In 2022, packaging consumption fell for the materials wood, plastic, glass, ferrous metals and paper. It increased for aluminium in particular. The overall decline in packaging consumption is due to economic factors and mediocre harvests, which led to fewer cans being filled, as well as a normalisation of pallet purchases – following the sharp increase in 2021 – and a decrease in the individual weights of packaging.
Slight increase in the recycling rate
In 2022, more than two thirds of all packaging (68.5 per cent) was recycled. This is a slight increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to the previous year. Recycling rates rose for paper, plastic, aluminium and tinplate in particular. However, there were decreases for packaging waste made of wood and glass.
“The latest report shows that we are on the right track when it comes to recycling packaging waste. By 2022, Germany had already met all of the Packaging Directive's targets for 2025,” says Dirk Messner, President of the German Environment Agency. “However, we still need to make further efforts between now and 2030. The recycling rate for plastic packaging in particular must be further increased.” According to the EU directive, an increase of 3.9 percentage points is required in this area.
Lightweight plastic carrier bags continue to be dispensed
Since 1 January 2022, the sale of lightweight plastic carrier bags with a wall thickness of less than 50 micrometres has been banned, with some exceptions. Even though there was another overall decrease to 2.9 billion lightweight plastic carrier bags, according to the 2022 report, 389 million carrier bags with a wall thickness of between 15 and less than 50 micrometres were distributed for which there are no exceptions. These bags were primarily sold in the areas of catering, specialist and artisanal food retail, impulse retail and other food and micro-retail.
The Society for Packaging Market Research (GVM) cites the following as possible reasons for this:
- Disposal of leftover stock, also as a result of the coronavirus pandemic
- Incorrect interpretation of the plastic carrier bag ban (overly broad interpretation of the provisions under which the sale of very light plastic carrier bags is still permitted)
- Use of supposed “organic plastic carrier bags” under the false assumption that placing these carrier bags on the market is not prohibited
- Ignorance of the ban on plastic carrier bags
- Deliberate violation of the ban on plastic carrier bags
In the future, the German Environment Agency expects the number of plastic carrier bags placed on the market to continue to fall as remaining stocks are used up. Enforcement of the ban is the responsibility of the authorities responsible for implementation in the federal states.
Further information
The following packaging is included in total consumption: Sales packaging, re-packaging, transport packaging, reusable packaging, packaging of hazardous goods and disposable components of reusable packaging. The recycling rates stated for the total volume relate to all packaging waste generated in Germany that was materially recycled within Germany or in another country. This must be distinguished from the quotas specified in the Packaging Act, which must be achieved as a minimum by the dual systems for packaging subject to mandatory participation. Information on the fulfilment of these quotas will be published separately at a later date.
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