ZSVR: Consultation on minimum standard for 2025 launched

The Central Agency Packaging Register (ZSVR) has presented the current draft of the minimum standard for measuring recycling-friendly packaging.
According to the ZSVR, the final version, which will be agreed with the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), is to be published on 29 August 2025. The ZSVR has announced that interested parties have until 18 July to comment on the consultation draft. The 2025 edition of the minimum standard will then apply to packaging subject to system participation that is placed on the market from 1 January 2026. The ZSVR points out that, according to Section 21 of the Packaging Act (VerpackG), system operators as addressees of the minimum standard are obliged to create incentives for recycling-friendly packaging design when calculating participation fees, taking into account sorting and recycling practices. According to the ZSVR, the methodology for assessing the recyclability of packaging remains unchanged. The proportion of packaging that can be recycled using material recovery processes is measured in concrete terms on the basis of sorting and recycling practices. However, according to the ZSVR, the 2025 minimum standard has been restructured and the future regulatory system of the European Packaging Regulation (PPWR) has been taken into account in order to prepare companies for the new PPWR requirements at an early stage. The standard therefore covers all packaging categories from the PPWR and sets out the respective measurement requirements in an appendix so that users can find all the relevant information for their packaging format in one place. The ZSVR points out that this improves readability but also significantly increases the scope of the minimum standard. The ZSVR has compiled details on the new structure and application of the 2025 minimum standard in an accompanying document available for download (available in German). As usual, according to the ZSVR, the minimum standard was developed in collaboration with experts from across the entire value chain. This year, the group of experts involved in the expert panel on recycling-friendly design was expanded to include medium-sized companies, additional experts for individual material types, every system operators and the GS1 Recycled Content Platform.
Sources:
- ZSVR press release (19.6.2025)
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