Germany told to change bottle recycling laws

Archiv – The European Court of Justice has ruled that Germany must amend its bottle recycling rules since the current format discriminates against non-German bottles.The European Court of Justice has ruled that Germany must amend its bottle recycling rules since the current format discriminates against non-German bottles.
According to the ruling, the policy introduced some seven years ago unfairly protects German products from EU competition. The court said the recycling rules ’hinder the free movement of goods’, adding that producers and distributors of drinks outside of Germany were at a disadvantage because they were unable to meet the recycling rules in time, and so could not sell their products in the German market.
The current rules have angered non-German mineral water companies which, according to the EU, were unable to compete because of Germany’€™s deposit and return obligations. The court said the system ‘€˜causes every producer and distributor to incur, apart from making and labelling costs, additional costs connected with organisation of the taking back of packaging’€™. The court called on Germany to introduce a system that allows drinks manufacturers – including beer and soft drinks producers – to conduct business fairly across Europe.
When replacing a global collection system with a deposit and return system, an EU member state must ensure a sufficient number of return points such that consumers who have been charged a deposit when buying goods in non-reusable packaging can recover the deposit even if they do not return to the initial place of purchase.