Recycling law

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The planned German Recyclables Act, which is currently being drawn up, is a draft law with which, on the basis of the coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU and SPD from 2013, the "legal basis for the introduction of the common household-related collection of recyclable materials for packaging and other recyclable materials" is to be created. The draft submitted by the Federal Environment Ministry at the end of July 2016 provided for the adoption of the Packaging Act passed on July 5, 2017 instead of a Recyclables Act , as no agreement could be reached between municipalities and private waste disposal companies.

Scientific basis for the law

Scientific studies show the potential of a law on recyclable materials for avoiding waste, recycling, protecting the climate, saving raw materials and reducing energy consumption. Every German currently produces around 450 kilograms of household waste a year. 57% of this is recyclable materials and biowaste. According to a report by INFA, around 8 million tons of valuable materials can also be recycled through a new law on recyclable materials. That corresponds to around 100 kilograms per person. According to a study by CUTEC and Fraunhofer UMSICHT , 6.5 million tons of residual and bulky waste can be avoided and 4.7 million tons of raw materials can be saved through a recycling law. The emission of harmful greenhouse gases can be reduced by 2 million tons and the use of energy by 10,000 GWh per year. This corresponds to the energy consumption of over 500,000 households.

Cornerstones of the new recycling law

In June 2015, the grand coalition presented the cornerstones of the Recycling Act. They provide for the manufacturer's product responsibility for packaging to be expanded to include non-packaging made of plastic, metal and composites of the same material. The public waste disposal authorities should gain influence and decide on the type of waste collection (waste bin, size of the container, collection intervals). A central office is to be set up as a control body.

Member of the Bundestag Peter Meiwald (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen) criticized the key issues paper of the grand coalition on June 16, 2015. The municipalities should be given more responsibility and the dual systems should be abolished. In addition, product responsibility is neglected and the key issues paper of the Recyclable Materials Act does not contain any statements on self-learning recycling rates. Criticism of the draft law was also expressed on the part of the governing parties. Michael Thews , member of the Bundestag for the SPD and spokesman for his group for the circular economy, demanded in June 2015 that the municipalities and not the private sector should be responsible for the collection of recyclables. Ingbert Liebing , local political spokesman for the CDU / CSU parliamentary group, expressed the same opinion.

Cornerstones of the new packaging law

The draft from the end of July 2016 no longer includes non-packaging of the same material. As before, only sales packaging legally licensed for a dual system should be disposed of in the recycling bin . In place of the Packaging Ordinance is that with effect from 1 January 2019 Packaging Act occurred. The law creates a “central office”.

The legally prescribed minimum quota for plastic packaging collected in the yellow sack is to increase from 36% to 63%. The previously 80% minimum quota for reusable and ecologically beneficial beverage packaging is to be dropped entirely.

Positions

Parties, associations and organizations have positioned themselves on the content of the Recycling Act. Alliance 90 / The Greens are calling for waste disposal to be communalized and for the dual systems to be abolished. In addition, Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen - as well as Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) calls for a central public body at federal level that is supposed to ensure control and transparency.

From the point of view of the Federal Association of German Waste Management, Water and Raw Materials Management (BDE) , the Valuables Act must above all further strengthen the priority of recycling, enforce the principle of product stewardship and maintain and expand the tried and tested commercial collection structures. The Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) calls for an expansion of the manufacturer's product responsibility. Self-learning recycling quotas are to be introduced. This means that if the recycling quota for a recyclable material is exceeded, the value achieved is the new target value in the following year. The joint initiative for the abolition of dual systems (GemIni) also calls for high-quality recycling of recyclable materials through ambitious collection quantities and recycling quotas, the uniform collection of waste from packaging and non-packaging of the same material as recyclable materials, and the expansion of product responsibility.

literature

Web links

annotation

  1. ↑ The non-packaging materials of the same material are products ( i.e. non -packaging) that are collected via the residual waste bin before the Valuables Act applies and are often disposed of thermally. (Source: Wertstoffgesetz , DBS-Team)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Shaping Germany's future : coalition agreement between CDU, CSU and SPD, 18th legislative period.
  2. ↑ a b Uniform recycling bin buried , by Bärbel Krauss, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 23 July 2016
  3. ↑ The Recycling Act becomes the Packaging Act , NABU, August 1, 2016
  4. ↑ DESTATIS - Federal Statistical Office : Press release No. 025 from January 18, 2013: Slight increase in household waste per inhabitant 2011.
  5. ↑ INFA report (documentation) Elaboration of collection quantities and recycling rates. INFA report (short version) : Elaboration of collection quantities and recycling rates.
  6. ↑ CUTEC and Fraunhofer UMSICHT : Greenhouse gas and resource savings potential of increased collection volumes and recovery rates on behalf of REMONDIS Assets & Services GmbH & Co. KG.
  7. ↑ Recycling - of money and gold and climate protection. Published on recyclables blog.
  8. ↑ Key points for a modern recycling law : Sustainable, community-friendly and consumer-oriented product responsibility.
  9. ↑ Agreement on the Recyclable Materials Act cements incorrect management in the dual system. By Peter Meiwald.
  10. ↑ wertstoffgesetz-fakten.de : News Statement by Michael Thews MP for recyclables law.
  11. ↑ wertstoffgesetz-fakten.de : Statement of Ingbert Liebing Member of Parliament for organizing autonomy of local authorities on the collection of recyclable materials.
  12. ↑ a b Draft for the Packaging Act is available , Euwid, July 21, 2016
  13. ↑ a b German Environmental Aid evaluates the draft of the Packaging Act as a breach of the coalition agreement and a declaration of bankruptcy to environmental protection ( memento of the original from August 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DuH), July 22, 2016  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.duh.de
  14. ↑ Explained: The new packaging law ( Memento of the original dated August 2, 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. , Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DuH), undated  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.duh.de
  15. ↑ You can still make something out of it! Cornerstones for a recycling law - ecological, practical and transparent. By Peter Meiwald Member of the Bundestag; Britta Haßelmann Member of the Bundestag; Franz Untersteller MdL, Minister for the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector Baden-Württemberg.
  16. ↑ Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen: Mismanagement in the dual system cemented.
  17. ↑ More circulation please! Key points for the introduction of a recycling law.
  18. ↑ Recyclables Act - Central Office controversial point. Published from Wertstoffblog.
  19. ↑ Interview with Peter Kurth , executive president of the Federal Association of German Waste Management, Water and Raw Materials Management (BDE).
  20. ↑ What is a recycling rate? Published on recyclables blog.
  21. ↑ GemIni Resolution : 5 basic positions for a future recycling law