EPR case studies: When am I considered a ‘producer’ in Germany?
A ‘producer’ is assigned responsibility by regulations based on the principle of EPR (extended producer responsibility). However, this does not just refer to producers in the traditional sense of manufacturers but is also defined so as to also include merchants in many cases. Merchants have responsibilities in the following cases:
If they fill packaging and place it on the market in Germany
If they source packaging, electrical appliances or batteries from a manufacturer and ship these to German consumers
If they import packaging, electrical appliances or batteries
If they sell packaging, electrical appliances or batteries to Germany but are not themselves domiciled in Germany
We have prepared the following specific examples to clarify this special meaning of ‘producer’ as used by the applicable legislation.
When am I considered a ‘producer’ of packaging?
If you place packaging on the market in Germany as an initial distributor, you are a ‘producer’ for the purposes of EPR.
Let’s look at things from the perspective of Lea, who wants to sell jewellery.
Case study 1: Lea’s company is based in France. Lea manufactures the jewellery herself before packing and shipping it directly to her German customers. She is responsible for the following:
All product packaging, including constituent parts (box, pouch, label)
All shipping packaging, including any filling materials she uses (cardboard, paper, parcel tape)
Lea fills the packaging herself, so she must also license this packaging: legally, she is defined as the packaging ‘producer’.
Case study 2: Lea’s company is again based in France. In this scenario, she orders the jewellery from a French wholesaler before shipping it directly to her German customers in a shipping box. She is responsible for the following:
All product packaging, including any constituent parts (box, pouch, label) that are shipped to Germany
All of the shipping packaging she fills, plus filling materials (cardboard, paper, parcel tape)
Lea must license any constituent parts of the packaging that she herself ships to Germany: legally, she is defined as the ‘producer’ of any packaging she imports into the country.
Case study 3: Lea’s company is again domiciled in France. This time, however, she uses a fulfilment service provider to store, pack and ship the jewellery that she sells. She is responsible for licensing the following types of packaging:
All product packaging, including any constituent parts (box, pouch, label) that are shipped to Germany
All shipping packaging plus filling materials (cardboard, paper, parcel tape)
Lea is responsible for filling and importing the packaging to Germany, so she is also required to license this packaging.
Important: As a fulfilment user, Lea must also provide her fulfilment service provider with proof of compliance with the German Packaging Act.
Case study 4: Lea’s company is now based in Germany. She imports her jewellery from France and then sells this on to German consumers. She is responsible for licensing the following types of packaging:
All packaging imported with the jewellery (box, pouch, label)
All shipping packaging that she includes when shipping her goods to consumers (cardboard, paper, parcel tape)
As an importer and therefore the first person who places the packaging on the market in Germany, Lea is responsible for licensing all of the constituent parts of the packaging.
When am I considered a ‘producer’ of electrical appliances?
If you place electrical appliances on the market in Germany as an initial distributor, you are a ‘producer’ for the purposes of EPR.
Let’s look at Lea’s business again, which this time is selling radios.
Case study 1: Lea’s business is based in Italy. She manufactures the radios herself before packaging and shipping them directly to Germany. She is responsible for the following:
All electrical appliances that she places on the market
Lea must register all of the electrical appliances herself – she is a producer in the conventional sense.
Case study 2: Lea’s company is again domiciled in Italy but she now orders the radios from an Italian manufacturer before shipping these to her end customers in Germany. She is responsible for registering the following:
All electrical appliances first placed on the German market by her company.
Lea ships the radios to Germany and is therefore the initial distributor of the products: she is therefore responsible for registering these goods.
Case study 3: Lea’s company is now based in Germany but she is still importing her radios from an Italian merchant. She is responsible for registering the following:
All electrical appliances first placed on the German market by her company.
As an importer, Lea is responsible for all electrical appliances that she imports into Germany.
When am I considered a ‘producer’ of batteries?
If you place batteries on the market in Germany as an initial distributor, you are a ‘producer’ for the purposes of EPR.
Lea is now selling batteries or products that contain batteries.
Case study 1: Lea’s company is based in China, where it makes batteries and then ships them directly to Germany. She is responsible for the following:
All batteries that she places on the German market
Lea must therefore register all batteries and is viewed as their ‘producer’.
Case study 2: Lea is now selling laptops (with laptop batteries) from China to Germany. She is responsible for the following:
All (laptop) batteries: She must register these herself. Exception: Lea has a proof of registration with the EAR from the laptop manufacturer. She now only needs to register the laptop (as an electrical appliance).
Lea is importing (laptop) batteries to Germany and placing them on the market, and is therefore a ‘producer’ according to EPR.
