From 2024, producers of to-go food containers or tobacco filter (products) and other single-use plastic articles will be subject to extended producer responsibility. This means that they are obliged to contribute to the costs of public collection, cleaning and disposal in public places as well as waste counselling. The details of this cost sharing are regulated by the new Single-Use Plastics Fund Act, which stipulates that the companies concerned pay a levy into a single-use plastics fund for this purpose. The money is also paid out to cities, municipalities and other entitled parties via this fund.

This fund is managed and administered by the Federal Environment Agency [Umweltbundesamt (UBA)], which is currently setting up the digital platform DIVID to enable the digital processing of all registrations and payments by companies subject to the levy as well as the distribution of the funds, especially to cities and municipalities.

This platform will be available from 2024 for producers and beneficiaries for registrations and notifications. "From 2025, the UBA will set the levy amount to be paid by individual manufacturers and the amount to be paid out to cities, communities and other beneficiaries. Furthermore, the UBA is responsible for classifying single-use plastic products, determining the type of product and identifying whether someone is a manufacturer as defined by the Single-Use Plastics Fund Act," UBA said in its latest press release on the establishment of DIVID.