'Waste prevention' before 'recycling' before 'disposal'.

In October 1996, German waste management law was extended to include the Kreislaufwirtschafts- und Abfallgesetz (KrW-/AbfG / Act for Promoting Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management and Ensuring Environmentally Compatible Waste Disposal). It regulates how waste must be handled, clarifies the fundamental principles of closed substance waste management and ensures that manufacturers of goods are responsible for their products. Waste management is based on three principles: preventing waste, recycling unavoidable waste using high quality methods and disposing of unavoidable waste that cannot be recycled. Priority is given to waste prevention. This is then followed by recycling with the disposal of waste being the final solution if the other two are not possible. The principles of Producer Responsibility have already been incorporated into the area of packaging and are being systematically assigned to consumer goods and products. Responsibility for the products does not end with the production but also includes collecting and recycling the products once they reach the end of their life.

German waste management law has been considerably influenced by European law – for example by the European Packaging Directive.

 

 

 

 

* Act for Promoting Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management and Ensuring Environmentally Compatible Waste Disposal

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Kreislaufwirtschafts- und Abfallgesetz