Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said: "It pays to separate and collect kitchen waste because potato, carrot and banana peels are true resources. The compost they make can replace chemical fertilisers and climate-damaging peat. Biogas generated from biowaste can substitute fossil fuels in the production of electricity and heating. That is a real boost for the Energiewende, it protects our climate, and stands for careful stewardship of our resources. That's why I am giving my support for the large-scale introduction of the bio-bin in cities and rural districts. Biowaste can only be used for the good of the climate if it is collected separately.“
The national Aktion Biotonne Deutschland campaign starts on 18 May. It will help municipalities in providing information at the local level. The campaign to promote separate collection of biowaste, which runs until 9 June 2019, is supported by the Federal Ministry for Environment in the framework of a 5-point plan to reduce plastic and increase recycling. Other sponsors include the German Environment Agency, Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), Association of Municipal Enterprises, waste management associations, retail associations and their members, and many cities, counties and other joint local authorities on waste management.
President Maria Krautzberger of the German Environment Agency comments: "We could be collecting over three million tonnes more biowaste nationwide with the bio-bin. Plastic bags, glass and other materials are unwanted. The bio-bin and composting are about natural cycles so who would think to discard plastic and glass on the compost heap in their own garden or in nature? Hence they don't belong in the bio-bin either.“
Under this year's campaign umbrella Aktion Biotonne Deutschland, cities and rural districts will be launching campaigns to promote separate collection of sorted biowaste free of foreign materials such as plastic. More information about the bio-bin is available at www.aktion-biotonne-deutschland.de. 140 cities and rural districts responsible for nearly 3000 municipalities have listed their local service number on the webpage. NABU is also offering contact information for local advisory services on waste and waste separation, see https://www.nabu.de/abfallberatung.
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