By Razvan Toma · Founder · Last checked 7 November 2026 · Sources linked below
Look at where that type of packaging typically ends up, across the whole market, not just your customers. § 3(6) VerpackDG: sales, outer, primary production and transport packaging that typically ends up mostly as waste in private households or comparable places is subject to system participation, and so is service packaging. Shipping packaging sent to consumers always is. Packaging that typically ends up with businesses falls under take-back duties instead (§ 39). See B2B packaging. Sources (2)
VerpackDG § 3VerpackDG § 3
ZSVR helpZSVR help — Roles and responsibilities
Was zählt als systembeteiligungspflichtige Verpackung?
Packaging subject to system participation (systembeteiligungspflichtige Verpackung) is defined in § 3(6) VerpackDG: sales packaging, outer packaging, primary production packaging and transport packaging that, after use, typically ends up mostly as waste in private households or comparable places, plus all service packaging. The test looks at the whole market for packaging of the same type, not at your own customers.
| Example | Where that type typically ends up | Subject to system participation? |
|---|---|---|
| Shampoo bottle sold online or in shops | Households | Yes |
| Shipping box of an online order to a consumer | Households | Yes, always |
| Coffee cup filled at a counter | Service packaging | Yes, always |
| Packaging of food delivered to restaurants and hotels | Comparable places (§ 3(7)) | Yes |
| 25-kilo sack of industrial adhesive | Businesses | No: § 39 take-back |
| Pallet film around a delivery to a wholesaler | Businesses | No: § 39 take-back |
What counts as packaging under German EPR: shipping boxes, bottles, jars?
Germany uses the EU definition. Article 3(1), point 1, PPWR: packaging is any item, whatever its material, intended to contain, protect, handle, deliver or present products, passed to another business or to an end user. That covers the bottle, the jar, its lid, the product box, the shipping box and its filling. Annex I of the regulation gives examples:
| Packaging | Not packaging |
|---|---|
| Sweet boxes, matchboxes, toothpaste-tube boxes | Tool boxes |
| Clothes hangers sold with a garment | Clothes hangers sold separately |
| Labels attached to a product, staples, plastic sleeves | RFID tags |
| Flower pots used only to sell and transport the plant | Flower pots meant to stay with the plant |
| Carrier bags, cling film, sandwich bags filled at the point of sale | Wrapping paper sold on its own, disposable cutlery |
| Tea and coffee foil pouches, refillable gas cylinders | Printer cartridges, soluble detergent bags |
The rule behind the list: an item that stays with the product for its whole life, like a tool box or a case, is part of the product. One used up or thrown away with the product is packaging.
Three questions to sort any item
- Is it packaging? Check Article 3(1), point 1, and Annex I PPWR.
- Is it shipping or service packaging? Then it is licensed with a dual system, without exception.
- Otherwise: where does that type typically end up? Mostly households or comparable places: licensed with a dual system. Mostly businesses: take-back and documentation under § 39, see B2B packaging.
Either way you register in LUCID: § 6(2) no. 6 VerpackDG asks for your packaging split into packaging subject to system participation and each § 39 type.
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPW VerpackDG § 3 VerpackDG § 6 VerpackDG § 39
More on LUCID and licensing
- Can a service get me a LUCID number and a packaging licence for Germany?
- Can a marketplace or a service provider register me in LUCID?
- Do I have to license the shipping box, filling and tape too?
- When do I have to report my packaging volumes in Germany?
- I already pay a dual system. Can I keep my operator, and do I pay twice?
- Why is LUCID asking me to appoint an authorised representative?