GERMANY'S WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT - A Focus on Municipal Solid Waste

 
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GERMANY'S WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT - A Focus on Municipal Solid Waste
GERMANY’S WASTE MANAGEMENT
POLICY DEVELOPMENT

A Focus on Municipal Solid Waste
GERMANY'S WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT - A Focus on Municipal Solid Waste
Imprint                                                                                                                                                                                                            Content

                                                                                                                                         Summary                                                                             4

                                                                                                                                         I. Background: Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management in Germany                    5

Published by:                                                                                                                              Basic Facts about MSW Management in Germany                                       5
Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
                                                                                                                                           Current trends and goals                                                          7
Registered offices
Bonn and Eschborn
                                                                                                                                         II. Germany Waste management policy and strategies                                  9
Address (China Representative Office)
Sunflower Tower 1100                                                                                                                       Basic Principles                                                                  9
37 Maizidian Street, Chaoyang District
100125 Beijing, PR China
                                                                                                                                           Circular Economy                                                                 12
T +86 10 8527 5180
F +86 10 8527 5185
                                                                                                                                         III. Regulatory Framework                                                          17
E giz-china@giz.de                                                  Photo credits/sources:
I www.giz.de/china                                                  Cover, Shutterstock/ Timo Nausch, P6, Shutterstock/ Markus
                                                                    Gann, P11 Shutterstock/ Keikona, P14, Shutterstock/Teerasak            Framework legislation in waste management                                        18
Project:                                                            Ladnongkhun, P16, Shutterstock/Bilanol, P18, Shutterstock/
China Integrated Waste Management (IWM) NAMA                        Lebedeva Alena, P20-21, Shutterstock/Lightspring, P27,
                                                                    Shutterstock/Maykova Galina, P31, Shutterstock/Maykova Galina,         Biowaste                                                                         21
This project is supported by the NAMA Facility on behalf of the     P 32, Shutterstock/NicoElNino, P39, Shutterstock/Tunatura, P41,
German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conserva-       Mirco Lomoth
tion and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the UK Department for Business,
                                                                                                                                           Fertilizer                                                                       22
Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) (formerly DECC), the Danish   URL links:
Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate (EFKM) and the European   Responsibility for the content of external websites linked in this     Animal By-product                                                                23
Commission                                                          publication always lies with their respective publishers. GIZ
                                                                    expressly dissociates itself from such content.
Editors:                                                                                                                                   Packaging Waste                                                                  24
Qian Mingyu (GIZ), Nina Mitiaieva (GIZ)                             On behalf of
                                                                    NAMA Facility
Authors:                                                                                                                                   E-Waste                                                                          26
Laura Schroeder, Kim Jeonghyun                                      GIZ is responsible for the content of this publication.

Design/layout:                                                      Beijing, PR China                                                      Landfill                                                                         27
Weng Fangping (GIZ)                                                 2019
                                                                                                                                           Emissions                                                                        28

                                                                                                                                           Compost & Digestate - Quality Assurance                                          29

                                                                                                                                           Shipment of Waste                                                                30

                                                                                                                                           Supporting legislation                                                           30

                                                                                                                                         IV. Legislation Development                                                        32

                                                                                                                                         V. Current Challenges (Germany and the EU)                                         36
              Implemented by

                                                                                                                                         VI. Relevance for China                                                            40

                                                                                                                                         Annex I - Comparison of the major legislative documents regulating waste manage-
                                                                                                                                         ment in Germany and China                                                          46
GERMANY'S WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT - A Focus on Municipal Solid Waste
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Summary                                                                                              I. Background: Municipal Solid Waste
                                                                                                        (MSW) Management in Germany

Over the decades, Germany has achieved             Behind the current high performance and com-      Basic Facts about MSW Man-                                              Until 2012 Germany had even been demon-
remarkable progress in waste management.           prehensive regulatory framework, there has        agement in Germany                                                      strating a certain degree of decoupling eco-
It has shown a continuous increase in waste        been a long history of legislative development.                                                                           nomic growth from waste generation. Country’s
recovery and recycling rate, reaching re-          In the course of this process, as its name        Germany is considered to be on the forefront                            GDP had been increasing continuously (with
spectively 81% and 69% in 2018, as well as         implies, the focus of German main waste law       of waste management in in Europe - cred-                                an exception of 2009 when GDP fell due to fi-
significant GHG emissions reduction in waste       has been gradually shifted from waste dispos-     it to country’s high recycling rate, efficient                          nancial crisis), while the net volume of waste
management sector. Nowadays, the country is        al (Waste Disposal Act) to waste management       waste-to-energy system, advanced and wide-                              generated had been decreasing. Since 2012,
paying increasing attention to waste minimi-       (Waste Act) and ultimately to material circu-     spread use of biological methods for treat-                             however, the net waste volume has started
zation and improvement of recycling, especial-     larity (Circular Economy Act).                    ing organic waste as well as relatively high                            growing although not as rapidly as Germany’s
ly, of single-use plastics.                                                                          quality of waste segregation at source.                                 GDP (Figure 1).
                                                   China, similarly to Germany few decades ago,
Circular Economy Act and Packaging Act cur-        is being confronted with the rapid increase in
rently set the tone in German waste manage-        waste amount and the urgent need to reduce
ment. The former serves as the main federal        pollution. China’s waste management system
law outlining the legal basis and fundamental      is in transition into an integrated system                                 Decoupling of GDP and Waste Generation (%)
principles of waste management, emphasizing        beyond mere waste disposal and/or treatment.
                                                                                                                                                                                           118.3
waste reduction, reuse and recycling. Follow-      For this, long-term and holistic “umbrella            120
                                                                                                                                                                           113.9
ing the circular economy framework, the latter     legislation” setting concrete goals and pro-
embodies producer responsibility for packag-       viding consistent guidance towards a circular         110                                 106.7                                                         Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
                                                                                                                                                            105.1
ing waste by making producers and importers        low-carbon economy is required. By looking                    100 100     101                                                                           Net waste volume
of goods responsible for recycling, treatment      into Germany’s current policy and legislation         100           100
                                                                                                                                                                                                           Waste intensity
and disposal of their products in a post-use       as well as the history of its development, this                                 90.1
phase. Meanwhile, numerous ordinances diver-       report aims to provide an insight for further           90                         89.5                                                     86.4
                                                                                                                                                 83.8
sified by the type of waste (e.g. Biowaste Or-     legislative advancement of China’s waste                                                                                        82
                                                                                                                                                                79.3
dinance) or by the method of waste treatment       management towards low-carbon integrated                80                                        78.5
and disposal (e.g. landfill, compost) control      approach.                                                                                                        75.6
                                                                                                                                                                                                   73.3
                                                                                                                                                                                    72.1
environmental pollution and GHG emissions                                                                  70
occurring in waste management operations.                                                                         2000       2003             2006           2009           2012            2015
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Source: BMU (2018)

                                                                                                     Figure 1. GDP and waste generation in Germany, 2000-2015. Source: BMU (2018) 1
                                                                                                     Figure 1. GDP and waste generation in Germany, 2000-2015. Source: BMU (2018) 1

                                                                                                     Among the European countries as well as globally Germany has relatively high per capita waste
                                                                                                     generation.
                                                                                                     Among        In 2017, itcountries
                                                                                                             the European       was estimated
                                                                                                                                         as wellatasthe level (European
                                                                                                                                                              of 633 kg per person
                                                                                                                                                                         average    is per
                                                                                                                                                                                       486 year (European
                                                                                                                                                                                            kg/person   2
                                                                                                                                                                                                          ) . Ataverage
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 the    is
                                                                                                                      2
                                                                                                     486  kg/person)   . At the same  time, as mentioned    before, Germany   is  well  known
                                                                                                     globally Germany has relatively high per capi- same time, as mentioned before, Germany is for its advanced     waste
                                                                                                     disposal
                                                                                                     ta waste and   treatment
                                                                                                               generation.       performance.
                                                                                                                             In 2017,           According to
                                                                                                                                       it was estimated         theknown
                                                                                                                                                              well  data from
                                                                                                                                                                          for itstheadvanced
                                                                                                                                                                                      Federal waste
                                                                                                                                                                                               Statistics    Department,
                                                                                                                                                                                                       disposal
                                                                                                     since
                                                                                                     at the 2010
                                                                                                            level the   country
                                                                                                                   of 633        hasperson
                                                                                                                            kg per   been showing
                                                                                                                                             per year a continuous   increaseperformance.
                                                                                                                                                              and treatment    in recovery rates     (including
                                                                                                                                                                                              According      to theenergy
                                                                                                     recovery, recycling, reuse) against the backdrop of decreasing volumes of waste disposal. Furthermore,
                                                                                                     Germany reduced 56 million t CO2e of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since 1990 through the ban on
                                                                                                     disposal of untreated organic waste and an increase in recycling and energy harvesting. 3
GERMANY'S WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT - A Focus on Municipal Solid Waste
90                           89.5                                                       86.4
                                                     83.8
                                                                                        82
                                                                     79.3
          80                                           78.5
 6 | GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT                         75.6                                                                                                                                            GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT | 7
                                                                                         72.1        73.3
          70
                      2000       2003              2006            2009            2012         2015
 data from the Federal Statistics Department,                                            Source: BMU
                                                              Waste disposal and treatment              (2018) has
                                                                                                   in Germany                                                                                                       to the EU Eco-design guidelines.
                                                                                                                                                               Current trends and goals
 since1.2010
Figure         the waste
         GDP and     country    has been
                            generation     showing2000-2015.
                                       in Germany,   a        evolved
                                                                Source: toward   high1 recovery rate as can be
                                                                        BMU (2018)
 continuous increase in recovery rates (includ-               seen in the Figure 2. In 2018, the recovery                                                      Germany’s waste management goals follow its       3. Improvement of recycling: From 2019, the
Among the European countries as well as globally rate
 ing energy   recovery,     recycling,  reuse)   against           reached
                                                               Germany    has81relatively
                                                                                  % whereby
                                                                                          high69%per of    waste
                                                                                                      capita   waste                                           circular economy framework, focusing on recy-        target for recycling rate for plastic pack-
generation.
 the backdropIn 2017,     it was estimated
                  of decreasing      volumesatofthe  level of 633
                                                  waste       werekgrecycled.
                                                                      per personAsper  year (European
                                                                                    of 2015,               had 1,143
                                                                                             Germany average        is                                         cling, reuse and reduction of waste as well as       aging has been raised to 58.5% from the
486  kg/person)   2
                   . At the  same   time,
 disposal. Furthermore, Germany reduced 56as mentioned        landfills, 76 incineration plants and 2,171
                                                         before, Germany    is well known  for its advanced    waste
                                                                                                                                                               aiming at cutting environmental pollution from       previous 36%. In 2022, it shall reach 63%
disposal  and   treatment     performance.
 million tCO2e of greenhouse gas (GHG) emis-   According to  the data from
                                                              recovery        the Federal
                                                                         facilities        Statistics
                                                                                    including  energyDepartment,
                                                                                                          recovery,                                                                                                 as defined by the Packaging Act. BMU will
                                                                                                                                                               waste management operations. In the Circular
since  2010  the    country   has  been   showing
 sions since 1990 through the ban on disposal      a  continuous  increase   in recovery  rates  (including
                                                              recycling and backfilling facilities    4
                                                                                                        .     energy                                                                                                begin a new recycling plan to increase
recovery,  recycling,   reuse)   against                                                                                                                       Economy Act, revised in 2012, Germany sets
 of untreated    organic     waste   and the  backdrop in
                                          an increase   of decreasing volumes of waste disposal. Furthermore,
                                                                                                                                                               recovery rates that will become mandatory in         demand for secondary raw materials.
Germany    reduced    56   million t
 recycling and energy harvesting2 3. CO  e of greenhouse   gas (GHG) emissions since 1990 through the ban on
disposal of untreated organic waste and an increase in recycling and energy harvesting. 3                                                                      2020. As a preparatory measure, the country
                                                                                                                                                               aims to reach at least 65% of MSW reuse and       4. Improvement of biowaste use: Under the
                                                                                                                                                               recycling by 1 January 2020.                         framework of the “Germany Biowaste Bin
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Campaign” (Aktion Biotonne Deutschland),
    100
                                                                                                                                                               One of the major focus points of the current         BMU will support local communities with
     90                                                                                                                                       Landfill,
                                              79            79       79           81
                                                                                                                                                18%            policies is plastic waste and, in particular,        waste management advice to promote
     80                           74
                68       68                                                                                                                                    single-use plastics. In 2018, Svenja Schulze,        high quality waste segregation at source,
     70                                                                                                                                                                                                             and this way, to avoid plastic ending up
                                                                                                                                                     Inciner
                                                                                                                                                               German Federal Minister for the Environ-
     60                                                          Recovery rate                                                                                                                                      in the biowaste bin as well as to prevent
                                                                                                                                                      ation,   ment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
     50                                                          Disposal rate                                                                         1%                                                           biowaste being thrown into the bin for
                                                                                                                                                               (BMU), presented five measures to reduce
     40         32       32                                                                                                                                    plastic waste, to strengthen application of its      residual waste. Currently, almost 50% of
                                  26
     30                                       21            21       21           19                                                                           alternatives and to improve recycling. The plan      biowaste lands in residual waste bins,
     20
                                                                                                Recycling,                                                     combines obligatory and voluntary measures,          while plastic bags, glass and other mate-
     10                                                                                           69%                                                          and will be carried out with a promotional           rials are thrown into the biowaste bin and
      0                                                                                                                                    Energy recovery,    campaign called “No to disposal plastic soci-        contaminate organic waste, making the re-
               2000     2003    2006       2009        2012        2015          2018                                                           12%
                                                                                                                                                               ety” under the motto “Less is better”. The key       covery process more complicated as well
                       Development of recovery and disposal                                              Waste disposal and treatement in                      elements of the strategy are as follows:             as less efficient. “Germany Biowaste Bin
                            rate from 2000 to 2015 (%)                                                              2017 (%)                                                                                        Campaign” also targets the market for the
                                                                                                                                                               1. Reducing unnecessary plastic products and         products of biowaste treatment, including
    Figure 2. Development and current status of waste disposal and recovery in Germany. Source: Statistish-                                                                                                         development and application of stricter
                                                                                                                                                                  packaging: The federal government sup-
    es Bundesamt (2019)5.
                                                                                                                                                                  ports a Europe-wide ban on disposable             regulatory measures for the quality of
1
  BMU (2018). Waste Management in Germany 2018. Retrieved from                                                                                                    plastic products. At the national level, a        compost.
https://www.bmu.de/fileadmin/Daten_BMU/Pools/Broschueren/abfallwirtschaft_2018_en_bf.pdf
2 Eurostat, Municipal waste statistics (2017). Municipal waste generated, 2017. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-
                                                                                                                                                                  dialogue with handlers will be launched to
explained/index.php/Municipal_waste_statistics
3 BMU (2018). Waste Management in Germany 2018. Retrieved from
                                                                                                                                                                  achieve voluntary commitments to reduce        5. International engagement against marine
https://www.bmu.de/fileadmin/Daten_BMU/Pools/Broschueren/abfallwirtschaft_2018_en_bf.pdf                                                                          the number of plastic bags and the volume         litter and for sustainable use of plastic:
                                                                                                                                                                  of packaging.                                     At the international level, Germany calls
                                                                                                                                                          3
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    to tackle the issue of marine litter and
                                                                                                                                                               2. Eco-friendly design of packaging and prod-        improve resource efficiency. In particular,
                                                                                                                                                                  ucts: The government considers increase of        BMU plans to allocate a total of 50 million
                                                                                                                                                                  the participation fee for dual system. The        EUR to support developing countries in im-
                                                                                                                                                                  companies/dealers that use packaging that         plementing practical measures to reduce
                                                                                                                                                                  is easy to recycle or consists of recycled        plastic pollution of marine environment.
                                                                                                                                                                  materials will pay less than the compa-
                                                                                                                                                                  nies/dealers that apply less environmen-       In September 2019, BMU also announced plans
                                                                                                                                                                  tally-friendly materials. BMU also propos-     for banning lightweight plastic carrier bags
                                                                                                                                                                  es a new Eco-design system in accordance       nationwide starting from 2020. It is estimat-
GERMANY'S WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT - A Focus on Municipal Solid Waste
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                                                                                                                     II. German Waste Management Policies
                                                                                                                       and Strategies

ed that currently each German citizen uses                   Last but not least, the sector is also driven by        Basic Principles
approx. 20 such bags per year.                               the self-commitment of stakeholders respon-
                                                             sible for waste management service. Thus,               »» Waste Hierarchy Principle: waste preven-
Beyond these plans, waste management over-                   country’s landfill operators announced their               tion, reuse, recycling, (energetic or other)
all is one of the key elements of the German                 intention to reduce methane emissions by 1                 recovery, disposal
Climate Protection Program 2030. It is expect-               million tonnes CO2e by 2027 through optimized
ed that until 2030 GHG emissions from the                    gas collection and its more effective energetic         »» Polluter-Pays Principle: those generating
waste sector will have decreased to the level                utilization. If the pledge of the landfill opera-          waste also pay for its treatment – this
of around 5 million tonnes CO2e/year – a 50%                 tors is considered, German waste sector will               is needed in order to create necessary
reduction in comparison to the emission levels               overachieve its 2030 goal, decreasing GHG                  investments and incentivize environmental-
of 2016. In total, by achieving this goal, Ger-              emissions to approx. 4,5 million tonnes CO2e               ly-friendly behavior
many will emit 87% less GHGs from the waste                  annually.
sector than it did in 1990.                                                                                          »» Precautionary Principle: the government
                                                                                                                        has the duty to intervene in order to pre-
                                                                                                                        vent possible damage to the environment/
                                                                                                                        human health
                References:
                                                                                                                     »» Proximity Principle: waste should be treat-
                                                                                                                        ed/disposed of as close as possible to the
                1.   BMU (2018). Waste Management in Germany 2018. Retrieved from https://www.bmu.de/file-
                                                                                                                        place of its origin in order to avoid unnec-
                     admin/Daten_BMU/Pools/Broschueren/abfallwirtschaft_2018_en_bf.pdf
                                                                                                                        essary transportation as well as associat-
                2.   Eurostat, Municipal waste statistics (2017). Municipal waste generated, 2017. Retrieved from
                                                                                                                        ed environmental pollution and risks
                     https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Municipal_waste_statistics
                3.   BMU (2018). Waste Management in Germany 2018. Retrieved from https://www.bmu.de/file-
                                                                                                                     »» Subsidiarity Principle: who is doing the
                     admin/Daten_BMU/Pools/Broschueren/abfallwirtschaft_2018_en_bf.pdf
                                                                                                                        job, depends on who is doing it best. Cost,
                4.   Eurostat, waste generation and treatment (2014). Number and capacity of recovery and
                                                                                                                        benefit and efficiency are often determined
                     disposal facilities. Retrieved from https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/submitViewTable-
                                                                                                                        by proximity to waste generation and
                     Action.do
                                                                                                                        treatment
                5.   Statistisches Bundesamt (2019). Waste balance 2017. Retrieved from https://www.destatis.
                     de/EN/Themes/Society-Environment/Environment/Waste-Management/Tables/liste-brief-
                     overview-waste-balance.html
GERMANY'S WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT - A Focus on Municipal Solid Waste
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                                                      Waste hierarchy

                    HIGHEST PRIORITY
                                                                   PREVENTION

                                                        PREPARATION FOR RECOVERY

                                                                    RECYCLING

                                                                OTHER RECOVERY
                                                                     e.g. energy

                                                                     DISPOSAL
                    LOWEST PRIORITY

                               Proximity principle
                               Waste should be
                               disposed of close to
                               where it arises to
                               avoid unnecessary
                                                                                       Precautionary Principle
                               transportation and the related
                                                                                       The state has the
                               environmental impacts and risks.
                                                                                       duty to intervene
                               If environment-friendly capacity
                                                                                       to avert potential
                               is located further away, how-
                                                                                       hazards arising
                               ever, transportation may make
                                                                                       from waste disposal, as it does
                               sense – possibly including to
                                                                                       elsewhere. For example, it can
                               another country.
                                                                                       make use of alternative funding
Polluter-Pays Principle                                                                systems or waste management
                                                                                       structures of its own to attain
The waste producer or                                                                  the goals of advanced waste
owner is the potential                                                                 management.
polluter and carries
the responsibility (including                       Subsidiary principle
financially). The polluter pays
                                                    Tasks are carried
principal creates the neces-
                                                    out at the level best
sary incentives for environ-
                                                    suited to handling
ment-friendly conduct and the
                                                    them, whether by the private
required investment.
                                                    sector or the state, at national
                                                    or local level. Costs, benefits             Principles of
                                                    and efficiency often come down            sustainable waste
                                                    to proximity to where waste
                                                    arises and is treated.                      management

Figure 3. Principles of sustainable waste management. Source: Modern waste - Goals and Paths: Germa-
ny’s expertise for an advanced circular economy. Source BMU (2016)
GERMANY'S WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT - A Focus on Municipal Solid Waste
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Circular Economy                                        end-of-life vehicles, WEEE, batteries and              »» Der Grüne Punkt (The Green Dot) by                                                   Ordinance (currently, the Packaging Act (Ver-
                                                        waste oils.                                               Duales System Deutschland Ltd. (DSD)                                                 packG)). The authorized companies for dual
“Circular economy”, a top priority for German                                                                                                                                                          system carry the producer responsibility on
environmental policy, is embedded in country’s          »» Extended Producer Responsibility                    The dual system was created as a result of                                              behalf of the contracted manufacturers by
waste management strategies. Market-based                  (EPR)                                               the Packaging Ordinance from 1991. Grüne                                                managing collection, sorting, recycling of their
policy instruments and initiatives such as                                                                     Punkt, a symbol of Germany’s EPR, is one of                                             packaging waste. The following diagram illus-
Product Responsibility Scheme (PRS), Ex-                EPR draws upon PRS and underlines the                  the authorized companies operating within                                               trates the scheme of the Grüne Punkt .
tended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Pay-              responsibility of manufacturers and importers          the system in compliance with the Packaging
As-You-Throw (PAYT) mechanism, as well                  for the environmental impacts of their prod-
as Public-Private Partnerships are essential            ucts throughout the whole product life-cycle,
elements, supporting circular economy, helping          including upstream impacts from the selection
to improve resource efficiency and minimize             of materials, impacts from the production
negative impacts during products’ life-cycles.          process itself, and downstream impacts from
                                                        the use and treatment/disposal of the used
»» Product Responsibility Scheme (PRS)                  products.                                                                                                                       Washing-up liquids
                                                                                                                          Manufacturers                                                                                                 Private
Product responsibility scheme (PRS) is based            Under EPR, producers support/pay the costs of                     and the retail
                                                        collecting, transporting, recycling and treat-                                                                                                                                 Consumer
on the idea that conditions for effective and                                                                                sector
environmentally friendly waste prevention and           ing/disposing their products at the post-use
recycling are anchored in the design phase              phase. The scheme may take the form of a                                                  Ec
                                                                                                                                                       o-

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             n
                                                        reuse, buy-back, or recycling programs and                                                        fri

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           tio
of goods. It sets out the concept that waste                                                                                                                 en

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ica
                                                                                                                                        Sy                       dl
                                                        gives manufacturers and importers an oppor-                                       st                          y

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      un
prevention can best be achieved if the produc-                                                                                               em                            de

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   m
                                                        tunity to choose how the scheme will oper-                                                                              sig

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  m
                                                                                                                                                  pa

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Co
er is held responsible for the amount of waste                                                                                                      rti                            n
generated. Thus, manufacturers of goods must            ate, enabling them to secure better access                                                      cip
                                                                                                                                                                at
                                                        to secondary materials for their own supply                                                                  ion
design their products to minimize waste that
will occur during production and subsequent             chains. OECD countries demonstrate strong
use. They also must consider the post-use               trend towards the extension of EPR to new
phase and guarantee that the product can be             products, product groups and waste streams
                                                        such as WEEE (waste electric and electronic           Granulate                                                                                                          Bottle for washing-up liquid
reused/recycled or at least treated/disposed
of in an environmentally sound manner.                  equipment).

The legal basis for PRS includes the Circular           EPR is an essential element for achieving
                                                                                                                                                                     io    ns
                                                        recycling quotes and triggering a shift to-                                                               at

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Or
Economy Act (KrWG) and the Federal Immis-                                                                                                                       ul                           n

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     de
                                                        wards a circular economy. In Germany, EPR is                                                      ip                              ito
                                                                                                                                                       St

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       rin
sion Control Act (BlmSchG). Product respon-                                                                                                                                              a
                                                                                                                                                                                      nt

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        g
                                                        anchored in a so-called dual system (Duales                                                                               e
sibility has been introduced for packaging,                                                                                                                              c  um
                                                        System Deutschland).                                                                                          Do

                                                                                                                            Sorting /
          References:                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Collection
                                                                                                                            Recovery
          •    https://dejure.org/gesetze/KrWG/23.html
          •    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Produktverantwortung
          •    https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/themen/abfall-ressourcen/produktverantwortung-in-der-abfall-
               wirtschaft
          •    http://www.oecd.org/env/tools-evaluation/extendedproducerresponsibility.htm
          •    https://www.theguardian.com/suez-circular-economy-zone/2017/may/10/extended-producer-respon-
                                                                                                                                                                                                 Used packages
               sibility-the-answer-to-cutting-waste-in-the-uk
          •    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_producer_responsibility                                  Fig 4. The Principle of EPR under the dual system.
                                                                                                               Source: https://www.grontpunkt.no/media/2866/2017-11-22-denison-dsd-oslo-final.pdf
GERMANY'S WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT - A Focus on Municipal Solid Waste
14 | GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT                                                                                                                               GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT | 15

                                                                                                                »» Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) Mechanism                  if fees are only levied on the quantities of
                                                                                                                                                                      collected waste.
                                                                                                                The “pay-as-you-throw” (PAYT) is an economic
                                                                                                                instrument for waste management that ap-              German cities and counties operate various
                                                                                                                plies the ‘polluter-pays-principle’ by charging       schemes, having the right to develop and im-
                                                                                                                the city dwellers according to the amount of          pose charges according to the subsidiary prin-
                                                                                                                waste they generate.                                  ciple. Most of the PAYT systems based on the
                                                                                                                                                                      approach that households pay less for sepa-
                                                                                                                The most common forms of PAYT schemes are             rately collected waste than for mixed resid-
                                                                                                                volume-based schemes (choice of container             ual waste. In some cases, cities only charge
                                                                                                                size); sack-based schemes (number of sacks            residents for the amount of residual waste
                                                                                                                set out for collection); weight-based schemes         generated, while in case of more elaborated
                                                                                                                (the weight of the waste collected in a given         systems, charges also apply to the generated
                                                                                                                container); and frequency-based schemes (the          organic, green and/or bulky waste.
                                                                                                                frequency with which a container is set out
                                                                                                                for collection).                                      When combined with well-developed infra-
                                                                                                                                                                      structure to collect the segregated waste
                                                                                                                The experience gained so far indicates, that          fractions (residual waste, paper and card-
                                                                                                                the most feasible PAYT design is when the             board, plastics, biowaste, green cut etc.) as
                                                                                                                waste fee includes both a basic and a vari-           well as upon the condition of a high citizens’
                                                                                                                able (service-based) fee, and does not only           awareness, PAYT is frequently linked to an
                                                                                                                depend on the amount of waste generated. The          increase in the collection rates of recyclables
Every manufacturer targeted by VerpackG                   reduce and/or optimize packaging for recy-            inclusion of a fixed (basic) fee helps to avoid       and overall reduction of per capita waste
shall sign a contract with a system that will             cling. Manufacturers participating in the dual        illegal disposal practices which can increase         generation.
manage its packaging waste. Manufacturers                 system can publish the symbol of the system
pay the waste management fee according to                 on their packaging, indicating to the end user
the weight and material of the packaging they             that manufacturers fulfil their obligations
put on the market, which incentivize them to              under the VerpackG.
                                                                                                                             References:
                                                                                                                             •   http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/6/1/8
                                                                                                                             •   https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/378/publikationen/uba_ab-
                                                                                                                                 fall_web.pdf
               References:
                                                                                                                             •   http://www.arc.cat/jornades/jornadaprevencio2010/pon_4.pdf
               •   https://www.gruener-punkt.de
               •   https://www.grontpunkt.no/media/2866/2017-11-22-denison-dsd-oslo-final.pdf
               •   https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.productstewardship.us/resource/resmgr/imported/German%20
                   Packaging%20Case%20Studies%20Apr09%20Power%20Point.pdf
               •   Der Grüne Punkt and other European producer responsibility organisations (PROs) have
                   formed PROsPA (Producer Responsibility Organisations Packaging Alliance). The alliance       »» Public-Private Partnerships                        return, the private partner may either receive
                                                                                                                                                                      fees charged from the end-users by public
                   fosters the exchange of knowledge and experiences between PROs operating in differ-
                                                                                                                Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are under-         authorities or acquire the right to charge the
                   ent settings. https://www.gruener-punkt.de/en/communication/news/article/details/
                                                                                                                stood as long-term contractual relationships          fees itself. Such partnerships provide attrac-
                   der-gruene-punkt-joins-new-alliance-of-leading-european-producer-responsibility-organisa-
                                                                                                                between a public and a private partner for the        tive models for financing capital-intensive in-
                   tions.html
                                                                                                                provision of public infrastructure/ services.         frastructure for MSW treatment and disposal,
               •   Der Grüne Punkt presents an online guide to Design4Recycling / Easy-read brochure on the
                                                                                                                Within such a setup, the private partner may          including integrated screening, sorting, recy-
                   recycling-friendly design of plastic packaging. https://www.gruener-punkt.de/en/communica-
                                                                                                                assume investment into the infrastructure             cling facilities as well as facilities for biolog-
                   tion/news/article/details/kunststoffverpackungen-recyclinggerecht-gestalten.html
                                                                                                                and/or facilities construction and operation. In      ical and thermal treatment. Experiences show
GERMANY'S WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT - A Focus on Municipal Solid Waste
16 | GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT                                                                                                                      GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT | 17

                                                                                                             III. Regulatory Framework

                                                                                                             Germany as the member state (MS) of the Eu-      so-called “shared competences”, meaning that
                                                                                                             ropean Union (EU) is widely influenced by the    both the EU as well as the German Federal
                                                                                                             EU laws & policies. Thus, EU legislation forms   Government can pass laws to address the
                                                                                                             the context and constitutes an essential part    issue. Thereby, the following hierarchy of leg-
                                                                                                             of the German legal framework. In addition,      islation shall be applied when examining the
                                                                                                             waste management, falling under the broader      waste management policies in Germany:
                                                                                                             scope of environmental laws, is a subject of

                                                                                                                1. European laws
                                                                                                                Waste management is governed by a number of European regulations and directives.
                                                                                                                The former automatically apply to each of the MS, while the latter must be separate-
                                                                                                                ly transposed into the national law. The basis of the EU legal framework in the waste
                                                                                                                management field is the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC).

                                                                                                                2. German Federal law
                                                                                                                The Circular Economy Act (KrWG) is currently Germany’s main waste management stat-
that PPPs can also contribute to lowering both            throughout the entire facility life-cycle.            ute setting goals and defining principles of waste management in the country as well as
investment and lifecycle costs of the infra-                                                                    taking into consideration fundamentals set out in the Waste Framework Directive.
structure projects. However, their efficiency             In Germany, the provision of public services          Disposal of specific waste streams (e.g. end-of-life vehicles, used batteries and end-
and impact largely depend on the agreements               with support of the private sector has been           of-life electronic and electrical devices) is governed by the separate laws such as End
made between public and private partners to               gaining more and more importance. Histori-            of Life Vehicles (ELV) regulation (AltfahrzeugV), Battery Act (BatterieG) and Electronic
provide sufficient incentives for continuous              cally, this model was driven by a number of           Devices Act (ElektroG).
private investments and quality maintenance               policy reforms, inter alia, introduction of EPR.
of the waste management facilities. Other                 Till date, it has fueled the creation of a waste      3. State Law of of German Federal States
key aspects to be considered include: (1) the             management industry with more than 250,000            KrWG is further differentiated by the waste management state laws, but they only have
transparency and fairness of the partnerships             employees and an estimated annual turnover            jurisdiction over those aspects of waste management that are not regulated by the
and of the market competition to drive down               of around 50 billion EUR.                             federal law such as implementation-related matters. The states are also responsible for
costs; (2) the provision of a sound financial                                                                   drafting waste management plans and concepts as well as aggregating statistics in-
basis which guarantees availability of funds                                                                    cluding type, origin and volume of waste generated.

                                                                                                                4. Municipal waste disposal law
                                                                                                                Further specification of implementation-related matters takes place on the municipal
                                                                                                                level as municipalities define how public infrastructure will be used, what system of
                References:                                                                                     waste segregation and collection will be practically applied etc. In addition, municipali-
                •    Sino-German Dialogue Forum on Environment and Climate Change: Exploring Solutions in       ties set charges for waste collection. The collection and recovery of household waste at
                     Urban Solid Waste Management, Beijing, June 6, 2018                                        the municipal level are governed by municipal ordinances.
GERMANY'S WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT - A Focus on Municipal Solid Waste
18 | GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT                                                                                                                 GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT | 19

                                                                                                           »» Circular Economy Act (Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz (DE KrWG 2012))
                    Framework legislation in waste management
                                                                                                       The German KrWG serves as the main federal         The law also contains a new provision con-
                                                                                                       law regulating waste management in Germa-          cerning the distinction between waste and
                                                                                                       ny. It draws upon the Circular Economy and         by-products, defining “by-product” as a sub-
                                                                                                       Waste Management Act from 1996 (Kreis-             stance that is produced in connection with
                                                                                                       laufwirtschafts- und Abfallgesetz (KrW-/AbfG       the manufacturing of another substance or
                                                                                                       1996) and implements the EU WFD. Based on          product. A by-product shall meet certain
                                                                                                       the requirements of the EU WFD, a five-level       criteria (possibility of reuse; no or limited
    »» EU Waste Framework Directive (EU WFD) 2008 (Directive 2008/98/EC)                               waste hierarchy is introduced in the KrWG.         pre-processing; inherent to the manufacturing
                                                                                                       Another central concept of the law is producer     process; not hazardous for health and envi-
                                                                                                       responsibility. It calls on manufacturers to de-   ronment).
The EU WFD 2008 is currently the major                  by-products.                                   sign and produce their products in such a way
EU law on waste. It provides an overarch-           •   Waste management must be carried out           that it will lead to avoidance of waste and/       In order to promote recycling, the KrWG sets
ing legislative framework, defines terms and            without any risk to water, air, soil, plants   or will ensure a smooth recycling process.         recycling rates that will become mandatory in
basic requirements to waste management. The             or animals, without causing a nuisance         Producer responsibility can be implemented         2020. In addition, since 2015 the law obliges
WFD also requires the MS to set up separate             through noise or smells, or harming the        through legal measures as well as through          all municipalities in Germany to separately
collection of waste where appropriate, and to           countryside or places of special interest.     voluntary commitments by manufacturers and         collect bio-, paper, metal, plastic and glass
draw up waste management plans and waste            •   Generators or holders of waste must treat      distributors.                                      waste (few exemptions possible).
prevention programs. It has been original-              it themselves or have it handled by an
ly built upon the EU WFD 1975 (Directive                officially recognized operator. The oper-      The KrWG makes a distinction between the           The KrWG is supplemented by a series of stat-
75/442/EEC), which was the first directive on           ators require permits and are inspected        two different types of waste:                      utory acts and ordinances such as the Waste
waste and included requirements on waste                periodically.                                                                                     Catalogue Ordinance, Biowaste Ordinance,
treatment for the MS.                               •   Competent national authorities must            •    Waste for recycling or energy recovery        Landfill Ordinance, Packaging Act etc. As a
                                                        establish waste management plans and                (responsibility with the waste owner or       rule, they serve to specify and complete the
Key points of the EU WFD 2008 are:                      waste prevention programs.                          generator)                                    provisions of the KrWG.
                                                    •   Special conditions apply to hazardous          •    Waste for disposal (responsibility with the
•    The legislation establishes a waste hierar-        waste, waste oils and biowaste. As for the          public waste disposal carrier)                Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/
     chy: prevention, re-use, recycling, recovery       latter, the MS are required to promote a                                                          krwg/KrWG.pdf
     for other purposes (e.g. energy generation)        separate collection of biowaste to treat it
     and disposal.                                      according to the waste hierarchy and to
•    It confirms the ‘polluter-pays principle’          use the materials produced from biowaste.
     whereby waste generators must pay the          •   It sets binding recycling and recovery tar-
     corresponding cost of waste management.            gets to be achieved by 2020 for household          »» Regulation on the Verification of Waste Disposal (Verordnung über die Nach-
•    It introduces the concept of ‘extended pro-        waste (50 %) and for construction and                 weisführung bei der Entsorgung von Abfällen (NachwV 2006))
     ducer responsibility’. This may include an         demolition waste (70 %).
     obligation of manufacturers/distributors/
     importers to accept and dispose products       Access: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-con-
     returned after use.                            tent/EN/TXT/?uri=legissum:ev0010                   The NachwV is an implementing provision to         Electronic Waste Documentation (electronic
•    It makes a distinction between waste and                                                          the KrWG. It regulates the verification process    waste collection) for hazardous waste since
                                                                                                       of waste disposal as well as determines its        April 1, 2010.
                                                                                                       type and scope. The version that came into
                                                                                                       force in January 2007 includes important           Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/
                                                                                                       innovations such as the omission of the sim-       nachwv_2007/NachwV.pdf
                                                                                                       plified disposal certificate, and the mandatory
20 | GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT                                                                                                              GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT | 21

  »» European Waste Catalogue (2014/955/EU)
                                                                                                                     Biowaste
The European Waste Catalogue classifies             influences the requirements/obligations estab-
waste mainly according to the sector of origin      lished for all parties involved in the disposal
and assigns it to a certain waste type with a       process.
specific code number. The aim of the waste
classification is the Europe-wide uniform           In Germany, it was converted into the national
waste designation. The European Waste Cat-          law by the Waste Catalogue Ordinance (AVV).
alogue distinguishes between dangerous and
non-hazardous waste types. It also determines       Access: https://www.umweltbundesamt.               »» BioWaste Ordinance (Bioabfallverordunung (DE BioAbfV 2013))
the dangerousness of waste (depends on              de/sites/default/files/medien/2503/doku-
the content of hazardous substances), which         mente/2014-955-eg-de.pdf
                                                                                                      The Biowaste Ordinance is one of the major       substances in the products of biowaste treat-
                                                                                                      legislative documents implementing the KrWG      ment, defines conditions for their application,
                                                                                                      since it regulates recycling/reuse (and treat-   as well as stipulates obligations to prove that
                                                                                                      ment) of organic waste. The ordinance applies    waste management companies, producers,
                                                                                                      to treated (compost, digestate) and untreated    owners, handlers and generators of biowaste
  »» Waste Catalogue Ordinance (Abfallverzeichnis-Verordnung (AVV 2001))
                                                                                                      biowaste that is used on land for landscap-      and mixtures are compliant with the specific
                                                                                                      ing, agricultural, silvicultural and horticul-   requirements.
                                                                                                      tural purposes, as well as targets all parties
AVV is used to designate and classify wastes        of Annex I comprises a total of 232 types of      involved in biowaste production, collection,     In § 2, the terms biowaste, treatment, un-
according to the monitoring needs. It was           waste.                                            transport, treatment and use. The ordinance      treated biowaste, treated biowaste and mix-
adopted on December 10, 2001 to implement                                                             contains information and requirements on         tures are defined by law.
the European Waste Catalogue (EWC). The AVV         Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/       suitable input materials, processes, quality,
consists of three paragraphs and the Waste          avv/AVV.pdf                                       disease and phytohygienic safety, contami-       Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/
Catalogue as an attachment. The waste list                                                            nant limits, heavy metal contents and foreign    bioabfv/BioAbfV.pdf
22 | GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT                                                                                                                  GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT | 23

                                                                                                          »» Federal Soil Protection Act and Federal Soil Protection Ordinance
                    Fertilizer                                                                               (Bundes-Bodenschutzgesetz (DE BBodSchG 1999) und Bundes-Bodenschutz- und
                                                                                                             Altlastenverordnung (DE BBodSchV 1999))

                                                                                                         Both documents set legal framework with re-       Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/
  »» EU Fertilizer Regulation (2003/2003/EC)                                                             gard to soil protection and pursue the goal of    bbodschv/BBodSchV.pdf
                                                                                                         securing sustainability or restoring soil func-
                                                                                                         tions. Due to their subject, they are relevant    Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/
This EU-level law regulates production, com-        economy with closed loops of resources, new
                                                                                                         for the legislation on fertilizers and, subse-    bbodschg/BBodSchG.pdf
position and labelling of fertilizers and lays      regulations are under discussion, including a
                                                                                                         quently, biowaste.
down rules applying to the products placed          revised EU Fertilizer Regulation, which would
on the market as fertilizers. The regula¬tion       promote the use of organic and waste-based
contains requirements on the permitted in-          fertilizers. The draft of the revised EU Fertiliz-
put material, the content and the efficacy of       er Regulation “contains several elements that
nutrients. In addition, it limits the quantity of   will help create a level playing field for all
undesirable substances. Fertilizers are de-         fertilizing products, while at the same time                        Animal By-product
fined by the Article 2 as the materials, main       ensure high safety and environmental protec-
function of which is to provide nutrients for       tion standards”.
plants. The regulation includes provisions on
packaging, labelling, identification and trace-     Access: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-con-
                                                                                                          »» EU Animal By-Products Regulation (1069/2009/EC)
ability of fertilizers/fertilizing products. With   tent/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32003R2003
the objective of achieving an EU-wide circular
                                                                                                         This regulation lays down rules/requirements      by-products are allowed to be composted or
                                                                                                         for composting and anaerobic digestion facili-    digested and, after this, used in agriculture.
  »» Fertilizer Act (DE DüMG 2009)                                                                      ties, which treat animal by-products. Together    The catering waste is a subject of this regu-
                                                                                                         with the EU Fertilizer Regulation 2003/2003/      lation.
                                                                                                         EC, it provides specific requirements for input
The Fertilizer Act (DE DüMG 2009) has              soil fertility as an essential goal of fertilizer    material and for the use of resulting com-        Access: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-con-
emerged from the reform of the Fertilizer Act       application.                                         post or diges¬tate. The Animal By¬-Prod¬ucts      tent/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32009R1069
of 1977 (DE DüngMG 1977) and now regulates                                                               Regulation specifies, inter alia, which animal
both the placing of fertilizers on the market       Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/d_
and the process of applying the fertilizer (Dü-     ngg/DüngG.pdf
ngung). A key innovation is the formulation of
                                                                                                          »» Animal By-Products Disposal Act and Animal By-Products Disposal Ordinance
                                                                                                             (Tierische Nebenprodukte-Beseitigungsgesetz (DE TierNebG 2004) und Tierische
  »» Fertilizer Ordinance (Düngeverordnung, DüMV 2012)                                                      Nebenprodukte- Beseitigungsverordnung (DE TierNebV 2006))

As the implementing ordinance to the Fer-           limits values for contaminants such as heavy         Both documents supplement the implementa-         ation/co-incineration, composting, anaerobic
tilizer Act 2009, the German Fertilizer Ordi-       metals for compost or digestate intended to          tion of the EU regulation in Germany. Thus, the   treatment, fodder).
nance (DE DüMV) regulates the application of       be used as fertilizer, soil improver, growing        ordinance classifies animal by-products into      Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/
fertilizers, soil additives, growing media and      media, or plant additives. The ordinance also        three risk categories according to the degree     tiernebg/TierNebG.pdf
plant additives according to the principles of      regulates labeling of fertilizers.                   of danger they pose to human and animal           Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/
a good fertilizer practice. It specifies minimum    Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.             health. Different risk categories have to be      tiernebv/TierNebV.pdf
contents or tolerances of the ingredients and       de/d_v_2017/DüV.pdf                                  processed or disposed of differently (inciner-
24 | GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT                                                                                                              GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT | 25

                                                                                                      »» Directive (EU) 2015/720 on Reducing the Consumption of Lightweight Plastic
                   Packaging Waste                                                                       Carrier Bags

                                                                                                     The Directive contains provisions to reduce the   and to 40 units per inhabitant per year by
                                                                                                     use of lightweight plastic carrier bags. The      the end of 2025. The choice of instruments to
                                                                                                     MS are obliged to reduce the consumption of       implement the Directive is open to the MS.
                                                                                                     plastic carrier bags to a maximum of 90 units     Access: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-con-
                                                                                                     per inhabitant per year by the end of 2019        tent/EN/TXT/?uri=legissum:200403_2

  »» European Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste (PPWD) (94/62/EC)
                                                                                                      »» Packaging Act (Verpackungsgesetz, VerpackG)

The aim of the Directive is to harmonize the        sures to prevent packaging waste and to          The Packaging Act came into force on January          the system, Central Point, a national au-
different measures of the MS in the field of        develop packaging reuse systems. The original    1, 2019, replacing the Packaging Ordinance            thority, established by manufacturers and
packaging and packaging waste management            1994 Directive, and the amended version from     1998. The latter obliged all manufacturers/           related associations, is responsible for the
and to ensure a high level of environmen-           2018, set targets with regard to recovery and    importers of goods intended for private con-          supervision of the packaging registration,
tal protection. The Directive aims to prevent       recycling of packaging waste, including mod-     sumption on the German market to participate          as well as for the data management and
packaging waste in the first place, to recover      ified requirements on lightweight plastic car-   in an authorized system for recycling and dis-        publication to achieve full transparency.
unavoidable waste and, as a result, to reduce       rier bags (plastic bags). The targets promoted   posal of packaging waste (“dual system” – for     •   New registration requirement (§9)
the final disposal of packaging waste.              by the Directive are as follows:                 more information refer to the section II). The        Every manufacturer is obligated to register
The Directive requires the MS to take mea-                                                           Packaging Act reinforces the system by estab-         online at the Central Point before putting
                                                                                                     lishing a centralized control and supervision         their products on the market. Products
                                                                                                     mechanism aimed at preventing “free riding”           without registration cannot access German
     By 2025                                        By 2030                                          and improving the efficiency of recycling.            market. The registered manufacturers will
                                                                                                                                                           be disclosed at the online portal of the
     50 % of plastic                                55 % of plastic;
                                                                                                     As part of the act, recycling targets for the         Central Point.
     25 % of wood;                                  30 % of wood;                                    different packaging materials are established.    •   New reporting requirement (§10)
                                                                                                     Thus, by 2022, the recycling of plastic pack-         All manufacturers subjected to VerpackG
     70 % of ferrous metals;                        80 % of ferrous metals;                          aging should reach 63% (from the current              are obligated to report the volume and
     50 % of aluminium;                             60 % of aluminium;                               36%). A 90% recycling target has been set for         material of packaging they put on the
                                                                                                     metal, glass, paper and cardboard.                    market to the Central Point. The data shall
     70 % of glass                                  75 % of glass                                                                                          also specify the dual system that the
     75 % of paper and cardboard                    85 % of paper and cardboard                      The Act applies to all manufacturers, import-         manufacturer is participating in. Since the
                                                                                                     ers, distributors and online retailers placing        Act does not contain any threshold with
                                                                                                     goods on the German market. All companies             regard to the size of the company that is
The Directive also sets an overall target for       respectively.                                    which sell goods in Germany must prepare to           subjected to the mandatory reporting, even
recycling of all packaging waste by weight                                                           participate in a dual system to arrange for           small-scale manufacturers/importers/dis-
at the level of 65% and 70% that are to be          Access: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-con-     packaging waste recovery/recycling to contin-         tributors shall register and report to the
achieved by 31 December 2025 and 2030               tent/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32018L0852                ue trading in the country.                            Central Point.

                                                                                                     The biggest changes made in the VerpackG are      Violations of the Packaging Act can result in
                                                                                                     the following:                                    substantial fines reaching up to EUR 200,000.
                                                                                                     • Establishment of a national authori-
                                                                                                         ty (Central Point (Zentrale Stelle, §24))     Access: http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/
                                                                                                         For the transparency and centralization of    verpackg/index.html
26 | GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT                                                                                                           GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT | 27

                    E-Waste                                                                                        Landfill

  »» Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS 2 Directive 2011/95/EC)                    »» EU Landfill Directive (EU LD 1999) (1999/31/EC)
     and Directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE Directive
     2012/19/EU)
                                                                                                   The EU LD 1999 regulates management of               the Directive must be assigned to a haz-
                                                                                                   waste landfills in the EU. The Directive’s           ardous waste landfill;
The RoHS Directive restricts the use of certain     Access: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/             overall aim is “to prevent or reduce as far as   •   landfills for non-hazardous waste must be
hazardous substances in electrical and elec-        legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX-               possible negative effects on the environment,        used for municipal waste and for non-haz-
tronic equipment (EEE), while the WEEE Di-          :32012L0019&qid=1434032353636                  in particular the pollution of surface water,        ardous waste;
rective sets collection, recycling and recovery                                                    groundwater, soil and air, and on the global     •   landfill sites for inert waste must be used
targets for all types of electric and electronic    Access: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-con-   environment, including the greenhouse effect,        only for inert waste;
goods placed on the market.                         tent/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02011L0065-20171211     as well as any resulting risk to human health,   •   criteria for the acceptance of waste at
                                                                                                   from the landfilling of waste during the whole       each landfill class must be adopted by
                                                                                                   life-cycle of the landfill”. The Directive is        the European Commission in accordance
                                                                                                   applicable to all waste disposal sites and           with the general principles outlined in the
  »» Directive on batteries and accumulators (Directive 2013/56/EU)                                divides them into three classes: landfills for       Directive (Annex II).
                                                                                                   hazardous waste, landfills for non-hazardous
                                                                                                   waste, and landfills for inert waste.            One of the main objectives of the Landfill Di-
The 2006 EU Directive on batteries and accu-        hazardous substances (in particular mercury    The following waste types are banned from        rective is to oblige the MS to take all possible
mulators aims to improve waste management           and cadmium), prohibiting batteries or accu-   being disposed at landfill sites and must        measures to prevent methane emissions from
and environmental performance of batteries          mulators that contain more than 0.0005% of     either be recovered, recycled or disposed of     landfills, reducing the warming of the Earth’s
and accumulators, as well as to ensure func-        mercury and 0.002% of cadmium per weight.      in other ways: liquid waste, flammable waste,    atmosphere. To ensure that bio¬waste is man-
tioning of the single market by establishing                                                       explosive or oxidising waste, hospital and       aged in accordance with the waste hierarchy,
rules for the collection, recycling, treatment      Access: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-con-   other clinical waste which is infectious, used   the EU LD 1999 stipulates gradual reduction
and disposal of batteries and accumulators.         tent/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02006L0066-20131230     tires etc.                                       of the amount of biodegradable waste to be
The Directive also sets limit values for certain                                                                                                    landfilled. In addition, it specifies that since
                                                                                                   To avoid further risks, there is the following   2009, all landfills operated in Europe should
                                                                                                   standard waste acceptance procedure for          meet the common requirements or be closed.
                                                                                                   landfills:
  »» Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (Elektro- und Elektronikgerätegesetz,                 • waste must be pre-treated before being         Access: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-con-
     ElektroG)                                                                                         landfilled;                                  tent/EN/TXT/?uri=legissum:l21208
                                                                                                   • hazardous waste within the definition of

In 2005, the EU WEEE directive was trans-           take back and dispose of WEEE at their own
posed into German legislation via ElektroG. It      charge. Accordingly, private consumers may
manages EEE placed on the market as well            return WEEE covered by ElektroG to the near-
as recovery and recycling of WEEE in Ger-           est public collection point free of charge.
many, stating the responsibility of producers,
importers and distributors of electronic goods      Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/
for the whole products life-cycle. In particu-      elektrog_2015/ElektroG.pdf
lar, those placing EEE on the market, have to
28 | GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT                                                                                                                  GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT | 29

                                                                                                         environmental effects caused by emissions         Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/
    »» Landfill Ordinance (Deponieverordnung (DE DepV 2009))
                                                                                                         into the air, water and soil, including waste     bimschg/BImSchG.pdf
                                                                                                         management, should be avoided and reduced.
The DepV 2009 provides regulations concern-           •   Landfill Classes I and II - landfills for      In order not to interfere into the freedom of     * Immission: Immission is the impact of air,
ing the construction and maintenance of land-             non-hazardous waste (low organic con-          trade, the Act states that the emissions can      soil and water pollution on living organisms
fills. It defines different landfill classes (LCs),       tent); “non-hazardous waste” includes          only be limited according to the principle of     or objects such as buildings or people (the
setting requirements for design, operation,               treated (incinerated or cremated) domestic     proportionality - analogous to their harmful-     recipients). The legally defined maximum val-
decommission and aftercare. The main dis-                 and industrial waste without special moni-     ness, i.e. their impact on the environment and    ues stipulate the permitted concentration for
tinction between landfills is the type of waste           toring requirements;                           human health. The Act is based on both the        many substances. Source: https://www.ikz.de/
that is allowed to be disposed there.                 •   Landfill Class III - above-ground landfill     “polluter-pays-principle” and the precaution-     ikz-praxis-archiv/p0006/000613.php
                                                          for “hazardous” waste;                         ary principle, and is especially relevant for
The Landfill Ordinance distinguishes between          •   Landfill Class IV - underground landfill for   waste incineration facilities.
five types of landfills (depending on the dan-            “hazardous” waste.
ger of the waste to be landfilled):
                                                      Access:
•    Landfill Class 0 - above-ground landfill for     https://www.bmu.de/fileadmin/bmu-import/
     inert waste (low-level mineral waste);           files/pdfs/allgemein/application/pdf/deponie-
                                                      vo.pdf
                                                                                                                        Compost & Digestate - Quality Assurance

                    Emissions
                                                                                                          »» European Quality Assurance Scheme (QAS) for Compost and Digestate (2010)

                                                                                                         QAS is seen as an instrument that would           waste hierarchy. For this, the MS can estab-
    »» Industrial Emissions Directive (Directive 2010/75/EU)                                             allow the MS to expand composting and             lish a quality assurance system (QAS), com-
                                                                                                         anaerobic waste treatment activities in order     prising an organisation with the competence
                                                                                                         to increase material recycling, decrease the      to control the quality of compost and diges-
This directive has replaced the former Waste          motes the “polluter-pays-principle” to assign      amount of biodegradable waste being land-         tate (quality assurance organisation, QAO).
Incineration Directive (Directive 2000/76/EC)         the cost of facilities updates. Waste incinera-    filled, and to consequently implement the
and obliges the MS to control and reduce the          tion plants and landfills are the waste man-
impact of industrial emissions on the envi-           agement facilities affected by the directive.
ronment. The directive aims to lower emis-
sions from industrial production through an           Access: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-con-        »» Quality Assurance System (QAS) for Compost & Digestate from Biowaste (1989)
integrated approach and application of Best           tent/DE/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32010L0075
Available Technology (BAT) as well as pro-
                                                                                                         Germany has been operating QAS since 1989,        BGK implements the developed quality stan-
                                                                                                         when establishment of the system was driv-        dards, appoints quality advisors, supervises
                                                                                                         en by the need to guarantee high quality of       plant operators and awards the RAL quality
    »» Federal Immission* Protection Act (Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetz (DE                              compost and digestate as well as to ensure        label. In order to be certified according to the
       BlmSchG 2002))                                                                                    compliance with the relevant standards and        RAL standards, compost or digestate have to
                                                                                                         legislation. The system consists of two organ-    meet specific quality requirements, major of
                                                                                                         isations - The German Institute for Quality As-   which are harmlessness, usefulness, appear-
The BlmSchG regulates the protection of               emissions, and aims to achieve a high level        surance and Certification (RAL) that develops     ance, reliability, and marketability.
people, animals, plants, soil, water, atmo-           of environmental protection. In the framework      quality standards and accepts the Bundes-
sphere and cultural assets from pollution and         of the Federal Immission Control Act, harmful      gütegemeinschaft Kompost e.V. (BGK) as QAO.
30 | GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT                                                                                                                GERMANY’S WASTE MANGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT | 31

                                                                                                       »» Ordinance on Waste Disposal Companies, Technical Monitoring Organisations
                    Shipment of Waste                                                                     and Waste Management Communities (Verordnung über Entsorgungsfachbe-
                                                                                                          triebe, technische Überwachungsorganisationen und Entsorgergemeinschaften
                                                                                                          (EfbV 2017))

  »» EU Regulation on the Shipment of Waste (1013/2006/EC)                                            The EfbV regulates the requirements to com-       by technical monitoring organisations and
                                                                                                      panies and public institutions, that collect,     waste management communities.
This EU regulation specifies under which            within the EU, its import, export and transit     transport, store, treat, recycle, dispose waste
conditions waste can be shipped between             through the EU. The law builds upon the Basel     or trade it. The EfbV also regulates monitoring   Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/
countries and establishes procedures and            Convention on the Control of Transboundary        and certification of waste disposal companies     efbv_2017/EfbV.pdf
control regimes, depending on the origin, des-      Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their
tination and route of the shipment, the type        Disposal.
of waste shipped and the type of treatment                                                             »» Commercial Waste Ordinance (Gewerbeabfallverordnung (GewAbfV 2003))
to be applied to the waste at its destination.      Access: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-con-
The regulation targets the shipment of waste        tent/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32006R1013
                                                                                                      The Commercial Waste Ordinance (GewAabfV)         five categories of the waste mandatory for
                                                                                                      is concerned with the management of com-          segregation (paper, glass, plastics, metals,
                                                                                                      mercial municipal solid waste and certain         biowaste) by two more categories (wood and
  »» Waste Shipment Act and Waste Shipment Fees Ordinance (Abfallverbringungs-                        construction and demolition waste, and deter-     textiles). The aim is to reduce the incineration
     gesetz (AbfVerbrG 2007), Abfallverbringungsbußgeldverordnung (AbfVerbrBußV))                     mines that businesses must already separate       of commercial waste and increase the recy-
                                                                                                      their waste at the point of origin in order to    cling rate from 7% to at least 30%.
                                                                                                      ensure the highest possible rate of waste
In Germany, the EU Regulation on the Ship-          which supplement and clarify the EU Regula-       recycling. As from 2017, the new version of       Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/
ment of Waste is implemented by the Waste           tion. Herewith, the costs for import and export   the ordinance has supplemented the previous       gewabfv_2017/GewAbfV.pdf
Shipment Act (AbfVerbrG) and the Waste              of waste are determined by the respective
Shipment Fees Ordinance (AbfVerbrBußV),             federal states.

                    Supporting legislation

  »» Ordinance on Waste Management Officers (Verordnung über Betriebsbeauftragte
     für Abfall (Abfallbeauftragtenverordnung (DE AbfBeauftrV 2016))

This ordinance obliges a wide range of com-         and disposal. Waste management officers are
panies to appoint waste management officers         obliged to attend trainings at least every two
and sets the corresponding requirements to          years.
the position. Thus, the waste manager acts as
a consultant in matters of a circular econo-        Access: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/
my, in particular, waste prevention, recycling,     abfbeauftrv_2017/BJNR278900016.html
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