Press

Too much waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is still being disposed of improperly in Germany. A German Environment Agency (UBA) analysis found that some 86,000 tonnes per year land in the general waste bin instead of being recycled as prescribed. Germany’s recycling rate unfortunately still falls short of meeting the EU minimum recovery rate requirement of 65 percent.

Currently, only slightly less than ten percent of rivers, lakes and coastal waters are in good ecological condition. Although this is a slight improvement over 2015, Germany still faces major challenges. According to the EU Water Framework Directive, water bodies should be "good" in terms of chemistry, ecology and – in the case of groundwater – also in terms of available quantity by 2027.

According to the German expert group report published on September 30, 2022, the most probable cause of the fish die-off in the River Oder is the rapid rise in salinity, which together with other factors led to the mass proliferation of a brackish water alga that is poisonous to fish.

The coronavirus pandemic led to a slight decrease in packaging consumption in Germany in 2020, marking the first decline since 2009. Total packaging waste in 2020 was 18.8 million tonnes, or 0.7 per cent less than in 2019. Per capita, this is 1.7 kg less than the average 225.8 kg.

The German Environment Agency (UBA) has forecast that the gas leaks from the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines will cause some 7.5 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, which is about one percent of Germany’s total annual emissions.

In its two-day session early this week, the jury reviewed and evaluated 137 submissions in the project rooms of feldfünf e.V. in Berlin. After deliberations, the environmental and design experts nominated 28 projects for the German Ecodesign Award 2022. The ultimate winners of the award will be announced by Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke at the award ceremony on 5 December.

The food retailing sector is taking action to promote environmental protection. Examples include store organic brands, a larger selection of vegan products or energy efficiency increases in their food outlets and business offices. On the whole, the companies studied could make much greater use of their influence and scope for action, says a recent study by the German Environment Agency (UBA).

A flood alliance, “Tiny Forests” as a place for teaching about climate change adaptation and others – the winners of the national Blauer Kompass Award 2022 have been announced. The €25,000 in prize money is awarded to outstanding climate change adaptation projects in the areas of flood protection, agriculture, skilled crafts and trade, environmental education and rural development.

Sustainable mobility connects people, towns and places. During European Mobility Week (EMW) from 16 to 22 September 2022, communities throughout Germany and all over Europe will put their creativity and resourcefulness on display to show that sustainable mobility can create ties between us in many – and better – ways.

Wind turbine rotor blades are made of fibre composites and have been disposed of in very different ways up to now. The German Environment Agency (UBA) now presents a comprehensive overview of the sustainable use and waste processing of rotor blades.

Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke has commissioned the German Environment Agency to collect all available data, tip-offs and hypotheses concerning the mass die-off of fish in the Oder river and carry out a systematic evaluation of the information with experts from other authorities in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

A new cooperation agreement between the Merseburg University of Applied Sciences and the German Environment Agency lays the foundation for their cooperation in the fields of the environment and digitalisation. The occasion and central element of this partnership is the establishment of the National Centre for Environmental and Nature Conservation Information (umwelt.info).