International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

The revision of the Packaging Ordinance in 1998 introduced responsibility at the level
of individual organisations. Retailers and other members could choose whether they
would take back packaging waste themselves (or supported by waste management
companies), or join a comparable system to the DSD (a dual system), or the DSD
itself, as before. The principle change was that they now had to provide proof of
compliance with the quantitative demands of the Packaging Ordinance through the
measures they have taken (where they do not join a system).
The Green Dot is an internationally registered trade mark. In its early years, it was
used as a PR-Symbol to make the DSD-system popular for separate collection. It
simply shows that the producer or distributor of the packaging has paid licence fees
to DSD (or another Green Dot system). It is not a ‘recycling guarantee’ and does not
imply anything about the specific qualities of the packaging itself. The Green Dot
provides a check as to whether license fees for the packaging have been paid. Being
a registered trade mark, any use of the Green Dot constitutes a legal relation between
the user and the organisation holding the property rights of the trade mark. In any
case of misuse, a claim in court has a sound legal basis. Therefore the trade mark
character of the Green Dot is one precondition for managing the free rider problem.
14.2 Where Has the Policy Been Applied and Why?
In the late Eighties and early Nineties, the debate concerning the so-called “waste
emergency” raged all over Germany. At the time, authorities, the economy, the media
and the public feared that in the near future, it would be extremely difficult to find
sufficient disposal outlets in many regions (especially in regions with a high density of
population and in those with a intense concern for environmental issues). As a result,
the government was very much aware of the need to find solutions which could
address the emergency. Against this background, the Federal Government decided to
introduce the Packaging Ordinance, with the implementation of the DSD to foster
waste prevention and recycling.
14.3 Key Organisations Involved in Implementation and
Management
The Packaging Ordinance gives producers and retailers and obligation to take-back
their packaging material unless they join the DSD or a comparable system. If they
choose not to be part of such a system, they have to manage the recycling system
themselves. Otherwise, the organisations managing the take-back-system, such as
the DSD, take over the product responsibility and along with it the management of the
material.
Besides DSD, the dual systems operating in Germany are shown in Table 14-2
(according to their share in contract and licences of dual systems).
The DSD is the operating company responsible for the widespread separate collection
system in Germany. Companies who printed the Green dot on their products have to
pay a licence fee to DSD. However, collection, transport and sorting of packaging
waste are not accomplished by the DSD itself. The DSD commissions other waste
management enterprises through tendering processes.
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