Historical Review and Perspectives of Circular Economy in Germany : Capitalism in the East and Planned Economy in the West
Frank Schweizer, Waste&Water, Stuttgart, Germany
Flash Presentation: Circular Society - Research at the Interface of Technology, Societal Support and Individual Appropriation
Video Conference Room (BigBlueButton): https://bbb.mpi-magdeburg.mpg.de/meeting/SmartPSE2022-Schweizer
Abstract: Contrary to the respective political orientation, waste management was organized according to market principles in the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), but according to planned economy principles in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany). In the GDR, secondary raw materials were collected by consumers collected and brought to collection points. Purity of variety and quantities were achieved by paying consumers according to a price list. For this purpose, the GDR regime developed the SERO brand from the term secondary raw material („SEkundär-Rohstoffe“). In the FRG, on the other hand, well-intentioned appeals by the federal government to West German industry for consistent waste avoidance and recycling had little success. For years, the FRG therefore attempted to use the "polluter pays" principle to hold private industry accountable for controlling the growing flood of packaging by means of an extensive set of regulations. It was not until the initialling of a regulation in 1991 that industry and commerce were prompted to set up a collection system for packaging waste. In addition to the existing public collection system - e.g. used glass containers in public areas - West German industry and commerce established a second collection system (hence "Dual System") with the brand name "Grüner Punkt" (Green Dot). This is intended to force producers of packaging to pay a license fee for the "Grüner Punkt" brand. The license fees are passed on to the consumers via the prices, who are supposed to separate the packaging into material groups free of charge. The main difference between the two systems in the GDR and the FRG is that consumers in the GDR were paid for sorting by type in the bring system, whereas in the FRG consumers ultimately have to pay for the collection of non-sort recyclables through the dual system via increased prices of the products. With the end of the GDR, the state-subsidized SERO system was replaced by the „Dual System“. In surveys of what former citizens of the GDR miss, the loss of additional income from the separation of recyclables is particularly emphasized. A sorted collection of secondary raw materials can be successfully increased if the actors in the circular economy are motivated by financial incentives to separate the materials. Therefore, the insufficient results of the separated collection of recyclable material groups in the „Dual System“ could be significantly increased with the motivating and successful financial incentives of the SERO system.