The expansion of renewable energies, the race to catch up with Deutsche Bahn, housing construction or the procurement of new armaments – Germany's demand for raw materials will grow in the coming years. This is not good news for the environment, climate and biodiversity, not to mention the concerns caused by dependence on foreign countries for raw materials. Federal Environment Ministry Steffi Lemke (Greens) wants to tackle the problems with a "National Circular Economy Strategy" and thus fulfill a promise from the coalition agreement.
Together with representatives from industry as well as environmental and consumer protection, goals, fields of action, strategic measures and instruments are to be formulated to reduce the consumption of primary raw materials. "With a sustainable economy that consistently takes into account the entire life cycle of products and raw materials, we can effectively reduce CO2 emissions, species extinction and environmental pollution," the minister said at the start of the association dialogue, which is intended to pave the way for the cabinet decision on the circular economy strategy in spring 2024.
Late Strategic Plans
"The initiative is important, but it comes very late," says Peter Kurth, Executive President of the Federal Association of German Waste, Water and Recycling Industries (BDE), in an interview with the F.A.Z. At the EU level, work on a transformation to a circular economy has long been in full swing. "When Germany has its strategy, the legislative period in Brussels will come to an end." It is questionable whether the circular strategy will continue to be driven forward so strongly under the new EU Commission after the elections to the European Parliament. There is always a need for further action.
According to data from the statistical office Eurostat from 2021, the share of material recycled and fed back into the economy in the total consumption of raw materials (so-called circularity rate) in the EU is not even 12 percent. With 13 percent, Germany is in the middle of the field. Countries such as Italy with a circularity rate of 18.4 percent, France (19.8 percent) and Belgium (20.5 percent) are more progressive. The Netherlands leads the way with 33.8 percent. However, these data are only of limited significance, not only because of national differences in raw material consumption and waste management, but also because of the different recording and allocation of recycling.
There are also major uncertainties regarding the extent to which primary raw materials can be saved. According to a 2021 study commissioned by the environmental association NABU, the proportion of secondary raw materials could only be increased to 22 percent. "On the one hand, certain raw materials are not suitable for recycling from the outset, such as energy sources such as coal and natural gas that are burned, or biomass for the production of food and feed," explains Indra Enterlein, Head of Resource Policy at NABU. On the other hand, raw materials such as metals or minerals are often tied up in buildings or other infrastructure for a long time.
"It is therefore difficult to make general statements about what is still possible in percentage terms," says business representative Kurth, especially since the success of recovery has so far varied greatly depending on the material. "For materials such as aluminum and copper, but also paper and glass, we achieve good rates of 50 to 80 percent," says the BDE president. On the other hand, he sees "high pressure to act" especially for rare earths, batteries, plastics and construction waste. The very different starting situations would have to be taken into account in the planned strategy. NABU representative Enterlein also criticises different legal recycling requirements: "Construction, for example, is completely underregulated, although enormous quantities of raw materials are involved here." In some cases, the technology is not yet ready: "Wind turbines are not yet recyclable."
Product design is a key factor
Environmentalist Enterlein and business representative Kurth agree that product design is one of the keys to a successful circular strategy: "Whether material is recycled is decided during product manufacturing," says Kurth. "If the battery of the electric scooter is welded, there is no recycling of the battery."
The decisive factor for the increased use of recycled material is that politicians set the right framework conditions and incentives. "There are regulations for the collection and recycling of commercial waste or organic waste, but the municipalities claim to be overwhelmed with the enforcement," criticizes Kurth. The German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) demands that the new circular economy strategy must aim to promote the innovative strength of companies.
"For example, the broad introduction of the tried-and-tested instrument of real-world laboratories is a good way to do this," says Achim Dercks, Deputy Managing Director of the DIHK. This means that lengthy approval procedures for new recycling technologies can be dispensed with for the time being. An important lever for the further development of the circular economy is also a more ecologically oriented orientation of public procurement. "Tenders with a clear focus on recycled raw materials are still the exception today," Dercks regrets.