This is good news: the volume of waste is the lowest it has been since 2010. And: for the first time since 2012, there was less than 200 million tons of construction and demolition waste. German citizens are doing a lot of things right.
Decades of education on waste separation are effective. In 2023, 380.1 million tons of waste were generated in Germany. As the Federal Statistical Office announced on International Environment Day on 5 June 2025, this was 4.8 percent or 19.0 million tons less waste than in the previous year. This means that the annual volume of waste has fallen continuously since the peak of 417.2 million tons in 2018.
In 2023, the volume of construction and demolition waste fell below the 200 million tonne mark for the first time since 2012. The above-average decline in this area by 8.1% or 17.4 million tons was decisive for the overall development of waste volumes. This was due to the sharp slowdown in the construction industry. By contrast, the volume of municipal waste, i.e. waste from private households, rose slightly by 0.6 percent or 0.3 million tons.
Even toddlers today learn in kindergarten what is important: plastic as disposable packaging should be avoided as far as possible or only used in a reusable form. This is because the production, use and disposal of plastic causes considerable environmental problems. To-go packaging contributes in particular to the pollution of public spaces and causes high costs for local authorities. In addition, incorrectly disposed of plastics jeopardize compliance with legal limits, which makes costly re-sorting necessary.
In the publication "Sustainable plastic cycles: regional avoidance and substitution strategies", the German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu) presents the results of a practical test to reduce plastic waste and promote the circular economy. One element of the study was the optimization of biowaste collection in large housing estates (GWA). The involvement of janitors, property managers and residents played a key role in this. The results of the underlying study can also help other municipalities to implement their circular economy.
Photo: © EKM-Mittelsachsen, Pixabay
