Overview
- All twelve Berlin districts approved a proposal introduced by Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg to tax single-use cups, pizza boxes and foil trays.
- The move does not establish a tax in Berlin yet but increases political pressure on the Senate to act.
- The Berlin Senate maintains its opposition to a city-only levy, arguing it would create heavy administrative burdens and should be regulated federally.
- District officials say the charge would encourage reusable packaging and reassign cleanup costs that are currently passed to residents via street-cleaning fees.
- Supporters point to the Federal Constitutional Court’s January 2024 ruling upholding Tübingen’s 2022 packaging tax as legal justification for municipal measures.