Tax on to-go packaging - debate reaches Saxony

Will customers soon have to pay an extra 50 cents for disposable coffee cups and food boxes? Snack bars and fast food outlets could have to pay an additional tax for non-reusable packaging. However, it is still uncertain whether local authorities in Saxony will actually introduce this packaging tax to reduce single-use waste.

Dresden waves goodbye - Leipzig and Chemnitz are looking into it

There are currently no plans to introduce such a tax in Dresden. "The reason for this is the insufficient funding of mandatory tasks transferred by the federal and state governments," the city stated in response to a query. A packaging tax would require additional administrative work and more staff - a burden that the state capital cannot afford in view of the general cost-cutting constraints.

Leipzig and Chemnitz are also looking at the issue and now want to examine such considerations.

Growing approval in German cities

The background to this is a packaging tax that has been in force in Tübingen since the beginning of 2022. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe recently ruled that levying a local tax on disposable packaging for food and drinks is lawful. A constitutional complaint was rejected.

Many cities across Germany are open to a tax on disposable to-go packaging. In surveys conducted by Deutsche Umwelthilfe in 2023 and 2024, a total of 120 cities signaled interest in such a measure.