Experts analyse the effect of the Tübingen packaging tax

The tax has not measurably reduced the amount of waste, but has stimulated reusable offers from restaurants and cafés – the decision of the Federal Administrative Court is expected for today
The introduction of a tax on takeaway food and drink packaging in January 2022 has not reduced the amount of waste in Tübingen’s municipal bins, measured by weight. With this goal in mind, the municipal council passed the 2020 tax. However, the supply of reusable packaging was strongly stimulated by the tax, which makes Tübingen the city in Germany with the most restaurants and cafés per capita offering food and drinks in reusable bowls and cups.

Stefan Moderau came to these conclusions in his doctoral thesis at the Chair for International Business Taxation at the University of Tübingen. He is available for interviews about his study.

The Federal Administrative Court is examining the packaging tax on Wednesday. As early as March 2022, the Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg had declared the tax ineffective. The city of Tübingen then appealed. A decision is expected later today.