Sustainable Waste Management in the European Green Capital 2011

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1 Reinhard Fiedler Stadtreinigung Hamburg Bullerdeich 19 D Hamburg T: Sustainable Waste Management in the European Green Capital 2011 FIEDLER, Reinhard / Stadtreinigung Hamburg INTRODUCTION On 23 February 2009 in Brussels, the European Commission awarded Hamburg the title "European Green Capital 2011". A key reason for this decision was the sustainable waste management system practised in Hamburg: The integrated waste management system with high levels of source separation of individual materials and energy recovery works very well, stated the judges when explaining their decision in favour of Hamburg. Comprehensive awareness programmes by Hamburg's Ministry for Urban Development and the Environment and Municipal Sanitation Department to underpin separate collection schemes for paper, glass, plastics, metals, biowaste at household and commercial level. The integrated waste management system works very well maximising landfill diversion through a combination of materials recycling and incineration. There are comprehensive plans to improve both recycling and energy recovery in the years ahead. Hamburg s Municipal Sanitation Department (Stadtreinigung Hamburg, abbreviated to SRH) sees itself as a proponent for forward-looking and sustainable recyclable resources management. The various activities undertaken by SRH to promote waste prevention and the recovery of materials and energy from household and commercial waste are highlighted. SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT IN THE EUROPEAN GREEN CAPITAL 2011 On 23 February 2010 the European Commission in Brussels announced that next year the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg will be Europe s Environmental Capital (European Green Capital 2011). Naturally all those in Hamburg who have devoted their work to environmental and climate protection for such a long time were very pleased. At the same time we take this as a confirmation of the notion that Hamburg s actions are on the right path, even if in many aspects of our environmental and climate protection mission we have only achieved certain milestones so far. With its application, Hamburg has tried to express its conviction that economic development and environmental protection can and do go hand in hand. This is not always easy in a growing city with some 1.7 million inhabitants on 750 km². In a business metropolis with an important port, which is also a large centre for industry, services and commerce, environmental and climate protection are always a special challenge. In these conditions, sustainable results can only be accomplished if economic

2 interests and environmental policy goals are carefully harmonised. This interest compromise is a prerequisite for an environmental policy that is sustainable over the long term. How this can be accomplished can be illustrated with the example of waste management in Hamburg. Much of what I will be presented in this article will be familiar in one way or another, or may even already be implemented in other districts or cities, either in the same or in a similar form. By comparison to other branches of technology, technical progress in waste management tends to be quite slow. Please let me return to the decision of the European Commission Jury. The concept of waste management in Hamburg was an important criterion for the evaluation, and particularly convincing for the Jury. The integrated waste management system with high levels of source separation of individual materials and energy recovery works very well, stated the judges when explaining their decision in favour of Hamburg. Comprehensive awareness programmes by Hamburg's Ministry for Urban Development and the Environment and Municipal Sanitation Department to underpin separate collection schemes for paper, glass, plastics, metals, biowaste at household and commercial level. The integrated waste management system works very well maximising landfill diversion through a combination of materials recycling and incineration. There are comprehensive plans to improve both recycling and energy recovery in the years ahead. The decisive elements in the success of our waste management measures were therefore not individual flagship projects but rather well harmonised individual measures and an effective communication strategy to ensure better waste prevention and recovery. A policy of customised disposal solutions that are ideally also economically advantageous for the customer is the foundation for Hamburg s waste management operations. As the public sector disposal corporation of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Stadtreinigung Hamburg plays a decisive role in the lives of some 900,000 private households and around 100,000 commercial and industrial enterprises. I would like to show you how Stadtreinigung Hamburg implements this strategy; for this I will use the five-stage disposal hierarchy as it is defined in Article 4 of the amended EU Waste Frame Directive and will soon also be transposed into German law as part of the planned Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz (KrWG Recycling Law). The new Recycling Law (KrWG) orients the German waste legislation more distinctly towards the concerns of climate and resource protection. The five-stage waste hierarchy replaces the three-stage Prevention, Recovery, Disposal hierarchy and defines the priorities as follows: 1. Waste prevention and reduction 2. Preparation for waste re-use 3. Waste recovery 4. Other recovery operations, in particular energy recovery from waste 5. Safe and environmentally sound disposal To improve the utilisation of resources, the German bill provides for the introduction of sophisticated recycling and recovery quotas that exceed the requirements of the EU legislation. From 2020 onwards, at least 65% of all municipal and household waste will have to be recycled, and at least 80% of all construction and demolition waste will have to be recycled or recovered. In addition, to enhance the use of biowaste, comprehensive selective waste collection will be introduced by The first and foremost goal is therefore waste prevention and reduction. This is a goal that is intensively pursued in Hamburg, among other things and especially against the

3 background of climate and resource protection, so that I would like to use this topic as my starting point. WASTE PREVENTION AND REDUCTION IN HAMBURG Of course Stadtreinigung Hamburg, as the waste disposal corporation, has no direct influence on the waste generated e.g. in the around 900,000 private households in Hamburg. However, by the design of its fee structure, Stadtreinigung Hamburg can set financial incentives to reward consistent and sustainable waste prevention. Households that generate less waste pay lower disposal fees than those generating greater quantities. Volume dependent fees for household waste disposal are a decisive prerequisite for a sustainable reduction in the generation of waste. Generally accessible household waste bins at centralised locations or by the roadside do not, without disposal costs allocation, create an incentive for people to prevent the generation of waste. This type of waste disposal, which is usually financed by means of taxes and not, as in Germany, with fees, is the rule in many countries in Europe and thus an obstacle on the way to a an effective and sustainable reduction in waste generation. A consumer who is directly charged for disposal of his household waste will be more concerned on a daily basis with reducing waste to an individually inevitable minimum or will at least make use of the frequently attractively priced recycling systems. WASTE RE-USE IN HAMBURG According to the new five-stage waste hierarchy, preparation for re-use is one of now three waste recovery categories. Reuse is the highest form of waste recovery. Preparation for re-use comprises all recovery processes of evaluation, cleanup and repair, in which products or their components are prepared in a manner such that they can be re-used for the same purpose without further prior treatment. Recycling, on the other hand, is the material recovery of waste for the same or anther use. However, this does not mean energy recovery or treatment/conditioning to obtain materials for the production of fuels or back-filling. The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg offers a number of different options for waste reuse. As an example, I would like to mention three projects in three very different areas and with significantly different target groups. Example 1: ALOIS - The Hamburg Soil, Construction Rubble And Building Component Exchange Some five million tonnes of waste are generated by construction and demolition work in Hamburg on an annual basis. In order to improve re-use and recycling, the Agency for Urban Planning and the Environment [Behörde Stadtentwicklung und Umwelt (BSU)] has initiated the utilisation of the Hamburg soil, construction rubble and building component exchange "Alois" ( The "ALOIS" portal is a free exchange for the offer and supply of used construction materials and soil. Private and public sector construction principals, architects and planning engineers, construction companies, crafts and trades enterprises, gardening and landscaping

4 businesses as well as recycling and disposal firms can use the "Alois" Internet portal free of charge in order to post or look for offers of soil material or used building components such as doors or windows. The exchange is a pure information platform. "Alois" is intended to marry supply and demand, with the participants settling all other issues between them. In the soil, construction rubble and components exchange, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg sees a tool for the promotion of waste prevention and recovery and for a reduction in the use of transport. The exchange is intended to contribute to the re-use of e.g. usable building components resulting from demolitions, and to facilitate the coordination of soil excavations and fills on different construction sites. Example 2: TOYs Company Used Toys For Children Every year, in the period leading up to Christmas, Stadtreinigung Hamburg makes an appeal for children s toys in good condition to be handed in at the City s Waste Management Corporation s recycling facilities. Usable toys such as children s bicycles, toy railways, children s books, board games or toy cars are handed over by Stadtreinigung Hamburg to the Toys Company association ( There, the toys are repaired, cleaned and reconditioned by unemployed workers and volunteers who provide their support. Once the toys are ready for use, they can be collected, free of charge, by kindergartens, hospitals, women s refuges and families in need. With this programme, more than 3,000 new owners have to date obtained toys that would otherwise have primarily been disposed of as waste. In this connection we should also mention the Remida association ( Originally created in Italy, the only branch of Remida is established in Hamburg. Remida collects clean and non-toxic materials and production remainders from industry, commerce, trade and the crafts, and makes them available to child care centres, schools and cultural organisations for their creative work with children. In this way, wire, stamped sheet metal, foil, textiles, boards, Plexiglas, leather, rope, rubber and tiles become craft supplies instead of waste. Example 3: Used Goods Department Store STILBRUCH One Man s Trash Is Another Man s Treasure! In 2001 Stadtreinigung Hamburg opened the first used goods department store under the name of STILBRUCH ( Furniture and household items in good condition disposed of as waste by Hamburg households via the bulk waste collection or at the recycling facilities are sold at low prices on a more than 2,000 m² floor surface. Since 2006 there is now a second STILBRUCH store, now covering a 1,400 m² sales area. Today, more than 210,000 pieces of furniture and fittings per year find new owners. At the same time, this project created 24 new jobs. The demand for furniture, bicycles, records, china and books has in the meantime become so significant that a third shop could also be operated profitably. However, the supply of appropriate items from the bulk waste disposal is currently not enough to make this possible. MATERIAL RECOVERY OF WASTE IN HAMBURG (WASTE RECYCLING) The offers of Stadtreinigung Hamburg concerning waste recycling are primarily directed at private households. Stadtreinigung Hamburg includes such recoverable waste separately,

5 either in the collection system (collection at the customer s location by Stadtreinigung Hamburg) or in the delivery system (delivery by the customer e.g. to Stadtreinigung Hamburg recycling facilities). In collection systems, recoverable waste is sorted according to different fractions in collection containers located close to the household (waste and recovery bins). The different collection containers are emptied by Stadtreinigung Hamburg, so that the substances can be introduced into the different recycling processes on a monomaterial basis. Three different collection containers are currently available to all 900,000 private households; individual utilisation is substantially voluntary and therefore also differs significantly. Collection System: Blue Container For Waste Paper In more than 100,000 blue waste paper containers, Stadtreinigung Hamburg collects some 42,000 t, paperboard, paper and cardboard per year. The blue paper containers with a capacity of between 120 litres and 1,100 litres are emptied all four weeks at single family homes, whereas weekly collections are offered for blocks of flats. Collection System: Green Organic Waste Collection Bin For Kitchen And Garden Waste In some 54,000 green organic waste bins, Stadtreinigung collects some 26,600 t organic waste per year. Including 2,400 t food waste from restaurants and 12,700 t green waste (recycling facilities), some 42,000 t organic waste were separately processed by Stadtreinigung in Hamburg in Organic waste from private households that is collected in the green organic containers is processed by SRH in its own composting works into quality compost for the agricultural industry. Starting in 2011, it is also planned, prior to the composting, to produce biogas in a planned, upstream dry fermentation facility. For this purpose, for next year SRH is planning a distinct increase in the utilisation of the organic containers and in the collection amount resulting from this channel. However, setting up more organic containers, especially also in densely built up city areas, will constitute a special challenge. Surveys have shown that 30% of respondents consider organic waste to be by far the least accepted recycling waste. Collection System: Seasonal Bagged Leaf Collection In the autumn, Stadtreinigung Hamburg offers private landowners a leaf collection service in special inexpensive bags. Together with leaves collected during street sweeping, this fallen foliage is processed, nutrients are added and the resulting material is used in agriculture to improve the soil structure. Collection System: Yellow Container For Packaging Waste The yellow container and the yellow bags are used for the collection of sales packaging except for glass (e.g. bottles) or paper (cardboard). The businesses that brought these packaging items onto the market together with their merchandise finance the return system of, at present, nine dual systems. In Hamburg, a subsidiary of Stadtreinigung Hamburg is commissioned to empty yellow containers and collect yellow bags from private households. The packaging waste thus collected is separated and the different fractions are recycled insofar as feasible and economically possible.

6 From 2011 onwards, this existing collection system for sales packaging will also be used to collect non-packaging monomaterials. This system, introduced as Hamburg Recycling Containers, also enables other, plastic or metal, household waste to be collected in the yellow containers. During the subsequent selection, the collected materials are routed to the different recycling processes. Collection System: Bulk Waste Stadtreinigung collects some 22,000 t bulk waste from private Hamburg households per year. This concerns primarily furniture and large electrical appliances. Together with the bulk waste that is also collected at the recycling facilities through the delivery system, recoverable waste fractions can be recycled. A similar differentiation pattern as in the collection system for recoverable waste also exists in the delivery system for the same waste fractions. Delivery System: 14 Recycling Facilities For Some 25 Waste Fractions Stadtreinigung Hamburg operates 14 recycling facilities. Private individuals and small crafts and commercial enterprises can bring their household and quasi-household commercial waste, waste for recycling and problem substances and hand them in there. Numerous waste fractions are collected in separate containers and routed towards recycling. They include, among others: different metals, wood in various qualities, glass in different colours, garden refuse and leaves, paper and cardboard, medication, CD ROMs, corks. Small and large electrical appliances, computers, entertainment electronics as well as fluorescent tubes and energy saver bulbs are collected in five separate fractions. Each recycling facility has a receiving station for problem substances and materials. At these stations, trained specialists accept waste with toxic or environmentally hazardous components, always provided that they originate from private households. As a rule, no fees are payable for the disposal of such hazardous waste. Delivery System: Mobile Collection Units For Hazardous Waste In order to include all problem materials from private households if possible, in addition to the problem substance acceptance stations in the recycling facilities, Stadtreinigung also operates mobile units that regularly patrol different sectors of the city. At the stops and locations of these mobile units, trained personnel accepts household chemicals from private households. The itineraries of these mobile hazardous waste collection units is published on a regular basis. Delivery System: Containers in Public Area In Hamburg, waste paper and glass can also be disposed of in 5,000 collection containers. As a rule, these collection containers are positioned in the immediate neighbourhood and can be reached by customers on foot. The items collected in these facilities are waste paper and cardboard as well as green, white and brown glass. The containers are emptied up to three times per week. OTHER RECOVERY OPERATIONS The fourth of the five-stage waste hierarchy includes the other recovery operations. As a rule this involves energy recovery of waste. The use of secondary waste such as clinker as

7 a building material or fly ash or cinders from incineration facilities as mining backfill are part of the other or miscellaneous recovery operations. The energy utilisation of waste has traditionally played an important role in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Not only was the first waste incineration plant on the European continent erected in Hamburg in 1896, but the incineration heat was also used for power generation at an early stage. Today, too, Hamburg s waste incineration plants continue to generate substantial amounts of power and district heat. As, however, within the environmentally appropriate disposal of household waste energy generation does not constitute a recovery measure within the meaning of the waste hierarchy, the following discussion is limited to waste recovery by energy generation from separately collected waste fractions. Since April of 2006, the joint venture BioWerk Hamburg has been operating the Stellinger Moor biogas plant, the first in Hamburg and one of the most modern and high performance facilities in Germany. There, some 20,000 t/a of food waste and meal leftovers, whether packaged or not, are used by means of biological transformation for the generation of power and heat in a district heating plant with an 83% performance effectiveness. The plant processes primarily fruit and vegetable waste, food items past their sell-by date disposed of by retail stores, food remnants from the restaurant business, from retirement homes, hospitals and works cafeterias, as well as fats and oils. Another option that is becoming ever more popular in Hamburg is the thermal recovery of untreated scrap lumber. Since 2005, a 20 MW biomass fuelled power plant has been generating power based on scrap lumber. Additional power plants of this kind are currently planned. SAFE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND DISPOSAL Every year, some one million tonnes household waste and quasi household commercial waste from Hamburg are thermally processed in a total of four modern waste incineration plants. Approximately 1.4 million megawatt hours in energy are generated annually from the incineration of these types of waste. Because the energy need not be produced from fossil fuels, and because it is generated from waste consisting to 50% of biogenic substances, energy generation resulting from thermal processing of household waste is also a contribution to environmental protection. SUMMARY AND PROSPECTS The Free Hanseatic City of Hamburg has pioneered the introduction of an environmentally responsible and sustainable waste and resource management system. The early discontinuance of the landfill disposal of unprocessed waste in 1998 and the development and structuring of a comprehensive collection of various different waste fractions for sustainable recycling are an important prerequisite for environmental and climate protection in Hamburg as the 2011 Environmental Capital. The separate collection of recoverable waste will be extended and distinctly expanded. In this way, Hamburg is setting the course for early compliance with the demanding EU and German recycling and recovery quotas, with the goal of recycling at least 65% of all of Hamburg s municipal and household waste from 2020 onwards.