At its first meeting on May 25, 2021, the newly formed Resources Commission at the German Environment Agency (UBA) was constituted for the appointment period 2021 to 2024. The Resource Commission consists of 18 experts from science, industry, administration, and civil society, who were personally appointed by the President of UBA.
Keeping materials in circulation and preventing them from becoming waste is only possible if the design of a product is adapted accordingly. The possibilities offered by ecodesign were the topic of the Circular Design Forum in Berlin. Here, the results of the project “EcoDesign Circle” were presented, in which the UBA plays the leading role. Documentation and additional materials are now online.
The use of treated wastewater, e.g. for agricultural irrigation, can alleviate pressures on water resources. At the same time it poses risks as treated wastewater can contain pathogens and chemicals. By May 2018 the European Commission wants to publish a regulatory proposal for requirements. UBA President Krautzberger and EU Parliamentarian Wölken invited for a discussion on 22 March in Brussels.
The EU Commission is seeking to adopt EU wide minimum quality requirements for water reuse for agricultural irrigation and groundwater recharge by the end of 2017. As the current draft falls short to set standards that are rigorous enough to protect the environment and human health, UBA has published a Scientific Opinion Paper to express its concerns and recommendations.
The service life of most electrical appliances and equipment is becoming ever shorter – at the expense of the environment. The production of new models requires the consumption of valuable precious metals and energy which are not compensated by innovations such as lower energy use. UBA has drafted policy recommendations that will be fed into the European debate about the Circular Economy Package.
In 2019, German consumption of raw materials totalled 1,328 million tonnes, or 16 tonnes per capita. This represents only a slight change in the trend up to 2018. In 2019, raw material consumption in Germany will fall slightly. German raw material consumption will also fall slightly in 2020 and 2021.
Extracting more and more new raw materials is unsustainable. The future ideal is a closed-loop, circular economy which, through “urban mining”, obtains many of its raw materials from end-of-life houses, piping, cables, cars and appliances rather than from mines and quarries. An UBA study has determined the types and quantities of potential secondary raw materials available in Germany.
The Resource Commission supports the German Environment Agency (UBA) with proposals for the sustainable management of natural resources and a circular economy. The Resource Commission consists of experts from science and research, administration, industry, and civil society. The third appointment period ended in May 2024 and the Resource Commission is currently inactive.
