Germany: waste disposal decreased by 3.5% in 2002

According to waste statistics recently published by the German Federal Office for Statistics for the year 2002, the quantity of waste that went to landfill and waste incineration plants in Germany was 381 million tonnes – 14 million tonnes (or 3.5%) less than the previous year, and 25 million tonnes (6.2%) less than in 2002. The largest fraction of waste came from construction and demolition waste, which amounted to 241 million tonnes, followed by MSW (53 million tonnes), material from mining and excavation (46 million tonnes) and waste from industry (42 million tonnes).



There are several reasons that the waste quantities going to landfill dropped in 2002: firstly, the amount of construction and demolition waste fell by 11 million tonnes compared to 2001 and 20 million tonnes compared to 2000. This can be attributed to a decline in building activity. There was also less waste produced by industry: in 2002 the amount decreased by 3 million tonnes compared to 2001 and 5 million tonnes compared to 2000.



Of the 381 million tonnes of waste produced in 2002, 129 million was either sent to landfill or incinerated. The most significant fraction, which amounted to 252 million tonnes could be recycled, 248 million tonnes through material recycling and 4 million tonnes thermally in industrial production plants. That corresponds to 66% being recycled, an amount that remains unchanged since 2000. Construction and demolition waste comprises the largest proportion of material recycling with 206 million tonnes, and is used in road construction as well as a back-filler for earthworks, or as noise barriers.



The recycling figures for separately collected waste also remains stable. 99% of glass, paper and paperboard were recycled in 2002, while metal and laminated packing had a 96% recycling rate. The recycling figure for light packaging and plastics was 75%, while nearly all electrical waste was recycled. However, the statistics only show the amount of electrical waste that was delivered to waste disposal sites, which represents only a small proportion of the total WEEE produced.



The waste statistics are based on a mathematical model. The figures collected from waste disposal sites by the Federal Office for Statistics are not just simply added together to produce a grand total. The mathematical model excludes duplicated figures, which occur when the same waste is passed through several different processes