On 6 November 2020, Germany’s Bundesrat approved an ordinance banning certain disposable plastic products, subject to minor semantic changes. The objective of this ordinance is to improve the management of the resource “plastic” and to curb the careless dumping of waste into the environment. With this ordinance, the German federal government implements the provisions of the European Union’s Disposable Plastics Directive into German law on a one-to-one basis. Deliberate or negligent breaches of the prohibition constitute an administrative offence under the Regulation. They can now be punished with a fine of up to 100,000 euros. According to the federal government’s plans, the ordinance is to be promulgated by the end of this year. The provisions would then take effect uniformly throughout Europe on 3 July 2021.
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