Germany a net waste importer

Archiv – According to a report from the German environment agency Umwelt Bundes Amt, the country’s imports of notifiable waste have been rising rapidly over recent years.According to a report from the German environment agency Umwelt Bundes Amt, the country’s imports of notifiable waste have been rising rapidly over recent years. In 2001, waste imports jumped 25% to reach 2.65 million tonnes and 2002 figures are expected to show a similar percentage increase. Part of the rise can be explained by higher waste disposal costs in neighbouring countries such as The Netherlands and lack of household waste treatment capacity in Italy.
As a result of strict controls on waste exports, including fines of up to Euro 50 000 and custodial sentences of up to 10 years, there were no serious cases of illegal waste exports in 2001, according to the agency.
In 2001, German exports of waste for final disposal fell only marginally to 84 000 tonnes, while imports of these wastes grew significantly to 550 000 tonnes – of which 360 000 tonnes was incinerated and 140 000 tonnes went to landfill.