475 kilos of waste per district citizen - introduction of a waste app

Interview with coordinator Thomas Farkas: About the amount of waste, correct separation and important goals.

District - Each district citizen produced around 475 kilograms of waste in the past year.

Thomas Farkas is waste coordinator in the Munich district office.

In an interview, he explains where the problems lie with separating waste, what you should pay attention to and why waste separation alone is not enough in the long term.

I always dutifully separate my rubbish - paper, residual waste, yellow sack, organic waste - can I sleep with it with a clear conscience or could I do more?

Separating is very important.

It is the basis for recycling to take place at all.

Are the district citizens good overall?

Yes, but there is still room for improvement.

Above all, we see potential in organic and residual waste.

In the case of organic waste, there should be a clearer separation from garden waste.

So branches and rhizomes should not be in the brown bin.

Garden waste is much better suited for the composting facilities.

In the residual waste we have too much organic waste and a lot of recyclable materials.

Which?

Scrap metal, glass, electronic scrap, small appliances like broken electric toothbrushes that don't belong there.

Are the people too lazy to separate?

I wouldn't say that at all.

The topic is not that trivial, you have to deal with where which garbage belongs.

And the appropriate separation options must be available.

There are still households where the organic waste bin is missing.

And many do not know, for example, that retailers have an obligation to take back small electrical appliances.

What should you definitely separate at home?

Paper, organic waste, residual waste - are these the three most important pillars?

Yes.

You don't need the big bin for everything.

You should also take advantage of the recycling islands - for plastics, glass, metal ...

Has people's behavior changed in recent years when it comes to garbage?

The awareness of this has increased.

Is there actually better and worse garbage?

So better as little plastic waste as possible or as little residual waste as possible?

That is hard to say.

Basically, it has to be more in the direction of waste avoidance.

Waste must always be thought of together with climate protection, they cannot be separated from each other.

For example, we should try to fix something more often instead of buying something new straight away.

For some products, each of us has the opportunity to decide whether we produce waste or not.

I can take reusable nets with me and use them to buy fruit, vegetables or bread instead of packing them in disposable bags.

I can bring my own plastic or glass containers to the butcher.

I can use my own bags at the weekly market and there are now also unpackaged shops.

That is often a question of cost.

Not everyone can afford to buy in bulk stores.

But there are so many other options.

Unpackaged fruit is also available from discounters.

You can drink tap water instead of buying bottles.

Those who prefer soda can buy a suitable cartridge.

Do not throw away every device immediately if it no longer works.

There are now so many videos on the internet that help with the repair.

It doesn't always work, but you can try it.

There are also repair cafés where you can have small electrical appliances repaired.

Are we producing less waste than we did a few years ago?

No, it's about the same.

The better the economy is doing, the more is consumed and the more waste is generated.

In absolute terms, we have seen an increase in garbage.

This becomes problematic with residual waste.

Residual waste is thermally treated and not recycled, i.e. recycled.

In the interests of conserving resources, we urgently need to reduce the numbers.

But even with organic waste, it is important not to throw away any food and thus avoid waste.

What numbers are we talking about when it comes to residual waste?

Nationwide we are at around 150 kilograms of residual waste per inhabitant per year, in the district around 143. We should get down to 75 kilograms per inhabitant as soon as possible, preferably by 2030, in order to achieve the climate protection targets for 2050.

But as I said: two thirds of the residual waste bin are organic waste and recyclable materials.

So the potential to do better is there.

Are there any positive developments?

Many people have understood that quite a few things are declared as waste, but what can be given a second life - recyclable materials.

But there has to be more to waste prevention and sustainable consumption.

Sustainability is currently very much in vogue.

This is actually a topic that cannot be ignored.

And a lot has happened during the corona pandemic.

More and more take-away food was ordered and packaging was piled up in the trash cans everywhere.

A lot has happened in the communities.

Many even promote the introduction of reusable packaging.

Was there generally more rubbish during the lockdowns?

Generally I wouldn't say.

We basically have too much rubbish, especially packaging waste.

Only the increase in waste glass and bulky waste is really noticeable.

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Coordinator Thomas Farkas.

© District Office

What's next?

There is the district's climate and energy initiative 29 ++, which is about activities for a climate-friendly future.

The topic of waste will also come even more into focus in the future.

Are there role models in other countries?

When it comes to electronic waste, it is worth taking a look at Sweden.

It works very well with the EU collection rate.

This is based on what has been brought onto the market in the past three years.

In Sweden, the minimum collection rate of 65 percent has been exceeded for years.

In Germany we are 20 percent below the prescribed quota.

How come

In Sweden, for example, there are individual recyclable containers for electronic waste.

But what works elsewhere doesn't necessarily have to work for us.

Everyone has to try it out.

There is no golden way.

Where is the path going in the district?

Avoid waste.

And you have to check what alternatives there are to waste incineration.

For example, the subject of hydrogen is hotly debated.

The district is taking a pioneering role with the “HyBayern” project (editor's note: in which vehicle fleets are to be operated with self-produced hydrogen).

At the moment, however, there is still too much energy to generate green hydrogen from waste.

What we are currently thinking about is the introduction of a waste app.

You can enter "car battery", for example, and the app will tell me the next disposal option, including opening times and alternatives.

Or she tells me the times when which garbage is picked up.

Occasionally this already exists in the municipalities.

It would be nice if something uniform emerged.

Further information

The district office offers numerous brochures and information on the subject of waste, the correct separation of waste and appropriate disposal options.

To be found on the website of the District Office, keyword “Waste”.

How much garbage is generated and what happens to it 

166,604 tons of waste were collected in the district last year. Statistically, each of the 350,473 residents produced around 475 kilos of garbage. The amount of residual waste is 50,335 tons. The remaining, around 70 percent of the household waste, a total of 116,268 tons, could be recycled. Including 27 012 tons of waste paper, 27 490 tons of organic waste and 18 941 tons of garden waste. Bulky waste accumulated 15,961 tons, lightweight packaging 8923 tons and used textiles totaled 1,112 tons. Over the years, the development of waste in the district, measured by its population, has remained relatively constant: in 2016, each inhabitant produced 476 kilos of waste per year, in 2019 it was 459. There are numerous waste disposal systems in the district, for example for the recycling of garden waste, sorting systems for bulky waste, Commercial and construction waste,a bio-waste fermentation plant, building rubble disposal and companies for scrap metal recycling and the combined heat and power plant in the north, in which garbage is incinerated.