Waste | Resources

Immer mehr Verpackungen sind hochgradig recyclingfähig, die gesetzlichen Recyclingziele werden von den dualen Systemen überwiegend erreicht. Im Jahr 2022 kam es aber auch zu gravierenden Verfehlungen der gesetzlichen Quotenvorgaben. Was es noch braucht, welche Herausforderungen bestehen und wie diese zu meistern sind, haben die ZSVR und das UBA auf einer Pressekonferenz in Berlin erläutert.

All products that have a plug, a battery or a cable are usually electrical appliances and must be disposed of separately at the end of their life so that they can be recycled in an environmentally sound and high-quality manner. And because this is not always clear, the motto of this year's “E-Waste Day” points this out.

For the EU27 and Germany, the climate protection potential of the circular economy was examined for municipal waste, industrial & commercial, construction & demolition and food waste for 2017 and 2030 using the life cycle assessment method. The study shows the sector's GHG mitigation potential, including food waste prevention, in the context of the EU legal framework and the energy transition.

In a new position paper, the German Environment Agency (UBA) advises testing carbon capture and storage (CCS) in waste management.

The new OECD Handbook on Environmental Due Diligence in Mineral Supply Chains is a milestone for environmental protection in global value chains. For the first time, a clear description is given of how companies can identify, assess and prioritise environmental issues at the beginning of their global supply chains and take measures to prevent, mitigate or find solutions to arising problems.

Sports boats and light aircraft as well as certain leisure equipment, such as bicycles, skis and musical instruments, contain fibre-reinforced composites (FRC). They are often durable, valuable and, as waste, ideally suited for preparation for reuse or recycling. However, structured processing is currently still considered uneconomical and therefore does not take place.

For seven years, the Marine Litter Round Table has been developing recommendations for actions against plastic pollution in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The contributors are meeting in Berlin with patrons, Federal Minister for the Environment Steffi Lemke, Minister for Environment of Lower Saxony Christian Meyer and UBA President Dirk Messner to present results.

The German Environment Agency (UBA) recommends measures to increase the lifespan of technological devices and gives advice on how consumers can protect themselves.

A broad alliance of politicians, businesses and associations is campaigning for better organic waste collection. On 26 May, the "Organic Waste Bin Day" will be declared for the first time in Germany. The aim is to increase the amount of separately collected organic waste and to reduce the amount of incorrectly discarded waste.

The new Single-Use Plastic Fund Act requires manufacturers to pay the cost of waste from single-use plastic products generated in streets or parks. For this, companies will pay a levy into the Single-Use Plastics Fund, which is managed by the German Environment Agency (UBA) and administered via the digital platform DIVID.

The shortage of housing is a problem in many large cities and metropolitan areas. The building sector has for years failed to meet its environmental and climate targets. A position paper by the German Environment Agency (UBA) and the Commission for Sustainable Building (KNBau) at UBA investigates how affordable housing can be built without harm to the environment and human health.

100 major copper, iron ore and bauxite (“aluminium ore”) mine sites worldwide have been assessed for their environmental hazard potentials. Results have been published in an interactive map with a number of filter functions. In particular, companies can use the map to analyse environmental risks along supply chains and to support their environmental due diligence.