As expected, the German upper house, the Bundesrat, has passed the incorporation of the new EU Waste Framework Directive into German law after the lower house adopted the legislation on 17 September 2020 (see Plasteurope.com of 24.09.2020). This amends the country’s Circular Economy Act by codifying the EU guidelines into national law and prohibits disposable plastic goods from 3 June 2021 onwards. Banned products include plastic tableware and cutlery, drinking straws, stirrers and balloon holders as well as cotton swabs made of plastic and cups and containers made of expanded polystyrene.

The law is the first to provide a legal basis for regulations requiring manufacturers and retailers of single-use plastic products such as takeaway cups or cigarette butts to share cleaning costs for parks and streets. The amendment also prioritises recycled products in public procurement. Simultaneously, it for the first time introduces a legal instrument against the destruction of new products or returned goods. In addition to paper, metal, plastics, glass and organic waste, national guidelines will also eventually require the separate collection of bulky and hazardous waste and, as of 2025, textiles from private households.

The decision thus brings the EU Waste Framework Directive and, in part, the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive as well as amendments to the Packaging Directive and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive into German law.