Germany to introduce new tax on plastic packaging

Germany's ruling coalition is preparing a new tax on plastic packaging. According to the draft, starting from July 2027, companies will have to pay 550 euros for each ton of plastic contained in packaging.

This is reported by Der Spiegel and Tagesschau, citing a draft law from the parliamentary factions of the CDU/CSU and SPD.

The tax is planned to be levied on plastic packaging, films, and composite packaging, if the share of plastic in them exceeds 5%. The obligation to pay will arise upon the production of such packaging in Germany, its import from other EU countries, or import from outside the European Union.

At the same time, packaging made from recycled plastic is proposed to be exempt from the tax upon company application. In this way, the authorities hope to simultaneously reduce the use of primary plastic and increase demand for secondary raw materials.

The new levy is also expected to become a noticeable source of revenue for the federal budget. In 2027, the government expects to receive about 805 million euros, despite the fact that the tax will come into effect only in the second half of the year.

Starting from 2028, revenues could amount to about 1.5 billion euros annually.

The initiative is linked to the current EU mechanism, under which member states transfer funds to the EU budget for non-recycled plastic packaging waste. Until now, Germany has covered the corresponding payments directly from the federal budget. The coalition intends to shift part of this burden onto producers and companies placing packaging on the market.

The draft has already met with resistance from business. German industry associations representing trade, the food industry, and plastic packaging manufacturers have warned the government about an increase in administrative burden and additional costs for companies.

They also fear that producers will simply switch to other types of single-use packaging, which do not always have a smaller environmental impact.

At the same time, Deutsche Umwelthilfe supported the idea of the new tax, but called for limiting it to single-use packaging and not extending it to reusable solutions. Environmentalists also propose providing similar incentives for other packaging materials, so that companies do not replace plastic with paper, cardboard, or metal solely to avoid the tax.

The final parameters may still change during the consideration of the draft law in the Bundestag.