Integrated Solid Waste Management in Germany
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July 1995 y NREL/TP-430-7978 Integrated Solid Waste Management in Germany CSI Resource Systems, Incorporated National Renewable Energy Laboratory 1617 Cole Boulevard Golden, Colorado 80401-3393 A national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Managed by Midwest Research Institute for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract No. DE-AC36-83CH10093 NREL/TP-430-7978 y UC Category: 1414 y DE95009259 Integrated Solid Waste Management in Germany CSI Resource Systems, Incorporated NREL Technical Monitor: Philip Shepherd National Renewable Energy Laboratory 1617 Cole Boulevard Golden, Colorado 80401-3393 A national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Managed by Midwest Research Institute for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract No. DE-AC36-83CH10093 July 1995 NOTICE This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof. Available to DOE and DOE contractors from: Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) P.O. Box 62 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 Prices available by calling 423-576-8401 Available to the public from: National Technical Information Service (NTIS) U.S. Department of Commerce 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 703-605-6000 or 800-553-6847 or DOE Information Bridge http://www.doe.gov/bridge/home.html Printed on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 10% postconsumer waste CONTENTS Page SUMMARY 1 1. BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION 37 1.1 GERMANY: BACKGROUND 37 1,l.l Land 31 1.1.2 People 37 1.1.3 History 40 1.1.4 Economy 40 1.1.5 Governmental Structure 42 1.2 UNDERSTTANDING SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN GERMANY 50 1.3 GERMANY AS A ROLE MODEL FOR UNTIED STATES 50 2. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATORY STRUCTURE 51 2. I OVERVIEW 51 2.2 ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS AFFECTING SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT 51 2.2.1 Act on the Avoidance and Disposal of Waste 51 2.2.2 Immission Control Act 71 2.2.3 Water Quality 81 2.2.4 Enforcement 82 2.3 FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATIONS 82 2.4 PROPOSED LEGISLATION AFFECTING SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT 83 3. NATIONAL WASTE GENERATION, REUSE/RECYCLING, TREATMENT, AND DISPOSAL STATISTICS 85 3.1 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE GENERATION, COLLECTION, AND TREATMENT 85 3.1.1 Waste Generation 85 3.1.2 Waste Disposal 91 3.1.3 Waste Composition 96 CONTENTS (CONTINUED) Page 3.2 PRIVATE SECTOR RECYCLING 100 3.2.1 Implementation Issues 105 3.2.2 Cost of the Dudes Program 106 3.3 MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT COSTS 107 4. CASE STUDIES 108 4.1 AUGSBURG 108 4.1.1 Augsburg Municipal Waste Management Program 108 4.1.2 Quantities of Waste Handled 119 4.1.3 Budget and Fees 123 4.1.4 Summary 123 4.2 BADTOLZ 124 4.2.1 Bad Tolz Municipal Waste Management System 124 4.2.2 Quantities of Waste Handled 128 4.2.3 Budget and Fees 130 4.2.4 Summary 131 4.3 DUISBURG 131 4.3.1 Duisburg Municipal Solid Waste Management System 131 4.3.2 Quantities of Waste Handled 148 4.3.3 Budget and Fees 159 4.3.4 The Future 159 4.3.5 Summary 163 4.4 MUNICH 164 4.4.1 Munich Municipal Waste Management System 165 4.4,2 Quantities of Waste Handled 180 4.4.3 Budget and Fees 189 4.4,4 Summary 194 5. REFERENCES 196 APPENDIX A: MEETINGS AND TOURS CONDUCTED IN GERMANY APPENDIX B: METRIC CONVERSION FACTORS INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN GERMANY SUMMARY Germany has legislation, regulations, and ordinances requiring that the management of municipal solid waste (MSW) be conducted in an integrated manner. The integrated management of MSW in Germany is to be accomplished in accordance with a hierarchy, most recently articulated and clarified in Kreislaufswirtschaft und Abfallgesetz (The Closed Loop Economy and Waste Management Act) which passed the Bundesrat in July 1994. The hierarchy is stated as avoidancehinimization, materials and energy-related recycling, and lastly, treatment and final disposal. This law is expected to take effect In 1996. Germany has in fact been managing its municipal waste in an integrated fashion for some time. The Waste Avoidance and Waste Management Act of 1986, which amended the Waste Management Act of 1972 (the "Act"), describes waste management as "... the recovery or production of materialdenergy from waste (reuse and recycling of waste), depositing of waste, as well as the necessary collection, transportation, treatment and storage." Under the Act, reuse and recycling are to be given priority over other disposal methods, provided that reuse/recycling is technically feasible, that the additional costs compared to other disposal routes are not unreasonably high, and that a market for the materials or energy produced either exists or can be created. The relative positioning of material and energy recovery in the hierarchy has been the subject of significant discussion and debate in Germany. The Waste Management Act of 1972, as amended in 1986, did not provide a clear distinction. The Packaging Ordinance, which is based on Article 14 of the Act, went beyond the Act by requiring reuse or material-related recycling for used packaging materials. The Ordinance did not allow the recovery of energy from packaging materials to be credited towards achievement of the required recycling rates. The federal government at present is working on an amendment to the Packaging Ordinance to clarify the definition of material-related recycling. The draft amendment changes the required recycling ratios and allows for energy recovery from packaging materials collected above the required recycling rate. Placing materials and energy recovery on an equal level in the hierarchy specified in the Closed Loop Economy and Waste Management Act confirms Germany's policy that materials and energy recovery are equally beneficial forms of the reutilization of solid waste, from a resource conservation point of view. ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS AFFECTING SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT Because the Gennan legal system is based upon the application of codes and does not rely on case history to the same degree as the United States system, the process of establishing these codes and regulations is driven by the need to resolve differences of opinion among key stakeholders sooner rather than later (i.e., during the development and passage of codes and regulations rather than via the courts following promulgation). This has led to the institutionalization of an interactive process involving input from key stakeholders as part of the formulation and preparation of laws, regulations, and ordinances. 1 There are a number of institutional players involved in the process of regulating waste management in Germany- The federal government and the Landers, or states, have concurrent authority in the area of waste management, as well as air and noise pollution regulation. The Landers may pass legislation in these areas provided that the federal government has not already done so. German law requires that legislation prepared by the federal government which impacts the Landers, including that affecting land use, the environment, and waste management, be approved by the Bundesrat, of Federal Council, which is composed of 79 representatives appointed by the Landers. Furthermore, federal administrative regulations can only be adopted with the consent of the Bundesrat. The Landers are primarily responsible, through their various agencies, for enforcing most of the land use and environmental laws. To coordinate the implementation efforts, the Landers have formed a number of organizations to deal with specific aspects of developing and implementing environmental legislation. One such organization, the Lander Arbeitsgemeinschaft Abfall (LAGA), is a working group established to assist in the development of detailed regulations aimed at implementing the waste management guidelines laid down by the federal government. There are a number of other key groups which are directly or indirectly involved in the development and implementation of waste management legislation and regulations. These include: The Committee for Environmental Questions (Kabinettsausschuss fiir Urnwelthagen), which is chaired by the Chancellor, includes members from the 12 federal ministries involved in environmental protection. This committee provides overall coordination of federal environmental programs. The Cabinet Committee for the Environment and Health assists with this coordination effort. It is chaired by the Minister for the Environment and includes representatives with environmental responsibilities from the other relevant ministries. The Conference of Ministers for Environmental Affairs (Umweltministerkonferenz), comprised of the federal Minister for the Environment and the environmental minister from each Lander, meets regularly to review a wide range of environmental policy matters. The Permanent Board of the Heads of Division for Environmental Questions (Stager Abteilungsleiterausschuss fiir Umweltfragen) coordinates the implementation of environmental policy across federal agencies. The Board’s membership consists of the senior environmental officials of 212 such agencies; it is chaired by the secretary of the federal Ministry for the Environment. 0 The State Committee for Environment Protection (LAI) advises the federal government on statutory and administrative regulations under the Federal Immission Control Act. It is comprised of representatives from various Lander ministries responsible for environmental protection and from the federal Ministry for the Environment.