New UBA study: Numbers, background information, research needs, and measures to combat the plastic flood. read more
Plastics in the environment
Waste | Resources
One of the UBA’s main goals is to reduce resource use along with the environmental impact of such use as a whole and across the entire value chain. Against this backdrop, cutting back on waste and using it as a source of secondary raw materials and energy can make a significant contribution to resource conservation in the guise of resource friendly manufacturing processes, products and usage modalities.
Sparing and efficient use of natural resources is crucial not only from an ecological standpoint, but is also a major economic and social challenge. Hence resource conservation and resource policy constitute an inter-disciplinary field encompassing myriad strategies and stakeholders. This in turn means that we need to define a carefully constructed policy mix with just the right instruments for the tasks at hand. And this is where the UBA comes in. We devise concepts aimed at enshrining resource conservation in environmental policy along the entire value chain, beginning with raw material extraction, product design, the commercial and usage phases, and finally recycling and disposal. We also place great emphasis on informing and networking with the general public, business leaders and policymakers, and on the elaboration of ambitious objectives and the instruments needed to achieve them. Developing waste management, which is now primarily a disposal oriented activity, into a raw materials oriented recycling system is also taking on ever growing importance for us.
The BattG-Melderegister
Before placing batteries on the German market, producers and under certain circumstances distributors, are obliged to notify the UBA. Producers of portable batteries indicate the collection schemes that they have signed up for. Producers of automotive and industrial batteries specify which reasonable take-back options are available free of charge to distributors and treatment facilities. read more
A coffee date with the Blue Angel
The FairCup start-up is the first company to be awarded the Blue Angel ecolabel for its reusable cup system. FairCup started out as a student project at a vocational training school in Göttingen. The company is now represented all over Germany. The aim of the Blue Angel for resource-saving reusable cup systems (DE-UZ 210) is to reduce the number of disposable cups that are used. read more
Go for the reusable, not the disposable, when it comes to coffee cups et al.
German consumers use 2.8 billion disposable cups per year for hot beverages, an equivalent of 34 cups per person. read more
Stricter environmental standards for raw material supply necessary
Raw material prices must reflect the ecological truth. UBA is calling for more protection of the environment in the mining sector. read more
Disposal of packaging to become greener
Producers subject to mandatory registration must be registered in LUCID packaging registry starting 1 January 2019 read more
Higher quality plastics recycling is necessary
Now available in English: UBA's biannual "What Matters" magazine covers current topics in environmental protection. The first edition “Recycling” takes an in-depth look at the circular economy in Germany with a special focus on plastics. The magazine offers data and facts and discusses current problems and possible solutions in Germany’s circular economy. read more
Another toy awarded with the Blue Angel
The Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) and the German Environment Agency (UBA) awarded the Blue Angel ecolabel to the Bioblos children's construction blocks from Austria at a ceremony in Berlin today. It is the second toy to be awarded the Blue Angel. read more
