environment
Cabinet decides on upper limit for plastic in organic waste
Plastic does not belong in the bio bin. But not everyone adheres to it. Photo: /AWM/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The cabinet has approved the amendment to the Biowaste Ordinance. The plastic content is limited to a minimum.
A large part of the organic waste in Germany should only contain a maximum of 0.5 percent plastic before further processing.
This upper limit, which was introduced for the first time, is provided for in the amendment to the Biowaste Ordinance, which the Federal Cabinet approved this Wednesday. The Federal Council had previously approved the project in February of this year.
The innovation stipulates that in future all organic waste that is composted, fermented or mixed with other substances will meet this plastic limit. According to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, this affects more than 60 percent of the 14 million tons of organic waste that is treated annually.
For the remaining waste that ends up in the organic waste bin and is treated from there, an upper limit for the plastic content of 1.0 percent should apply. Experience has shown that the plastic waste in the organic waste bin, which mostly comes from private households, is more difficult to process – hence the higher upper limit.
Practitioners must check
In the future, operators of the treatment plants will be obliged to check the amount of foreign substances in the organic waste delivered. If the new upper limits are exceeded, they have to laboriously remove the foreign matter. This primarily affects plastic packaging, but also other plastic materials such as biodegradable plastic coffee capsules.
According to the Federal Environment Ministry, the new plastic upper limit of 0.5 percent also applies to all organic waste that is used for soil improvement or in gardening and landscaping. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the new requirements should come into force in stages by 2024 at the latest.
The Ministry pointed out the importance of better waste separation in the municipalities. Too much organic waste still ends up in the residual waste bin and is therefore not recorded separately, it said.
The Association of Municipal Companies (VKU), which represents the interests of municipal waste management in Germany, welcomed the regulation. A high level of purity is important, especially for organic waste, said a spokesman. “In order to be able to comply with the tightened limit values, our companies will therefore check the organic bins more frequently.” It could then also be the case that companies leave organic bins contaminated with plastic or have to dispose of them with the more expensive residual waste disposal service.