Menold Bezler defends framework requirement of the city of Konstanz against dual systems before the Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg

On April 1, 2025, the Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg (VGH) partially dismissed the lawsuit of Zentek GmbH & Co. KG against the Waste Disposal Services of the City of Konstanz (EBK) in the second instance. The core issue was whether municipal waste disposal authorities can set a framework requirement that dictates how dual systems must collect lightweight packaging from private households. Menold Bezler achieved a significant partial success for the EBK (Az: 10 S 158/23).

The case is based on the Packaging Act, which has regulated the collection and recycling of packaging waste since 2019. It requires manufacturers to participate in a dual system that organizes the disposal and recycling of these wastes. Currently, there are ten dual systems, such as Zentek GmbH & Co. KG, operating in the private sector nationwide. At the same time, cities and counties act as public waste disposal authorities responsible for municipal waste management. This raises the question of how waste collection should be coordinated and whether municipalities can influence the collection of lightweight packaging.

In this specific case, the EBK wanted to impose a combined collection system, which had already been in place in Konstanz before 2021: citizens should be able to drop off their packaging waste at central collection points in addition to the collection of yellow bags. This is because yellow bags often accumulate on private property and in the city between collection dates, leading to environmental pollution and increased disposal costs. The plaintiffs argued that a bi-weekly collection of yellow bags would be sufficient. However, the VGH ruled that this requirement by the EBK was permissible.

On the other hand, the court found that a municipality cannot order that yellow bags must only be submitted at municipal recycling centers. According to the VGH, framework requirements cannot be too detailed in specifying how collection should be organized. Since dual systems are responsible for packaging collection, they must be allowed to set up their own collection points.

So far, the case law of the VGH Baden-Württemberg has been very strict regarding municipal framework requirements. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first appellate ruling nationwide in which a municipal framework requirement against dual systems has been upheld. The decision could thus be groundbreaking for future coordination and disputes in this area. The reasoning for the judgment has not yet been published. Since the matter has fundamental importance, the VGH has allowed an appeal to the Federal Administrative Court.

Menold Bezler has been advising the EBK and other public waste disposal authorities for many years on waste law and supported the EBK throughout the legal proceedings.