International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

50.0 Minimum Recycling Standards (Construction
and Demolition Waste) - Germany
The Commercial Waste Ordinance 846 regulates the recovery and disposal of
commercial municipal waste, and construction and demolition waste. The principal
aim of the Commercial Waste Ordinance (GewAbfV) is the segregation of waste
fractions (four fractions for building and demolition waste: metallic waste, glass,
plastics and concrete) in order achieve greater feedstock or energy recovery (i.e. the
aim is to remove wastes which are not readily combustible to allow for use of the
residual in energy recovery facilities).
Particular attention should be paid to two aspects:
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1. the approach employed by the ordinance with regard to recovery quotas; and
2. the special regulations for building and demolition waste.
The recovery quotas apply to the recovery of waste in pre-treatment plants. However,
not all accumulated (and recoverable) waste arrives at such plants; consequently, the
question arises whether the recovery quota as an instrument actually achieves its
intended effect.
The period between the accumulation of the waste (demolition of a house) until
transport to a pre-treatment plant, that is, the period in which the selection,
segregation and collection of recyclable waste takes place, is generally defined by the
KWTB voluntary commitment declaration. In this regard the question also arises
whether the Commercial Waste Ordinance only achieves the effect intended by the
legislator by means of an additional timely voluntary commitment declaration.
Prior to this, the building industry was fulfilling the recycling quotas imposed by the
voluntary commitment declaration. Accordingly, the instrument is functioning, and
legislative regulations (to be integrated in the Commercial Waste Ordinance) are
currently not absolutely necessary.
On the other hand, the specifications already given for building and demolition waste
in the Commercial Waste Ordinance must be studied in more detail. For example, the
list of building materials (e.g. plastics, glass, concrete) does not include such things
as insulating materials or high-quality building materials (concrete from structural
engineering). However, there are reservations regarding insulating materials due to
heavy soiling because recovery of soiled (usually mixed with other building materials)
insulating materials is only possible with restrictions. In practice, the problem of
mixing occurs for insulating materials in particular. Insulating materials are therefore
explicitly mentioned as mixed waste in the LAGA implementation notes.
846 (2002) Ordinance on the Management of Municipal Wastes of Commercial Origin and Certain
Construction and Demolition Wastes of 19.06.2002, Federal Law Gazette, pp.1938.
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