What is the bail system in Germany and how does it work? Interzero in Berlin
What is the bail system in Germany and how does it work? Interzero in Berlin
The deposit system in Germany, known as 'Pfand' or 'Pfandsystem', is a well-developed and widely used system that aims to encourage consumer recycling and reduce packaging waste. For single-use bottles, the deposit amount is 25 euro cents. The deposit price for reusable bottles is set by the manufacturer and ranges from 8 to 25 euro cents.
The entire deposit system covers up to 18 billion packages per year, of which 95% are handled by bottle machines and 5% by a bag system.
On 24 August, together with employees from the Eurocash Group, we travelled to Germany to look at the bail system in practice. Together, we visited shops with both bagged and automatic collection systems. We also visited the Interzero Conversion Centre, where waste is sorted into the appropriate fractions.
Thanks to the trip, we were able to see with our own eyes how retail chains deal with German legislation. We were able to exchange experiences with our partners and learn more about the procedures taking place in the units visited.
The bail system will soon come into effect in Poland. As Interzero, we strive to learn as much as possible about the needs of the industry. We refine our offering, analyse the successes of others and explore opportunities for development. We believe that together we will be able to meet the legal challenges and create a system as efficient as that of our western neighbours.
Benefit from our experience and create a bail system together with us. We will provide you with solutions to facilitate waste collection and logistics and take over reporting obligations. More information HERE and HERE.
Eco-design or eco-saving? How can packaging design help entrepreneurs? Made4Circle service
Eco-design or eco-saving? How can packaging design help entrepreneurs?
The European Union is moving towards stricter and stricter regulations for packaging put on the market. Its aim is to transform the linear economy into a circular economy, aiming to reducing the amount of waste produced.
To help companies adapt to upcoming regulatory changes that will favour recyclable packaging, Interzero has introduced an eco-design support programme called Made4Circle.
What is the M4C?
This modular solution for companies of all sizes interested in developing sustainable and recyclable packaging. Drawing on the expertise of packaging recycling experts, we offer support in creating packaging with minimal environmental impact that simultaneously meets legal requirements and meets the needs of the product's consumers. The Made4Circle service consists of 4 main stages that take into account all manufacturers' business needs: preliminary analysis, detailed analysis, solution design and impact assessment.
We encourage you to read the press release about our service HERE
Read more about Made4Circle on our subpage HERE
Publication of the law transposing the SUP Directive
Publication of the law transposing the SUP Directive
A week ago, On 9 May 2023, a law was published implementing the provisions of the SUP (Single Use Plastics) Directive, which means that the legislation will soon enter into force.
The regulations mainly focus on imposing restrictions and requirements on the marketing and use of single-use products made of plastics, and on the separate collection of waste from these products, and introduce obligations:
- The labelling of certain products with symbols used, for example, on cups containing plastics.
- Impose new types of charges, specific to plastic products, such as an end-user charge per unit of packaging, a charge for collection, cleaning and transport, and a charge for public education campaigns.
- For beverage cups and food containers, the provision of alternative reusable packaging or packaging made of materials other than plastic from 1 July 2024.
- The use of recycled plastics in bottles.
- Achieve minimum collection rates for beverage packaging waste in the form of single-use plastic bottles of up to 3 litres,
- Reporting of all activities through the BDO system.
The full text of the law is available HERE
Million-dollar fines for waste? Is it possible?
Million-dollar fines for waste? Is it possible?
Unfortunately, yes. It is a way of tightening sanctions for failing to keep records of waste or having it transported by people operating in the so-called grey market.
7 April in the podcast episode Adventures of Entrepreneurs on waste management in the company was attended by Przemyslaw Kuna, Managing Director at Interzero.
During the interview, the topics covered were:
- What is ROP (Extended Producer Responsibility),
- What is BDO (Waste Database),
- What is the level of awareness among Polish entrepreneurs,
- What are the consequences of not complying with the ROP,
- What official inspections look like and how to protect yourself from penalties,
- What is waste management and what does it do,
And what to expect in the future in terms of waste and environmental protection.
We encourage you to watch the entire interview on the Entrepreneurs' Adventures channel HERE
Action needs to be taken on bail
You have to startgo to worksć on deposits
What will be the impact of legislative delays on the deposit system? What about the excessive incineration of packaging and what will the future of chemical recycling look like? These topics were addressed in the latest debate "Packaging in the circular economy: from ideals to practice". for The Republic.
The following took part in the deliberations Renata Juszkiewicz, Anna Larsson, Robert Chciuk, Konrad Nowakowski, Jacek Wodzisławski, Andrzej Gantner, Łukasz Sosnowski and on behalf of Interzero Pawel Lesiak, Vice-President of the Management Board. The debate was chaired by Aleksandra Ptak-Iglewska.
The meeting discussed the future of the European packaging market, the effectiveness of recycling in Poland and the topic of reusable packaging.
When discussing the deposit scheme, participants pointed out that, given the PPWR criteria, the inclusion of dairy packaging is not quite a good idea.
"I agree with the call for dairy packaging not to be included in the system. However, this would be tantamount to not fulfilling the collection obligation under the Regulation. There is no good solution here. The EU regulations make it clear that milk product packaging must be included in the system. A compromise solution would be to postpone the entry into force of the deposit obligation for this range. This would allow the first experience of the system in other material ranges to be gathered and better prepared." - said Pawel Lesiak.
The obligation to introduce the system to smaller shops has also become a subject of dispute. Experts noted that small retail chains want to join the scheme, seeing it as a financial benefit and an opportunity to attract customers.
"As Interzero, we run such a system in small shops in Germany. In our western neighbour, these smaller operators, despite the statutory exemption, are keen to join in. This makes good business sense, because if a customer is not able to return bottles in a particular shop, he or she will simply start shopping elsewhere. In Poland, we should think in a similar way, regardless of the discussion about regulation. I am in talks with retail chains, including small shops, and I hear that they are very interested in the system and want to join it," said Paweł Lesiak.
Link to the whole debate HERE
How can business benefit from waste?
How can business benefit from waste?
Innovative environmental solutions, the unstable legal situation and the implementation of the circular economy concept were discussed by Anna Grom, CEO of Interzero in the latest podcast for Forbes Women Poland.
Environmental protection should not be an abstract value, but a necessary condition for our continued existence. It is worth constantly analysing what is happening in our country and in the world in terms of sustainable development. A trend that can be observed in terms of waste management is the fact that the younger generation is increasingly shifting from paying attention to the brand to recognising the environmental impact of a particular company. The big players are also aware of the cost of raw materials used in production and are moving towards sourcing raw materials in-house.
As an integrator of sustainable environmental solutions, Interzero analyses the needs of its customers and, together with them, seeks solutions that can deliver tangible financial and environmental results. We are already taking steps to close the raw material cycle - advising companies on how to optimise processes through sustainable packaging design, for example, and implementing circular economy concepts into existing and new business models.
We encourage you to listen to the entire podcast HERE
Time to make waste management more efficient
It is time to make waste management more efficient.
Waste and its proper management is currently one of the biggest challenges facing society. From the entrepreneur's point of view, the greatest need is the stability of the regulatory environment.
In a recent interview with the Now Environment portal, Monika Grom, Vice President of the Interzero Group in Poland, points out that business first and foremost needs to reduce the risks arising from the economic situation. The next step is to increase efficiency and invest in new technologies.
"We work with both waste generating companies and recycling facilities. We know the needs and capabilities of both parties. As a result, we often act as an integrator to help close the raw material cycle, which brings tangible environmental, financial and image benefits. In addition to this, we carry out holistic and spot analyses from various environmental scopes. We examine both the compliance of the entrepreneurs' activities in terms of current legislation and advise them on what they can do differently to free up financial resources."- Monika Grom comments.
"Today, thanks to inter-team cooperation, we are achieving synergies, which we will strengthen, among other things, by investing in digitalisation. We have our achievements in this field too. In addition to the aforementioned Interzero Waste Platform, we have developed the Interzero Academy e-learning platform, the remote contracting system or the virtual customer service office, My Interzero. It is high time for waste management to take full advantage of the potential offered by digitalisation and thereby increase its efficiency." - added Monika Grom
The entire interview can be read at the link HERE
Read about the implementation of extended producer responsibility
Read about the implementation of extended producer responsibility
In the latest issue of Energy and Recycling, Przemysław Kuna, Managing Director at Interzero, together with Konrad Nowakowski of PIOIRO, spoke about the SUP directive, which has a direct impact on ROP.
The transposition of the legislation on reducing the environmental impact of certain plastic products is undoubtedly quite a challenge for businesses. Restrictions on operations, mandatory labelling of packaging and additional fees are just a few examples of what the bill will mean.
The list of disposable products banned from the market continues to grow. It includes items such as cotton buds, straws, cutlery, plates, food and beverage containers made of expanded polystyrene. Fishing gear has also been added to the products covered by the extended producer responsibility.
The aim of the legal changes is to improve the country's environmental situation and, as a consequence, impose many new obligations on businesses, such as reporting, record-keeping, additional fees and achieving minimum collection levels.
We invite you to read the article in full.
Share of recyclate in the packaging introduced
Share of recyclate in the packaging introduced - article for the bi-monthly magazine Plastics in Industry
We encourage you to read the article on the share of recyclate in introduced packaging in the latest issue of the bi-monthly magazine Plastics in Industry, in which Paweł Sosnowski, Board Representative for Environmental Regulation, Interzero mentions the Single Use Plastics Directive and the draft regulation on packaging and packaging waste.
The share of recyclate will be calculated as an average of the beverage bottles, for which such a share will be required, placed on the market in a given year. The Directive therefore does not require a share of recyclate for every bottle introduced. Mandatory recyclate in beverage bottles is an important step in creating a circular economy. - recalls Pawel Sosnowski.
The new regulations will therefore be a major challenge for those introducing packaging products, but also for the recycling industry. They will improve the quality of recyclate where this quality is currently inadequate, but they will also force further investment in recycling facilities to ensure that the demand for recyclate is met at least at the level of the required packaging shares. A major challenge here will be to provide recyclate that meets the stringent requirements for use in contact-sensitive packaging. - concludes Pawel Sosnowski.
Entrepreneur: BDO entry fee only until the end of February
Entrepreneur: BDO entry fee only until the end of February
We would like to remind you that according to Article 57 of the Waste Act (Journal of Laws 2013 item 21 as amended), entrepreneurs registered in the BDO register are obliged to pay an annual fee for maintaining their entry in the BDO register for a given year by the end of February.
Only entrepreneurs are subject to the registration and annual fee:
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- the introducer of batteries or accumulators,
- introducers of electrical and electronic equipment and authorised representatives,
- manufacturer, importer and intra-Community buyer of packaging,
- vehicle introducer,
- introducing packaged products on the national territory,
- the importer of tyres on the national territory,
- introducing lubricating oils on the national territory.
The annual fee must be paid to the account of the marshal's office responsible for the company's registered office or place of residence. Account numbers can be found on the websites of the authorities.
The annual fee is respectively:
PLN 100 - for micro-entrepreneurs
300 zł - for other entrepreneurs
Please note that the annual fee is not paid in the year in which the registration fee is paid.
Failure to pay the annual fee may result in deletion from the register and the inability to continue operations.