Do you run e-commerce? Great. You pack the goods, stick a label on them and ship them out. Simple, right? Unfortunately, from an environmental regulatory perspective, every package you send is a potential landmine.
The Polish BDO is just the beginning. If you are thinking of expanding into the German market, you need to know the key word: LUCID. In this article, we explain what obligations e-commerce has in relation to packaging and how to legally ship abroad.
Does an online shop need to be in BDO?
This is the most frequently asked question by e-commerce entrepreneurs. The answer is: yes, almost certainly. If you ship goods to a customer, you become the „marketer of packaging”. Even if you are just packaging products bought from someone else (using cardboard, bubble wrap, adhesive tape or fillers), you fall under BDO's obligations.
What obligations does e-commerce have in relation to packaging?
Registering with the Waste Data Base (BDO) is the first step. But simply having a BDO number
is not enough. The main responsibilities of e-commerce in this regard are:
- Record keeping: You must keep meticulous records of the weight and type of packaging you enter
to the market (e.g. how many kg of cardboard, how many kg of plastic). - Reporting: Once a year, you submit a report to the provincial marshal on the weight of the packaging introduced.
- Product charge: If you do not fulfil your recycling obligation (which in practice for a small e-commerce business means having to „buy” recycling from a recovery organisation), you have to pay a so-called product fee.
Neglecting these obligations is a straightforward route to heavy financial penalties. Poland e-commerce packaging law takes it very seriously.
E-commerce and the SUP Directive
In addition to the standard packaging obligations, there are also new ones resulting from the EU SUP (Single-Use Plastics) Directive. If you use plastic fillers, plastic tapes or bubble envelopes for packaging, for example, you must additionally monitor and report on these products. This is another level of record-keeping that is easy to forget.
Shipping abroad and packaging charges - this is where the stairs begin
Do you think that because you have BDO in Poland, the subject is closed? Nothing could be further from the truth. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obligations are territorial. This means that if you send goods to a customer in Germany, you must comply with the German packaging regulations. When shipping to France - French.
It is cross-border shipping and packaging charges is becoming the biggest challenge for growing online shops.
Germany and compulsory registration with LUCID
Germany is the most popular export destination for Polish e-commerce and at the same time has a very strict approach to regulations. Anyone sending goods to the end consumer (B2C) in Germany must register with the German central packaging register, the LUCID (Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister).
Who is affected by registration with LUCID?
The obligation concerns each an entrepreneur who, for the first time, places a package filled with goods on the German market (this applies to both the product packaging and the shipping packaging - carton, tape, label). It does not matter whether you ship one package a year or a thousand.
What are the responsibilities associated with LUCID?
- LUCID registration: It is free of charge but compulsory before the first package is sent.
You receive your EPR number. - Signing a contract with the dual system: You must sign a contract with one of the German recovery organisations (e.g. Der Grüne Punkt, Reclay) and pay a licence fee for the estimated weight of packaging.
- Reporting (LUCID report): You must report regularly to LUCID and to your dual system on the weight of the packaging entered.
Failure to register with LUCID can result in a ban on sales in Germany and fines of up to tens of thousands of euros. Platforms such as Amazon and eBay actively verify that sellers have a LUCID number.
How to ship legally and not go crazy?
Packaging waste management in e-commerce is becoming increasingly complex. National requirements (BDO, SUP) are one thing, but the real challenge is compliance with international regulations (LUCID in Germany, similar systems in France, Austria and other EU countries).
Remember that in addition to shipping packaging, there are other specific obligations. For example, if you are marketing shopping bags, you need to know, how to account for marketed commercials in the BDO system.
Feeling overwhelmed by the number of recipes? This is normal. Managing the responsibilities of BDOs, SUPs and EPRs requires specialist knowledge and constant monitoring of changes. Do you run e-commerce and need support? See how our comprehensive environmental consultancy can help you and allow you to focus on this,
What you do best - on sales.
