Packaging Ordinance

Harmful substances in products are regulated by different legislative texts. These texts address either the substances (chemicals) or the product itself. The legal provisions are therefore classified either into chemicals law or product law, or sometimes waste law when chemicals become relevant at the waste treatment stage only.

Packaging is part of everyday life and serves a useful purpose. But there’s also a serious downside to packaging, as evidenced by the 16,6 million tons of it that were generated in Germany in 2012 alone. What can we do to mitigate this type of environmental impact? Which laws are already on the books in this regard, and what actions can we take as individuals?