Taxes on packaging are also to be paid in Munich. © Robert Günther
In Munich, there is to be a tax on disposable packaging. That is what the Greens are demanding. In addition, companies are to be supported in the conversion.
Munich - After the ruling of the Federal Administrative Court in favor of the municipal packaging tax in Tübingen, the Greens also want a levy on plastic in Munich. In a motion, they ask the city treasury to examine the introduction of a municipal tax on disposable tableware and packaging in the catering industry and to propose a concrete course of action.
Greens want taxes on disposable packaging in Munich - up to 1.50 euros per dish
The Tübingen packaging tax charges disposable tableware with 50 cents and disposable cutlery with 20 cents, the total tax for a single meal is limited to a maximum of 1.50 euros.
"Single-use products waste energy and resources and are usually difficult to recycle," says city councillor Julia Post. (Greens) A packaging tax could be a good way to stem the flood of disposable crockery and cutlery that still accumulates every year in Munich - and is by no means always disposed of properly. "It provides an incentive for the use of reusable tableware and at the same time would be a welcome additional source of income for the city."
Single-use packaging also in Munich: Small businesses should receive help with the changeover
In another motion on the same topic, the Greens and SPD are calling for a temporary subsidy program to be set up for small businesses if they want to voluntarily offer reusable tableware – as has been mandatory since the beginning of the year for larger companies with five or more employees and a sales area of 80 square meters.
"It makes sense to support small businesses at this point, because we are also promoting the spread of reusable systems," says Green Party leader Mona Fuchs. "The more dispensing and return points there are, the more convenient it will be for consumers to use."
Single-use packaging also in Munich: "The small kiosk in particular sells hundreds of cups every day"
The reusable law applies, but not to small businesses, says SPD city councillor Julia Schmitt-Thiel. "But the small kiosk next door sells hundreds of coffees to go every day. That's hundreds of thousands of cups that end up in the trash all over Munich every day. We want to support small businesses when they voluntarily switch to reusable cups."