Green Dot (Germany)
The Green Dot is a registered trademark of Der Grüne Punkt - Duales System Deutschland GmbH (DSD) and identifies sales packaging in Germany that is either collected in the yellow sack or in the yellow bin, in waste glass containers or in the waste paper bin and then from the dual system i . S. d. Section 6 (3) of the Packaging Ordinance can be disposed of or recycled.
basis
The Green Dot - Dual System Germany GmbH (DSD) provides since 1990 that sales packaging of a recovery are fed. The manufacturer who uses the “Der Grüne Punkt” brand on its packaging wants to signal that it is complying with the packaging ordinance. The manufacturer generally bears the costs for both the use of the brand and for the packaging's participation in the dual system; they can be part of the price calculation and are reflected in the purchase price. Converted to the number of residents in Germany, the costs are estimated at € 0.92 per person per month.
In some cases, the green dot pictogram is not green, but adapts to the color of the packaging in order to save additional costs for additional printing inks. It consists of two arrows in different colors intertwined in a circle. (See German registered trademark 2005954). The green dot is one of the most common pictograms that can be found in Germany. It was designed by Lars Oehlschlaeger , who was based on the symbol for Yin and Yang .
Since the 5th amendment to the Packaging Ordinance came into force, packaging that is part of the dual system no longer has to be labeled.
Recovery
Beverage cartons, aluminum, tinplate and plastics can be separated from one another. It is then sorted according to size (drum screens) and weight ( air separator ). Tinplate is automatically taken from the belt by a magnet and aluminum by an eddy current separator . Plastics and beverage cartons can be further separated by type of plastic using near-infrared spectroscopy and compressed air nozzles .
There are three forms of recycling for plastics:
- With the material recycling , packaging or products such as car parts, profiles, pipes, pallets and logistics systems, flower and beverage boxes, new foils, window frames and watering cans are made from the secondary raw materials .
- The raw material recycling leads the plastic back into its gaseous starting components, which are used to generate methanol or as synthesis gas, for example to replace heavy oil in the blast furnace. This process is mainly used for the recycling of mixed plastics. They consist of different types of plastic that would take great effort to separate.
- In energy recovery, commonly known as incineration, mixed plastics and sorting residues are processed in such a way that they can be converted into fossil fuels such as oil and gas. B. replace lime or coal power plants. The difference to classic incineration in waste incineration plants is the primary purpose: energetic utilization is used to generate energy (e.g. power generation ), waste incineration is primarily used to dispose of waste or to reduce volume and mass. By knowing the approximate composition of the plastic waste, the incineration can be optimized and a better efficiency achieved.
criticism
- According to several studies, the recycling rates that must be achieved by the dual systems can be achieved more cost-effectively even without prior separation by households using sorting machines. A prerequisite for this, however, is a dry collection of this waste, ie without mixing it with green waste and kitchen waste.
- The dual systems criticize the fact that, due to the lack of a control body, there are “total objectors”, also known as “free riders”, who do not use their packaging in a dual system. These companies gain a competitive advantage through the fee saved. The state environment ministers announced that they would monitor the proper compliance with the obligations from the packaging ordinance more closely, but the situation has not yet changed. However, the 5th amendment to the Packaging Ordinance, which came into force on January 1, 2009, is intended to remedy the situation.
- Despite extensive advertising campaigns, even after many years it was not possible in Germany to persuade consumers to carefully separate materials between green dot and residual waste. This lack of “sorting reliability” results to a large extent from the beginnings of the dual system. In the beginning, the commissioned waste disposal companies were reimbursed by the DSD for the collected quantities (system input) and not for the actual amount of recyclable materials (sorted system output). At that time it was common practice to market the yellow bins as a “second” residual waste bin in order to secure customers and, above all, sales in a simple way. After the remuneration was changed to output quantities of recyclable materials, this lucrative type of re-declaration of waste became a late own goal for many waste disposal companies due to the resulting non-compliance with sorting. Since then, disposal companies have been pointing out the high proportion of foreign substances such as old electrical appliances, clothing, plastic parts, wallpaper, construction and green waste, syringes and foils, which in some places make up up to 50% of the content. In the first few years, containers that were not emptied due to incorrect throws were extremely rare, but now comprehensive controls and sometimes drastic measures (refusal to empty in the event of minor incorrect throws, withdrawal of containers) are the order of the day. In many cities, the number of yellow sacks per household is limited. This is intended to encourage users to sort correctly and to limit misuse of the bags.
- Problematic and not always transparent for consumers are the regionally different requirements as to what belongs in the yellow bin and what does not. So was z. For example, in Berlin at the “Yellow Bin plus” it is allowed to throw in small electrical appliances, wood, plastic remnants and metallic waste. It was replaced by the "recycling bin". Plastic and metal scraps may be thrown there, but no small electrical appliances or wood. In other regions only the substances originally specified may be thrown in.
- Another problem is the fact that not all municipalities regulate the disposal of recyclable materials via yellow bags or yellow bins. In these communities, citizens have to bring their recyclable materials to the recycling center or to collection points in order to hand them over there or to sort them into different containers, which means an enormous amount of time and a traffic load.
literature
- Matthias Heinicke: Packaging Ordinance, Dual System and Green Dot. Analysis of the impact from an economic and ecological point of view . Tectum Verlag, 1996, ISBN 978-3-89608-446-0 .
Web links
- The Green Dot - Duales System Deutschland GmbH
- Packaging Recovery Organization Europe - PRO EUROPE sprl - umbrella organization of Green Dot organizations in Europe
- German Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) on the Packaging Ordinance
- TEAM GRÜNER PUNKT - waste advice and public relations on behalf of Duales System Deutschland GmbH for Berlin
Items:
- Against the separating - modern sorting technology has long since made the yellow bag superfluous , at zeit.de
- Recovery rates at record level, DSD press kit from July 1, 2008
swell
- ↑ Trademark register
- ↑ Press release Duales System Holding , July 5, 2013 (accessed January 15, 2014)
- ↑ Melanie Amann: The Green Point. People of dividers and collectors . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, October 30, 2010, accessed on October 31, 2010.
- ↑ Christoph Schlautmann: The Green Dot becomes superfluous. In: Handelsblatt. August 26, 2008, accessed January 20, 2010 .
- ↑ Review: Irrsinn Grüner Punkt , June 22, 2008 (accessed on January 12, 2014)
- ↑ Press release on the 5th amendment to the Packaging Ordinance Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
- ↑ Reso and MZVO no longer want to accept 33 percent foreign substances. Europe ticker
- ↑ Max Rauner: Clean Business. Zeit Wissen 3/2006
- ↑ www.wertstofftonne-berlin.de: That is allowed in