Planet 100: The Pacific Trash Vortex Explained
The Trash Planet series highlights various countries around the world and the way they manage their waste.
Germany led European nations in terms of recycling, with about 70 percent of the country's waste generates recovered and successfully reused each year To put this in perspective, consider this in 2007, the US was able to recover only about 33 percent of the waste generated this year.
To operate such a waste management system is successful throughout the country certainly no small feat, but for several years the Germans made it look easy So how they do it.
Recycling is very important in Germany, said Günseli Aksoy, a mechanical engineering student of 24 years in Braunschweig University of Technology People here are very conscientious.
The recycling rate in Germany is one of the highest in the world a respectable 70 percent Photo.
And conscientious country's waste management strategy requires the cooperation of government, industry and citizens, it starts at the beginning of waste creation process with manufacturers.
There are three simple components manufacturers must take into account the valuation of waste avoidance waste and environmentally compatible disposal.
By incorporating waste reduction in the industry, much of the management of waste from Germany becomes invisible, as companies are forced to rethink all aspects of the manufacture of packaging, processes and eliminating elements are all designed with recycling and waste disposal in mind.
In 1996, German lawmakers who were concerned about the growing number of country's landfills have passed the closed cycle and Waste Management Act, which requires companies to eliminate waste by implementing one or more of the three management strategies.
Waste prevention is the first priority because it encourages companies to design their manufacturing processes and packaging with the elimination of waste in mind Second, waste that can t be avoided must be recycled or converted into energy Finally, the waste that can t be recovered must be disposed of in a way that is environmentally friendly.
The concept in which private industries are responsible for the disposal of waste and to cover costs is described as the polluter pays principle in other words, those who create the waste are responsible for cleaning up the mess the US a consumer pays politics, in which waste management is financed by taxpaying citizens.
The three-point strategy to Germany doesn t apply only solid waste and packaging of the country but also in liquid, gaseous, hazardous, radioactive and medical waste efforts were a huge success; according to the German Federal Statistical Office, between 1996 and 2007, the country has reduced its total net amount of waste by more than 37 7 million tonnes U S.
Before a closed circuit of Germany and Management Act Waste trained national policy for waste management in the country, legislators knew they needed to make big changes that something had to be done to reduce the amount of waste solid country generated each year.
In 1991, Germany adopted its Packaging Ordinance, which requires all manufacturers to collect and recycle or reuse their packaging after being eliminated by consumers.
Make companies responsible for packaging at the end of its life cycle encourages them to pack the goods with less material in order to minimize the costs of recycling and disposal.
The order focuses on improving three types of packages.
secondary packaging non-essential boxes, like around vitamin bottles.
Primary packaging boxes which come into contact with the product, such as dentifrice tubes.
The Green Dot mark ensures responsible recycling manufacturers and waste reduction practices Photo.
Many companies are struggling to comply with all the new standards and laws of recycling introduced by the Packaging Ordinance.
They decided that they needed to be better organized, and so the system of double non-profit organization Duales System Deutschland GmbH in Germany or DSD was created.
Manufacturers pay a fee to become a member of the DSD and are then allowed to print the Green Dot Green Dot mark on all their packaging.
The costs are determined according to the material, weight and the number of DSD elements also takes into consideration that it will cost to collect, sort, treat and recycle different materials.
Recycling companies guarantee to accept any and all materials displaying the green dot, because the brand is a symbol that the product manufacturer has paid to become a member DSD and promises to comply with recycling laws in Germany .
At present, the Green Dot system is used by more than 130,000 companies in 25 European countries 20 EU members and four candidate countries Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia, as well as Europe Norway PRO , the umbrella organization for European packaging waste management systems, only 3 reports 2 million tonnes short tons of commercial packaging waste from Germany was recovered in 2007 that is more than 88 percent of all packaging products in Germany this year.
But wait, there s more DSD indicates that the country's recycling efforts in 2008, not only kept waste out of landfills, but also avoided about 1 to 4 million tons of CO2 emissions.
According to a report of municipal solid waste by the EPA in 2007, the U S has been able to recover only about 43 percent of all containers and packaging product this year.
DSD has made widely available and convenient recycling for German citizens The bins are located on street corners, in public parks and other spaces in the courtyards of buildings, and in all single family homes Such waste containers are usually colored and marked according to what needs to be placed in them.
Germany distributes different colored bins for each material While the Germans must separate their recycling, the system is still very successful photo.
An area will also probably taken for collection of shoes discarded clothing and scrap metal items There are also black bins for all waste that doesn t fall into one of the other categories.
Legally, the Germans did not have to sort their household waste, but it is clear that the vast majority of them don t mind to do In fact, many citizens feel so they sort their waste often help or politely correct foreigners or other they see that hurt.
Recycling is a way of life here, and if people in the US have just begun to do, after a while it becomes routine and you do not even realize you are doing, said Kormány Hochnedel, an American living old Germany 23 years is the same as to just throw something away is a simple thing that makes a huge difference.
special waste, paint and other chemicals, can be taken to local recycling centers or sometimes the stores that sell these products will have garbage outside their doors, for example, an electronics store will have a tray used batteries.
Germans know that when they buy at grocery stores and many others, they should bring their own reusable bag Some stores have plastic bags, but they must be purchased by the consumer.
No one even considers the use of plastic bags going to the store in Germany, said Hochnedel you bring your own, or you carry your stuff in a basket or in your arms, you really see what a difference little things like that can do there never garbage in the streets is so clean.
In addition, people can return some bottles and other containers at the grocery store or a liquor store where they were purchased for this, customers receive a reduction on their next purchase, or they return a small deposit, usually about 15 cents per bottle This provides citizens with a small monetary incentive to recycle, and it also helps companies achieve their recycling quotas.
It does not matter if the bottles are made from plastic or glass, a person must pay a deposit, so in the end, it's going to make the bottles, said Aksoy.
Germany is working to become a zero waste country by 2020 Photo.
So after all the careful sorting, where does the trash go DSD has a plan for this part of the waste management, too.
DSD works with towns and villages to coordinate the collection sites and systems around the country Many local governments hire private contractors to manage their waste management, but these operations are still funded by the Green Dot fees paid by industry members.
After the garbage is collected, it is determined which path it takes most items will be directly transferred to a sorting facility, where recyclable parts are separated from non-recyclable parts Materials that are sorting centers include paper and cardboard packaging, textiles and shoes, bulky waste, hazardous waste, scrap metal, electronics and batteries.
From a sorting plant, the material can move in several directions Paper goes to a paper mill, the glass goes to a processing plant, and then to a center of glassware, and clothing will distributors second hand the majority of items go either materials recycling facility, processing facility, or both.
Everything that can be recycled is incinerated t responsible or suffers a mechanical-biological treatment before being placed in a landfill in the 1970s, Germany had about 50,000 landfills, but now there are fewer than 200 thanks to stricter regulations and a reduced need.
According to the European Environment Agency in 2006, in Germany only about a landfill percent of untreated waste in the country In 2007, the EPA indicates that the U S sent 54 percent of its waste more 1700 landfills.
Germany certainly not intend to fall from the No. 1 position in the race recycling With recycling rates already about 70 percent, the nation is ready to conquer the last frontier in sustainability.
By 2020 Germany hopes to find a way to reuse all waste last of each item produced Achieving this zero waste goal would make the country 100 percent sustainable and eliminate the need for a completely discharged.
There is talk that Germany has serious work to do to achieve its objective, but with the excellent ability to organize its industry members and citizens, as well as engineering of the manufacturing processes and recycling very innovative and efficient, the nation continues to prove itself as one of the most advanced and environmentally conscious country in the world.
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