The Federal Environment Agency's (UBA) platform for the Single-Use Plastics Fund has been active with its first functions since 1 April 2024.

The platform is based on the Disposable Plastics Fund Act (EWKFondsG), which came into force at the beginning of the year. It obliges manufacturers of to-go food containers, tobacco filters (products) and certain other single-use plastic products to cover the costs of disposal in public spaces as part of extended producer responsibility. The digital platform Divid was set up to register the obligated producers, manage and process the fees to be paid, and domestic producers have been able to register via this platform since 1 April. According to the UBA, manufacturers who started their activities before 1 January 2024 have until 31 December 2024 to register. The EWKFondsG provides for an immediate registration obligation for manufacturers who have started their activities from 1 January 2024. According to the UBA, foreign manufacturers and their authorised representatives can already use Divid to create accounts. The statutory levy obligation for an estimated 56,000 manufacturers affected by the UBA will apply from 2024, regardless of whether and when registration takes place. From 2025, manufacturers who supply or sell certain single-use plastic products on the market for the first time will be obliged to pay into the single-use plastic fund, depending on the product type and mass. The funds they pay into the fund will then be distributed to cities, municipalities and other authorised parties. The UBA manages the fund, which the authority estimates at 430 million euros per year, digitally via the Divid platform and will determine the amount of the manufacturer contributions and the amount of the payouts to the authorised parties from 2025.
 
Further information: to the Plattform Divid
 
Sources:

• UBA press release (2.4.2024)
• Photo: unsplash.com (agenlaku, idonesia)