaging

The Packaging Act (VerpackDG) is becoming significantly more relevant, particularly for companies whose packaging is not subject to mandatory participation in a recycling system.

The Packaging Implementation Act generally applies to all companies that place packaging or packaged products on the market in Germany. Depending on their business model, this includes, among others, manufacturers, importers, brand owners, retailers, distributors, and fulfillment service providers.

What matters is not just who produced the packaging. Rather, the decisive factor is who acts as the entity placing the product on the market. For this reason, companies that do not consider themselves traditional manufacturers may also be affected.

The existing obligations under the previous German Packaging Act remain in principle, but are being formalized much more strictly under the Packaging Act (VerpackDG). In the future, companies must expect expanded requirements regarding documentation, licensing, financing, and monitoring.

The key changes include, in particular:

• stricter formal requirements for fulfilling manufacturers’ responsibilities
• additional or more specific licensing requirements
• expanded verification and documentation requirements
• a greater role for the ZSVR as the monitoring and licensing authority
• additional requirements for companies not headquartered in Germany

For companies, this means: Those who prepare early on will ensure strategic legal certainty.

RIGK, for example, is a PRO that collectively assumes the obligations of extended producer responsibility (EPR), such as the take-back of empty packaging and its recycling.

Section 3(10) of the Packaging Act (VerpackDG
): An “other organization for producer responsibility” is an organization for producer responsibility established under private law as a legal entity or a partnership with legal capacity within the meaning of Article 3(1)(66) of Regulation (EU) 2025/40, which, upon authorization pursuant to § 22, collectively fulfills the extended producer responsibility obligations of the participating manufacturers for packaging not subject to mandatory system participation.