Compost bin

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This article or paragraph presents the situation in Germany . Help us to describe the situation in other countries.

The biowaste bin is a plastic container with a lid, in which the biologically usable waste that occurs in the household can be disposed of . In Germany and Austria the organic waste bin is colored brown or green, in Switzerland green containers are used. In contrast to the rest of the waste disposal, the waste disposal called green disposal is extremely different depending on the municipality or even not organized at all. Zurich z. B. did not offer its green waste collection until 2013.

Quantity statistics and connection rate

According to the Federal Statistical Office , 12.4 million tons of organic waste were treated in 1,742 biological treatment plants (including fermentation) in Germany in 2006. 7.6 million tons were composted. The further exploitable potential is estimated at 2-4 million tons of organic waste.

As of December 2002, the organic waste bin system had been introduced in around 79% of all waste management administrative units. The average degree of connection within the administrative units with organic waste bin was around 56% of the residents. Approx. 47% of the population in the Federal Republic of Germany were connected to a biowaste collection system with biobins. Around 15 million people live in local authorities that are not yet connected to the organic waste bin. In areas with imported organic waste bins, the average connection rate is around 60%, which means that around 36 million people in these areas do not use the organic waste bins.

In 2003 and in the years before that, Fricke carried out detailed investigations into throwaway behavior at home. As a result, the proportion of vegetable waste in household waste was determined to be 48 percent by weight.

In accordance with Section 11 (1) of the Recycling Management Act, the organic waste bin was introduced as mandatory throughout Germany on January 1, 2015, so that a connection rate of 100% should currently be achieved.

Fee and compulsory connection

Disposal companies usually charge a separate fee for the provision of a biowaste bin . However, the compulsory connection to the organic waste bin is handled very differently in the waste management administrative units. In 1997 there was a compulsory connection in 59% of the administrative units with biowaste collection. However, more than 90% of these administrative units with mandatory connection offered an exemption from the contract through written evidence of their own composting - in 52% of the units with mandatory connection, shared use of a bio-bin with neighboring properties could take place.

In the guiding principle for considering bio-waste disposal in the waste disposal fee , the Lower Saxony Higher Administrative Court recognizes as right:

“The statutory body must provide an incentive to separate the waste fractions through the fee regulation; the fee regulation is intended to bring about the acceptance of the organic waste bin; self-composting must not be prohibited or made unreasonably difficult; The citizen must not be forced to use a bio-bin through a 'financial connection'. "

The Cologne Administrative Court ruled similarly ; Here, the statutory body was given the opportunity to maintain the functionality of the organic waste collection and recycling also to charge those who do not use it with the costs of the organic waste bin. According to the government draft of the LAbfG NW, this does not rule out a fee deduction for the practiced self-composting.

Collection systems

Bio bin with bio filter lid
Function of the biofilter cover

For the introduction of the biowaste bin in the early 1990s, standard large waste containers (MGB) were used, as they are still common today for the collection of residual waste. However, it quickly became apparent that the exposure to vermin and digestive gases from the container was causing complaints among the population. For this reason, various container developments were promoted. Initially, containers with ventilation holes or ventilation slots were offered, later there were containers with antibacterial coatings in plastic. Another development in the mid-1990s was a tightly fitting bio filter lid for bio bins.

In ventilated containers, the biowaste should pre-dry in the container in order to avoid the development of odors. The collection in ventilated containers only works for pure green and garden waste. However, it has not proven itself in the collection of kitchen waste and leftovers. The reason for this is that flies can still gain access to the vessel unhindered, so that massive maggot development in summer was inevitable. Ventilating the leftovers in the organic waste bin did not reduce the odor nuisance either. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) states: “For biowaste collection, a container that closes as tightly as possible and not an uncontrolled ventilated bio bin should be used. This reduces the attraction and the possibility of flies entering. Open ventilation intensifies the fly approach, while the aim to minimize odors could not be demonstrated. Therefore, the container lids should be kept closed and the edge of the container kept as clean as possible.

In the case of the antibacterial coated container, the active ingredient triclosan is added to the plastic granulate directly during container production and migrates to the plastic surface during the entire life of the container. There it is supposed to prevent bacteria and fungi from adhering. However, it only works where the biowaste is in contact with the container on the inner walls. In addition, in the opinion of the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), the substance should only be used as a disinfectant in the medical / veterinary sector and not as an additive for everyday objects due to the open questions regarding the development of resistance .

The container with a tightly fitting bio-filter lid has proven itself in practice. It closes the container with its all-round rubber seal and keeps flies and maggots away. In the core of the filter cover, the biofilter, microorganisms break down odorous substances in the filter material. At the same time, the moisture in the organic waste bin binds mold spores in the water film, thus slowing down the spread of health-endangering spores. The filter material based on coconut fibers only needs to be changed every two years. After being replaced, it will be disposed of in the organic waste bin. This container technology is intended to enable the removal interval to be extended to at least a 14-day rhythm without compromising hygiene or acceptance, or to use a modern container system with a transponder to account for the number of container empties.

Processing and whereabouts

The biological degradation or conversion of organic waste by microorganisms under aerobic conditions (with atmospheric oxygen) is called composting . This microbiological degradation process requires sufficient moisture (supply of the microorganisms with nutrients in an aqueous solution) and supply of atmospheric oxygen. During composting, a mixture of moist, e.g. Partly structurally poor organic waste with shredded garden waste set a well-ventilated material structure. This is then done by moving the pile (rent) with, for example, wheel loaders, turners or - in the case of self-composting - by hand. In composting plants, there is also often targeted ventilation of the windrows.

Process steps in the composting plant

Acceptance and sifting of biowaste - sorting out contaminants via, for example, magnetic separators , wind sifters , etc. - mixing the biowaste (structure adjustment) - setting up the pile - moving and aeration - screening the compost material.

marketing

The evaluation of the sales and marketing channels of 3 million tons of compost show that agriculture is the most important customer with more than 50%. Compost is used here as a multi-nutrient and humus fertilizer. This area has experienced significant growth, not least due to the rise in fertilizer prices. Furthermore, compost u. a. Also used as a substrate component in the areas of hobby gardening, recultivation and landscaping.

Sales structure

In individual cases, the sales structure is very much determined by regional conditions. In rural areas with little landscaping activities, agriculture has the greatest potential demand. Other sales areas are less in demand here. The sales situation is different in regions with a variety of structures, where there is also increasing demand for compost from landscaping, hobby and commercial horticulture or for use in special crops.

Rural composting plant for organic waste and garden waste
Impurities sorted out from organic waste

history

As early as 1937 attempts were made in Germany to recycle kitchen waste sensibly. In the GDR , leftovers and kitchen waste were collected from 1953 and fed to regional pig fattening businesses as feed raw material.

The first organic waste bin in Germany was set up in 1981 by the Organic Waste Disposal (OMA) in Würzburg . This model project for the recycling of biowaste, started in the Zellerau district, was the result of a student initiative. Another organic waste bin was introduced in 1983 in Witzenhausen in northern Hesse . The Department of Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation at the University of Kassel under the direction of Helge Schmeisky was involved in its creation . The breakthrough for the introduction of biowaste recycling in Germany came in the early to mid-1990s. In the Würzburg composting plant, which went into operation in 1997 , the initiative of the Würzburg OMA, as its predecessor project in 2007, still had a 10 percent contribution.

Pollutants and health aspects

Plastics

Most household and municipal bio-waste is contaminated with various types of plastic . Sieving processes and sifting can significantly reduce this contamination, but never completely remove it. In addition, most countries allow a certain amount of foreign matter, such as B. Plastics in fertilizers ; Germany, for example, which has one of the world's strictest regulations on fertilizer quality, allows up to 0.1% by weight of plastics. In this regulation, particles smaller than 2 mm are not even considered. Organic fertilizers can be a source of microplastics .

On April 20, 2018, 23 companies from Schleswig-Holstein , Lower Saxony , Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania started a national campaign to ban conventional plastic bags and the supposedly “ compostable plastic bags ” from the organic bins. The Bio Bin Germany campaign took place from September 8 to 29, 2018 . In this nationwide campaign, in addition to the announcement of the organic waste bin itself, the plastic problem in groupage was pointed out.

In addition, peels treated with polyethylene wax , for example from pineapples, avocados, mangoes, melons, papayas and citrus fruits, are "disposed of" in the organic waste bin, which means that even more polyethylene ends up in the environment.

Heavy metals

The heavy metal content in compost is essentially due to the heavy metal content of the raw material (kitchen, garden and landscape waste). These are subject to z. T. natural ( geogenic ) and z. T. anthropogenic inputs. Heavy metals are not broken down as chemical elements in nature and can accumulate in plants, animals and ecosystems. With the heavy metals protocol of the Geneva Air Pollution Control Convention of 2003, the goal of a Europe-wide reduction of large-scale, cross-border air pollution by heavy metal emissions is to be promoted.

Another, frequently mentioned cause is the heavy metal input through increased incorrect throw-ins (contaminants such as glass, plastic, metal), as in the study by Rösch (1996). The bio-waste ordinance, which has been in force since 1998, contains limit value regulations for the composts used (max. Heavy metal and foreign matter content, etc.), for use in agriculture and forestry, obligations to provide evidence ... The influence of foreign substances on the heavy metal content in composts that comply with the limit value for the proportion of foreign substances (less than 0.5% by weight) can be excluded as far as possible.

A detailed consideration of the heavy metal issue u. a. Compost can also be found in the article on the status of the technical development of the BMU / BMELV concept "Good quality and safe yields". Here one comes to the conclusion that the separate collection of organic waste is a guarantee for high-quality composts that are marketed as products.

Health aspects

The Federal Health Office in Berlin points out that there is a health risk for people with weakened immune systems from the organic waste bin. At risk groups are: leukemia sufferers, patients in whom the immune system is suppressed by medication as a result of an organ transplant, chronically lung, liver and kidney patients, patients undergoing corticosteroid treatment. The fact that people at particular risk behave more cautiously than their fellow human beings in all situations is the subject of health education and an important goal of the Federal Health Office.

Under there is an extensive list of possible health risks from organic waste.

"If the usual hygiene practices are adhered to, there is no risk for healthy citizens, i.e. people with a not massively impaired immune system when handling the garbage can and composting" (H. Lange-Aschenfeldt)

Handling the organic waste bin

  • Biowaste is easily decomposable and, under unfavorable conditions, can turn into putrefaction with the result that odor emissions are generated. Putrefaction processes occur in the absence of air. This is the case, for example, when bio-waste is baked in the bin to form a “wet mush”. It should therefore be ensured that wet and dry organic waste is mixed in the organic waste bin.
  • Leftovers from fish and meat are particularly preferred by flies for laying eggs. In order to keep them away and to avoid maggots from populating the bio-waste bin, leftovers of fish and meat should be wrapped in newspaper and only then put in the bio-waste bin. Newsprint is not a problem in the organic waste bin, even very wet organic waste can be wrapped in this way to regulate the moisture in the bin. In the case of food of animal origin, however, it should be noted that (depending on the type of further processing of the organic waste) in some municipalities it may not be placed in the organic waste.
  • The bio bin should be in the shade. In the blazing sun, the temperatures in the collecting vessels increase significantly. This also applies to the residual waste bin and other collection bins. In the organic waste bin, increased temperatures are particularly undesirable because the decomposition processes of organic waste and thus potential unpleasant odors increase with increasing temperatures.

Self-composting

A treatise on compost and the handling of organic waste can be found at. There it says: "Leftovers are judged critically by some experts. The influx of pests such as rats and mice is feared, but above all it is feared that the temperatures in the compost heap are not sufficient for hygienization. Cooked leftovers, especially meat, are particularly popular colonized by fungi whose spores can be toxic to immunocompromised people. "

Occupational health aspects

The Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health initiated investigations into the health risks to waste management workers in composting plants. As part of the study, 42 composting plants were visited in 1996 and 1997 from April to November. Almost 200 compost workers took part in the project in companies located in several federal states. The control group was made up of employees of a higher state authority with office and laboratory workplaces. "As a result, it can be said that diseases of the respiratory tract and lungs such as chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma and exogenous allergic alveolitis were not found to be significantly higher in compost workers than in the control group. This also applies to allergies, diseases of the musculoskeletal system and the skin ..." A relative According to the scientists, the low incidence rate among compost workers can be attributed to the occupational safety-oriented equipment of the sorting workstations and wheel loader cabins, only spikey emissions during material processing and the dilution effects of open composting plants.

Molds

The Robert Koch Institute (publisher is the Public Relations Department) commented on the subject of mold and organic waste containers : “For several years, it has been pointed out that the organic waste container as a source of litter for mold spores poses a health risk for severely immunocompromised patients. Indeed, the heat that arises when organic material rots favors the growth of human pathogenic fungi, especially Aspergillus fumigatus ... For these reasons, the Robert Koch Institute advocates emptying organic and residual waste bins on a weekly basis, at least for the summer months. However, it is often overlooked that the normal household offers many more sources of fungi, which can lead to significantly higher exposure than is to be expected when opening the bio bin: moldy food ... but also spices such as ground pepper ... are for healthy people the molds are harmless ... Furthermore, garbage bins, not just organic waste bins, should be emptied and cleaned every day. It should also be noted that with some renovation work - for example when fixed carpets are removed ..., dust is whirled up, which can contain large amounts of fungi ... "

Aspergillus fumigatus mold in organic waste

literature

  • Cost analysis for the separate biowaste collection and treatment, Gallenkemper, B., Oelgemöller, D., Becker, G., Paul, T.INFA, Institute for Waste, Wastewater and Infrastructure Management GmbH, Ahlen, 2006

Web links

Wiktionary: organic waste bin  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a population information from Switzerland (PDF file; 861 kB)
  2. ↑ Non-existent organic bins in Zurich
  3. ↑ Federal Statistical Office: Environment: Explanations on the waste balance.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Wiesbaden 2010.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.destatis.de  
  4. ↑ a b c d Fricke, Goedecke, Einzmann: The separate collection and recycling of organic waste - inventory.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 2003 (PDF, 319 kB) In: The future of separate collection of organic waste. Series of publications by ANS 44, Orbitverlag, Weimar, pp. 11–64, section 3.1.1.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.lwi.tu-bs.de  
  5. ↑ Expansion of the organic waste collection possible. (PDF file; 886 kB) In: Humus Management & Compost. 2 (2008), p. 1 f.
  6. ^ OVG Lüneburg, decision of December 19, 2005 , Az. 9 LA 87/05, full text.
  7. ^ VG Cologne, judgment of February 26, 2002 , Az. 14 K 5990/00, full text.
  8. ↑ Biowaste can be cross-subsidized through residual waste fees.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Humus Management & Compost. 3 (2003), p. 195.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.kompost.de  
  9. ↑ BMU: Investigations into the occurrence of flies and odors in organic waste collection , September 1, 2002.
  10. ↑ BfR: BfR supports the ban on the use of triclosan in food contact materials , June 12, 2009.
  11. ↑ BfR: Use triclosan only in the medical field to prevent the formation of resistance (PDF; 123 kB), May 8, 2006.
  12. ↑ In the composting plant.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. On: kompost.de .@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.kompost.de  
  13. ↑ a b c d W. Bidlingmaier: Biological waste recycling. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8001-3208-7 .
  14. ↑ Ulrike Stadtmüller: Basics of organic waste management, teaching and manual. TK Verlag Karl Thome-Kozmiensky, Neuruppin 2004.
  15. ↑ More than 6 million tons of bio-waste. (PDF file; 728 kB) In: Humus Management & Compost. 5 (2008), p. 1 f.
  16. ↑ Federal Archives, B 116 Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forests. - File plan main group 2, volume 1 Pig fattening from kitchen waste 1947–1953.
  17. ↑ Winfried Schenk, Rüdiger Glaser , Moritz Nestle: Würzburg's environment in the transformation from the pre-industrial era to the service society. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2 (I: From the beginnings to the outbreak of the Peasant War. 2001, ISBN 3-8062-1465-4 ; II: From the Peasant War 1525 to the transition to the Kingdom of Bavaria 1814. 2004, ISBN 3 -8062-1477-8 ; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 ), Theiss, Stuttgart 2001–2007, Volume III (2007), Pp. 351–368 and 1295 f., Here: p. 360.
  18. ↑ Winfried Schenk, Rüdiger Glaser , Moritz Nestle: Würzburg's environment in the transformation from the pre-industrial era to the service society. 2007, p. 360.
  19. ↑ Nicolas Weithmann, Julia N. Möller, Martin GJ Löder, Sarah Piehl, Christian Laforsch and Ruth Freitag: Organic fertilizer as a vehicle for the entry of microplastic into the environment . In: Science Advances . 2018, doi : 10.1126 / sciadv.aap8060 .
  20. ↑ Press archive: No (bio) plastic in the bio bin In: stadtreinigung.hamburg , April 20, 2018, accessed on April 22, 2018.
  21. ↑ No plastic in the bio bin: NABU supports the Bio bin Germany campaign. In: blogs. nabu.de , September 7, 2018, accessed on September 23, 2018.
  22. ↑ European Heavy Metals Protocol comes into force on 1.1.2004.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on: kompost.de@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.kompost.de  
  23. ↑ CG Bannick et al. a .: On the status of the technical development of the concept "good quality and secure income". In: Garbage and Garbage. 03/2006.
  24. ↑ Information on organic waste. In: A. Buchter (Ed.): Diagnostics of work-related diseases. (PDF file; 473 kB) pp. 125–127.
  25. ↑ Primer for self-composting (PDF file; 69 kB) at: eva-abfallentsorgung.de
  26. ↑ Investigation of the health risks to workers in waste management in composting plants. ( Memento of the original from May 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.baua.de