Checked: 7 October 2026 — the date every statement on this page was checked against the sources below.
Weigh one empty parcel of each type you ship, split it by material, and multiply by the number of parcels you expect to send to Germany in the year. Your packaging supplier can also give you the weights. Volumes are reported in kilograms per material, to three decimal places. A forecast is expected at the start; it is corrected with the real figures after the year ends. Sources (2)
ZSVRZSVR — Mail order companies and online retailersZSVR helpZSVR help — Data reporting in LUCID
What counts
Everything used to ship the goods, apart from the product itself. The German packaging register lists shipping boxes and bags, and the other materials used for shipping: labels, adhesive tape and filler material such as plastic films, flakes or wrapping tissue. It also states that packaging intended for shipment is always subject to licensing, without exception. More detail: do I have to license the shipping box, filling and tape too?
Split it by material
Volumes are reported in kilograms per material, to three decimal places. The register's reporting form has eight material groups: glass; paper, paperboard and cardboard; ferrous metals; aluminium; beverage carton packaging; other composite packaging; plastics; other materials. A small online shop usually has only two of them: paper and cardboard for the box and label, plastics for tape and filling.
Two ways to get the weights
- Ask the supplier. The company that sold you the boxes, mailers or tape can state the weight per piece, and often prints it on the product page, invoice or delivery note.
- Weigh it yourself. Weigh the empty packaging and multiply by the number of parcels you expect to ship in the year, using your own sales forecast.
A ten-minute method
- List the parcel types you actually use, for example "small box", "large box" and "mailer bag".
- Pack one of each without the product, exactly as you would ship it, and take it apart again.
- Weigh the paper parts together and the plastic parts together on kitchen scales. Note the grams per parcel for each material.
- Multiply by the number of parcels of that type you expect to send to Germany this year.
- Add up per material and convert to kilograms.
Example of the arithmetic: a parcel with 180 g of cardboard and 6 g of plastic tape, sent 500 times, is 90 kg of paper and cardboard and 3 kg of plastics.
When your figures change
A forecast that turns out too low or too high is normal and is corrected with the year-end figures. See what to do when your actual volumes differ from what you licensed. Once you have your kilograms, the calculator shows what a dual system would charge for them.
Clients of EPR Germany Rep enter these figures once in the portal; we file the reports.
Sources
Every claim above comes from one of these. Primary law and the competent authority first; no provider marketing pages.
- ZSVR — Mail order companies and online retailers — read 2026-10-07
- ZSVR — Guideline: when to submit which reports to LUCID (August 2026) — read 2026-10-07
- ZSVR help — Data reporting in LUCID — read 2026-10-07
Razvan Toma is the founder of EPR Germany Rep and of EPR France Rep, the French sister service. He reads the statutes and the regulator's own guidance directly, and publishes what they say — including when it means telling a visitor they do not need to buy anything.
Razvan on LinkedIn ↗