Operators of gastronomies are affected by the Packaging Act if they fill packaging with goods and market them commercially in Germany for the first time. This applies to various scenarios in the catering industry:
- You pack goods you have produced yourself for sale on site
- You pack your goods on site to make it easier for your customers to take them home
- You deliver packaged goods to customers
- You order goods from wholesalers or producers and resell them in your shop
How to fulfil your obligations under the Packaging Act
In order to act in compliance with the VerpackG, you must observe the following steps for packaging subject to system participation:
- Licensing/system participation: To do this, you must license your planned packaging quantities for the coming year - meaning before you put the packaging into circulation - with a dual system. With Lizenzero, you can do this conveniently and in a time-saving manner using the calculator or the calculation assistant.
- Registering with the Central Agency Packaging Register: To do this, register in the LUCID register by entering your company data. After successful registration, you will receive your registration number, which you also enter in your dual system.
- Data reporting: Now enter your packaging quantities reported to the dual system and the name of your dual system (if you license via Lizenzero, enter "Interzero Recycling Alliance GmbH" here) in your customer account at LUCID.
Important: The packaging quantities at LUCID and your dual system must always be identical.
Service packaging continues to be an exception to sales packaging and can be purchased pre-licensed. This eliminates the obligation to license, but the obligation to register with the ZSVR remains.
Important: If, for example, you operate an online shop and send your products to your end consumers, the original service packaging can quickly become product or shipping packaging. You must license this packaging yourself with a dual system; purchasing pre-licensed packaging is no longer permitted.
Another change for gastronomies concerns the use of disposable plastic food packaging and beverage cups. From 1 January 2023, you must offer your customers a reusable alternative. The reusable alternative may not be more expensive for the customer than the disposable alternative. Only small businesses with up to five employees and less than 80m² sales area are exempt from this regulation.