Circular economy; commercial waste

The new Commercial Waste Ordinance

The new Commercial Waste Ordinance (GewAbfV) came into force on August 1, 2017. It regulates the handling of waste from commercial operations. In particular, the new ordinance aims to implement the 5-stage waste hierarchy. High-quality materials from commercial municipal waste and construction and demolition waste are to be increasingly reused, processed and recycled. Material recycling now has priority over energy recovery in order to conserve raw materials.

All commercial waste producers and owners are affected by the changes to the extended obligation to separate collection and documentation.

These are, for example

• Industry, trade and crafts,
• Offices, administrations and law firms,
• churches, educational institutions, universities, technology centers,
• schools and kindergartens, associations,
• restaurants and hotels,
• medical practices, clinics and retirement homes, etc.

Important innovations

1. Obligation to separate collection. Waste generated at the place of origin must be collected separately by type.
2. Mixed collection: only permitted in exceptional cases. If waste cannot be collected separately, commercial enterprises must explain the reasons for this. In addition, mixed waste must always be sent to a pre-treatment plant (§4 GewAbfV) that meets the requirements of §6 GewAbfV.
3. Documentation obligation: For each waste fraction, the quantity generated per year and how the waste is recycled or disposed of must be specified. The company commissioned, the container types and sizes used, the disposal agreements and takeover declarations, the quantities and the whereabouts of the waste must be documented.

The following waste fractions must be collected separately

For commercial municipal waste

• Paper, cardboard and carton (excluding sanitary paper)
• glass
• Plastics
• metals
• Biodegradable kitchen and canteen waste, garden and market waste
• wood
• textiles
• Other waste fractions (which are included in the waste listed in Section 2(1)(b) of the Commercial Waste Ordinance)

For construction and demolition waste

• Glass (waste code 17 02 02)
• Plastics (waste code 17 02 03)
• Metals, including alloys (waste codes 17 04 01 to 17 04 07 and 17 04 11)
• Wood (waste code 17 02 01)
• Insulating material (waste code 17 06 04)
• Bitumen mixtures (waste code 17 03 02)
• Gypsum-based building materials (waste code 17 08 02)
• Concrete (waste code 17 01 01)
• Bricks (waste code 17 01 02)
• Tiles and ceramics (waste code 17 01 03)

The packaging (group 15 01) that also arises during construction and demolition work must be collected separately with regard to its different material composition (paper, glass, plastic, metal, etc.), unless it has been handed over to the product managers responsible for disposal.

Incidental waste rate

Businesses must ensure that the rate of misdirected waste remains below 5%.

Obligation to hand in

Every business must provide and use at least one municipal residual waste container for non-recyclable waste. The size depends on the municipal waste management regulations (depending on the type and size of the business or the number of employees) (§7 GewAbfV)
Residual waste for disposal is e.g. broken glass, used hygiene articles, used/defective office supplies, sweepings, ashtray contents, etc.

This must be documented and presented to the authorities on request

1. proof of separate collection

For all relevant waste fractions generated in the business, e.g. by means of site plans, photographs, practical evidence such as delivery or weighing slips or similar documents.

2. the takeover declaration of the disposal company

Before the waste is collected for the first time, proof of its whereabouts and an estimate of the expected mass must be provided (name and address of the disposer, intended destination of the waste).

3. deviations from the separate collection or pre-treatment obligation

The waste producer must justify the exceptions (technically impossible or economically unreasonable) in detail and present them in a comprehensible manner

4. the operator declaration

Prior to the first delivery to a pre-treatment facility, a confirmation from the pre-treatment facility regarding compliance with the required technical equipment and fulfillment of the sorting and recycling quota must be obtained in writing from the contracted disposal company.

5. possible proof that a separate collection rate of 90% has been achieved

This requires expert confirmation from a certified expert.

Exemption from the documentation obligation

In the case of smaller construction or demolition measures where less than a total of 10 m³ of waste is generated on a one-off basis , the whereabouts of the waste does not have to be documented separately as an exception.

The obligation to collect and recycle waste separately remains in place.

Exceptions to the obligation to separate

1. proven technical impossibility (e.g. lack of space, installation only possible in a publicly accessible location)

2. proven economic unreasonableness (e.g. disproportionately higher costs for separate collection, insufficient quantities or only sporadic accumulation)

Traders are requested to check possible alternatives (e.g. bring systems).

Mixtures must not contain the following:

• In the case of commercial municipal waste that is collected as a mixture due to an exemption justification, businesses such as retirement homes, hospitals and surgeries in particular must ensure and guarantee that no waste from the healthcare sector (human or veterinary medicine) is mixed in. Glass and organic waste must also be kept separate as far as possible so that high-quality recycling of the materials in the mixture is possible at all.
• In the case of construction and demolition waste, there are mandatory requirements for the composition of mixtures 1. mixtures I: only plastics, metals and wood; such mixtures must be sent to a pre-treatment plant. 2. mixtures II: predominantly concrete, bricks, tiles or ceramics; such mixtures must be sent to a treatment plant