Stipulations

A compulsory deposit on one-way drinks packaging has been in force in Germany since 1st January 2003.

With the coming into effect of the Third Ordinance Amending the Packaging Ordinance on 28th May 2005 all fillers and distributors that put into circulation drinks in ecologically unfriendly one-way drinks packaging with a filling volume of between 0.1 and 3 litres are obligated to charge their customers a deposit of 25 cent.

Since 1 May 2005, deposits have been mandatory for non-returnable beverage packages for the following beverage categories:

Beer

Mixed beer drinks (e.g. beer with cola or lemonade)
Flavoured beer
Non-alcoholic beer

Water drinks

Mineral waters, spring waters, table waters and remedial waters, either carbonated or non-carbonated

Carbonated soft drinks

Cola and lemonade drinks
Mixtures of fruit juice and carbonated mineral water
Carbonated sports drinks and energy drinks
Carbonated tea or coffee drinks

In addition, the following are subject to a mandatory deposit as from 1 May 2006:

Non-carbonated soft drinks
Alcoholic mixed drinks (so-called alcopops)

No compulsory deposit exists for:

fruit juices and fruit nectar drinks,
vegetable juices and vegetable nectar drinks,
drinks with a minimum proportion of 50 per cent of milk or milk-derived products,
dietetic drinks within the meaning of Article 1 (1) of the Ordinance on Dietetic Foodstuffs (Diätverordnung),
wine and spirits.

One-way drinks packaging units that are recognized in accordance with Article 8 (2) of the Packaging Ordinance (VerpV) as being ecologically advantageous and are therefore not subject to a compulsory deposit:

Drink cartons (block and rigid packaging)
Polyethylene tubular packaging bags
Stand-up foil bags

The Packaging Ordinance is available for download in the form of a PDF file on the website of the BMU: