The UBA's testing guidelines are intended to control reports of plastic products for the single-use plastic fund, reports Euwid.

According to the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the guidelines were published on 21 November in agreement with the Federal Cartel Office and apply to the year 2025. According to the UBA, the new testing guidelines largely correspond to the requirements of the testing guidelines for the declaration of completeness under the German Packaging Act (VerpackG). Unlike the Packaging Act, however, the Single-Use Plastics Fund Act (EWKFondsG) does not provide for mandatory on-site audits. Instead, experts are to examine the manufacturer's information for the single-use plastics fund in detail, it says. The UBA has specified the requirements for the audits in a 43-page document, which details how registered auditors should check the annual manufacturer information on the type and mass of products. This applies to manufacturers who have placed at least 100 kilograms of disposable plastic products subject to levy on the market in 2024. Companies below this threshold and those that exclusively supply deposit-bearing beverage bottles are exempt. However, the UBA points out that an audit can be carried out at any time, even for previous years. Auditors must demonstrate their economic and professional independence and carry out their audits on the basis of the legal principles, current case law on published classification decisions, the latest information from the Federal Environment Agency and the new guidelines. Furthermore, according to the guidelines, essential parts of the audit may not be outsourced to third parties.
 
According to the information provided, one focus of the audit guidelines is on determining and defining disposable plastic products subject to the levy and assigning them to the individual product types in accordance with the Disposable Plastic Products Levy Act (EWKFondsG). Auditors should ensure that all products in the range have been recorded and that the distinction between items subject to the levy and those not subject to the levy has been made correctly. The focus is on flexible film packaging and export quantities, for example.
 
Further information: The UBA's audit guidelines (in German) can be downloaded from the Single-Use Plastics Fund platform at www.einwegkunststofffonds.de.
 
Sources:

• euwid-recycling.de (26.11.2025)
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