Press | Umweltbundesamt

Separating waste is, in fact, not a difficult task: organic waste, paper, and glass are put into special bins or containers. Consumers can deliver used electronics and bulky waste to municipal collection points for recycling. Lightweight packaging is sorted to the yellow bin (Gelbe Tonne). Waste sorting is about to become even simpler as the yellow bin is expanded to include other recyclable mater... read more

Energy renovation of buildings offers many opportunities in the areas of climate protection and job creation. Nearly 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions could be saved in the construction industry by 2030. As shown in a new UBA study, however, there is an increasing lack of qualified personnel to plan and carry out restoration operations optimally.  For the same reason, a mere one-third of econ... read more

As of today the website of the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) at the Federal Environment Agency has a new outfit- a modern look, easier to navigate, and more services. Site visitors can now already access their topic of choice from the homepage. Emissions traders gain access to relevant pages via their own special area. Quicklinks, tag clouds and info boxes can customise searches with... read more

Global warming is advancing, and as a result, Germany can expect a sharp increase in extreme precipitation year in around 2040. In three decades‘ time there will be considerably more damage done by floods. Lawmakers, businesses and society must make timely preparations in anticipation of the looming hazards posed by weather extremes. These are the conclusions reached in a joint research project by... read more

A Federal Environment Agency analysis asserts that some 85 percent of the electricity price hikes between 2000 and 2010 are founded on factors other than the EEG levy. The surcharges currently added to electricity rates cannot be justified by the EEG levy for the increase is matched by considerable cost cuts in power procurement, thanks in part to the development of renewable energies which result... read more

Germany is one of the first countries in Europe that will be allowed to resume trading emission certificates. The European Commission had suspended all national and international transactions on January 19th in the wake of security incidents at some European registries. Germany was not among the countries affected. National registries would only be allowed to resume full online trading after a com... read more

A first assessment of the air quality in 2010 done by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) indicates that at 56 percent of the measuring stations in urban areas near traffic, the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration levels exceeded the annual mean value of 40 microgammes/cubic metre of air (µg/m3) which has been set as the statutory cap since 1.1.2010. The assessment is based on preliminary data f... read more

In light of the current situation of dioxin contamination in animal feed and some foods, concerned citizens have considered blood tests to detect the presence of dioxin. The Human Biomonitoring Commission (HBM) of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) advises against this. Although it is in principle possible to trace dioxins in the human body, the blood dioxin concentration resulting from weeks of... read more