Checked: 6 November 2026 — the date every statement on this page was checked against the sources below.
Producers of certain single-use plastic products must register with the Umweltbundesamt before they start, report their quantities each year by 15 May and pay a yearly levy. The products are listed in Annex 1 of the EWKFondsG, for example takeaway food containers, beverage containers up to 3 litres and their caps, cups, light carrier bags and wet wipes. This is separate from packaging EPR and not part of our service. Sources (2)
EWKFondsG § 7EWKFondsG § 7EWKFondsG § 9EWKFondsG § 9
The duties
| Duty | Law |
|---|---|
| Register with the Umweltbundesamt before you start | EWKFondsG § 7 |
| Report the previous year's quantities by 15 May, checked by a registered expert or auditor | EWKFondsG § 11 |
| Pay the levy set by the Umweltbundesamt's annual notice | EWKFondsG § 13 |
| Producers established outside Germany: appoint one representative, in writing and in German | EWKFondsG § 10 |
EWKFondsG § 7 EWKFondsG § 11 EWKFondsG § 13 EWKFondsG § 10 EWKFondsG, Annex 1
What the representative cannot do
Under § 10 the representative takes over the producer's duties except two: the registration and the yearly report stay with the producer.
Selling without registration
An unregistered producer may not sell the listed products, marketplaces may not let them be offered, and fulfilment providers may not handle them.
Where we fit
We do not act as representative under the EWKFondsG. The same products usually also count as packaging, and for that part we act as your packaging representative as usual.
Razvan Toma is the founder of EPR Germany Rep and of EPR France Rep, the French sister service. He has worked in waste management and recycling since 2009, running waste-separation programmes inside large B2B organisations in France for clients including Chanel, Microsoft, Decathlon, Pirelli, IKEA, Vinci, Capgemini and E.Leclerc. 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 ↗