Status: 16.01.2024, 13:29 PM
By: Lars-Eric Nievelstein
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The new plastic tax had caused criticism, especially from plastic manufacturers and their customers. Now the German government has given the all-clear. This levy is not expected until 2025.
Berlin – The new plastic tax is not planned until 2025. As the German government stated in a press release at the beginning of January, the additional time was necessary to find an "efficient solution with as little bureaucracy as possible". It should be ready punctually from 1 January 2025. For the government, billions are at stake.
German government pays 1.4 billion euros in plastic tax
The plastic levy is not a novelty – at least not for the federal government. Currently, the federal government pays 2021.1 billion euros to the European Union (EU) every year as part of the levy introduced in 4. In the future, at least that is the core idea of the plastic levy, the polluters should make these payments. Specifically, this refers to the companies that place the plastic on the market in the first place. So basically, the federal government saves money by passing on the costs of plastic to the companies.
The traffic light government gives the all-clear: The plastic tax is not expected to come until 2025. Currently, the government itself still pays a levy to the EU – in the future, the costs are to fall on the companies. © IMAGO / Pond5 Images
One problem with this is that the companies concerned will in all likelihood pass these costs on to consumers by post. This would result in an increase in the price of plastic products.
How the plastic tax works
Currently, the plastic levy is calculated as follows: 80 cents are charged per kilogram of packaging waste that is not suitable for recycling. It is up to the EU member states to decide exactly how they pay the levy. Either they can take the necessary funds from the regular budget or pass them on to the polluters from the outset.
For the time being, Germany had opted for the former. In 2021 and 2022, costs of 1.4 billion euros were incurred. This corresponds to about 1.7 million tons of plastic waste – unrecyclable.
What is the cost of the plastic tax for consumers?
How the plastic tax could affect the lives of citizens remains to be seen in practice. Much depends on the extent to which companies pass on the tax imposed on them to customers. "Plastic manufacturers are reducing their profits and thus offsetting the new levy. Taxes or levies are not necessarily passed on 1:1," the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action suggested on X in December.
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In the event that companies insist on a 1:1 transfer, their own plastic consumption comes into play. On average, Germans produce 38 kilograms of plastic waste per capita every year. Depending on how much of it is not recyclable, the average German could incur additional costs of 30.4 euros per year.
Plastics associations consider plastic tax to be money-making
In response to the Federal Government's announcement, the associations of the plastics industry were relieved. "The postponement of the plastic tax to 2025 gives the federal government time to improve the steering effect of the tax," explains Ingemar Bühler of Plastics Europe Germany to the Association of Plastics Producers. A unilateral tax on plastic packaging would not have the desired steering effect. Packaging manufacturers could avoid the levy by switching to other materials – there would be no benefit for the environment.
According to Bühler, the tax is more about collecting money and less about protecting the environment. If the federal government were interested in a steering effect, the tax would have to be material-neutral. Incentives would have to be created to use more non-fossil raw materials. "For example, from biomass and CO₂." An adjustment of the German deposit system or the eco-modelled licence fees would be a more efficient solution than a plastic levy.