Price shock at the garbage can: Munich increases fees for waste

The city is turning the price screw for garbage collection: between 1.32 euros and 2.99 euros per household and month.

The increase in fees is necessary, otherwise a deficit of 116.4 million euros threatens.

Munich - The fees for residual waste will rise - at least between 1.32 (multi-family houses) and 2.99 euros (single-family houses) per household per month. This emerges from a draft resolution that our newspaper has exclusively. The city council is supposed to deal with it in the municipal committee on October 7th - but it has hardly any room for maneuver. The price shock at the garbage can!

The waste management company in Munich (AWM) is obliged to calculate the costs for waste disposal for a period of two to four years, in Munich this usually happens for three years. In this range, there can be real surpluses, but also losses. Both are to be balanced in the next calculation period. This is required by law, there is no margin of appreciation. The current calculation period ends on December 31st.

Due to the corona pandemic, however, the Munich waste management company's income has fallen sharply, and the trade in recyclables, for example with paper or old clothes and waste wood, has almost collapsed.

On the other hand, the wages of the garbage collectors or the directors at the recycling centers rose.

In addition, the costs for disposal increased, for example for bulky waste, white goods or old electrical equipment.

Many had time to clean out their homes during the pandemic.

In addition, more and more waste is being produced overall and the incineration plants for residual waste throughout Germany are almost fully utilized.

In the draft resolution for the city council, the municipal department calculates that if the previous fee level were retained from 2022, this would result in a minus of 116.4 million euros by the end of 2024.

Even with the increased garbage fees, Munich is still in a good position compared to other large cities: In terms of the large 1,100 liter waste bins used in residential complexes, the state capital ranks eighth - behind Stuttgart, Cologne, Leipzig, Essen, Düsseldorf, Dortmund and Berlin.

That's how expensive it gets for households (annual fee for weekly emptying)