Clearing and disposal

Since 1 May 2006, the third amendment to the German Packaging Ordinance has been in force – with an extended scope of deposits being levied on non-returnable beverage packages and the simultaneous launch of a nationwide standardised clearing system.

The retailing sector now has to take back non-returnable beverage packages made from the same types of material – PET, glass or cans – as they offer in their own assortment. Where the product concerned was purchased is no longer relevant. There are no more restrictions on take-back duties limiting them to special shapes and sizes of package, as was familiar under the term “stand-alone solutions”.

The sales outlets provide information, in the shape of stickers or posters, on which packages and which types of material are subject to a returnable deposit. Retailers with a sales area of less than 200 square metres continue to enjoy a restricted take-back duty.

For all beverages in PET packages, glass bottles or cans subject to a mandatory deposit, the consumer pays a standard deposit of 25 cents. Wine, milk and juices, for example, continue to be exempted from the non-returnables deposit, as do packages that under the German Packaging Ordinance are classified as ecologically advantageous, such as beverage cartons.

If you want to learn more about the statutory regulations, click here:

Stipulations 

These new regulations mean that fillers have to get together with retailers to handle the accounting for the deposits; this is called clearing.

The rules and the security concept for this deposit clearing scheme are laid down by Deutsche Pfandsystem GmbH (DPG), set up jointly by the Confederation of German Retailers (HDE) and the Confederation of the German Food Industry (BVE).

You want to know precisely how the new deposit system works? Just click here:

The DPG deposit system

Retailers and fillers can delegate take-back and deposit clearing to service provider companies like Duales System Deutschland GmbH, which has been registered with the DPG both as a claim management service provider and as a deposit account management service provider.

For retailing firms and fillers, DSD GmbH has built up an extensive disposal/clearing service capability. For both automatic and manual take-back of non-returnable beverage packages, we offer a competitively priced range of services based on modules designed for a flexible choice of combinations:

• logistical service from the points of sales or central warehouses.
• provision of containers for accepting the cancelled, non-cancelled, compacted or loose packs.
• data management for the quantities of packs taken back.
• legally compliant processing and recovery of the quantities taken back, sorted into material fractions by experienced and able disposal partners.
• mass flow verification for states, retailers and producers, traceably documented.
• retailer clearing: we handle deposits reimbursement to retailers – both for the firm’s own dealer’s brands and for outside brands, and for dealer’s brands from other retailers – within the framework of the claim management service and invoicing to the deposit account managers or deposit account management service providers.
• filler clearing: for branded articles, this service is for the bottlers/packers concerned, while for dealer’s brands it is for the retailer concerned - in each case within the framework of the deposit account management service provided.

And of course we match our service packages to the local conditions involved, particularly by integrating already-existing solutions.

Retailing companies like off-licences, supermarkets, cash-and-carry stores or discounters can contact us directly to arrange for disposal of non-returnable beverage packages subject to a deposit.

Every time we receive an inquiry, we conduct a thorough check on what precisely we can do for the customer concerned: our service is as individualised as the needs of our partners. Customers with nationwide sales can, of course, utilise our service on a nationwide basis. But if they operate only in regional markets, we also offer a regionally structured solution.

Experience gained from around 15 years of household-orientated waste disposal with proven quality and capability in the nationwide handling of large volume flows – that is what we provide with the DSD Deposit Solution. When it comes to meticulous control of large material and money flows, and the concomitant processing of enormous volumes of data, we have built up a specialised fund of expertise, which we regard as an advantage over our competitors. In the DPG’s field trials for a harmonised take-back system, we played a central role, and turned in an excellent performance with our IT system. Our solution indubitably ranks among the particularly reliable ones available on the market.

Rely on low system costs through lean structures, synergy effects and the use of our existing strengths. The actual price calculation will depend on the situational conditions of the particular order concerned: number of packs, logistical outlay, and so on. This is why we draw up an individualised quotation for each customer, geared to his specific needs for an optimised cost.

Duales System Deutschland GmbH
Sales Department
Frankfurter Strasse 720-726
D-51145 Cologne

Rika Altenburg (Telephone: +49(0) 22 03/9 37-118)

Martin Lausmann (Telephone: +49(0) 22 03/9 37-181)

Fax: +49(0) 22 03/9 37-940
infopfand@gruener-punkt.de