Germany – The increasing number of German municipalities claiming ‘first rights’ on recyclables from households is having a dramatic impact on commercial recyclers, according to the German federal association for secondary raw materials and waste management (BVSE).
Over recent months, German scrap collectors and recyclers have seen their volumes decrease by up to 30%, BVSE managing director Eric Rehbock told ‘Recycling International’ on the sidelines of last week’s Recycling Aktiv exhibition in Baden-Baden, Germany.
According to new German recycling legislation, municipalities have first rights on collecting and recycling household recyclables. Law-makers use the argument that revenues are required for funding the whole disposal system, but commercial collectors sometimes fail to prove legal reclamation.
Rehbock describes the situation as ‘killing for the future of hundreds of private small and mid-size businesses’, adding that it is ‘unfair that local governments just take over well-functioning collecting and recycling structures that have been operated by private parties for decades’.
The BVSE and its 700 members are calling for the recycling industry to put more pressure on the government to change the new law.
For more information, visit: www.bvse.de
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