In order to implement the European Commission's Green Deal, the German Association of the Waste Management Industry (BDE) believes it is necessary for the future German government to appoint a minister of state after the elections in September and to establish the topic of the circular economy in the Chancellor's Office, as BDE President Peter Kurth explained when presenting the demands of the waste management association for the upcoming Bundestag elections. According to Kurth, the current responsibilities of the federal ministries do not include the circular economy at all. The topic falls through between environment and economics ministry. The BDE president points to Brussels, where the Vice President of the EU Commission, Frans Timmermans, is centrally responsible for implementing the Green Deal. In Germany, he said, the issue must also be placed at the top of the list of responsibilities. The political responsibility for the implementation of the Green Deal belongs in the Chancellor's Office, and the Ministry of Economics should be responsible for the transformation from a linear to a circular economy. Other BDE demands for the Bundestag elections include promoting the use of recyclates, improvements in sustainable public sector procurement, and ensuring fair competition between private companies and municipal operations.

 

Sources:

• euwid-recycling.de (11.3.2021)
• Photo: © BDE