Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg is fighting packaging waste: municipal packaging tax as a solution?

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Berlin kämpft mit dem Problem des Verpackungsmülls, der auf den Straßen der Stadt zurückgelassen wird. Viele Händler bieten ihre Speisen „to go“ an und produzieren dadurch viel Abfall. Der Bezirk Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg möchte nun nach dem Vorbild der Stadt Tübingen eine kommunale Verpackungssteuer einführen, um den Müll zu reduzieren und die Kosten für die Entsorgung zu senken. Laut dem Bezirksamt Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg sollen Händler für Einweg-Verpackungen eine Steuer zahlen. Das Ziel ist es, Müll zu vermeiden und die Kieze sauberer zu machen. Allein in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg werden täglich rund 42.000 Plastik- und Pappbecher weggeworfen, was eine erhebliche finanzielle Belastung für den Bezirk darstellt. …
Berlin fights with the problem of packaging waste that is left behind on the streets of the city. Many dealers offer their food "to go" and thus produce a lot of waste. The Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district now wants to introduce a municipal packaging tax based on the model of the city of Tübingen in order to reduce the garbage and reduce the cost of disposal. According to the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district office, dealers should pay tax for disposable packaging. The goal is to avoid garbage and make the neighborhood cleaner. In Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg alone, around 42,000 plastic and paper cups are thrown away every day, which is a significant financial burden for the district. ... (Symbolbild/MB)

Berlin fights with the problem of packaging waste that is left behind on the city's streets. Many dealers offer their food "to go" and thus produce a lot of waste. The Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district now wants to introduce a municipal packaging tax based on the model of the city of Tübingen to reduce the garbage and reduce the costs for disposal.

According to the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district office, dealers should pay a tax for disposable packaging. The goal is to avoid garbage and make the neighborhood cleaner. In Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg alone, around 42,000 plastic and paper cups are thrown away every day, which is a significant financial burden for the district. Despite the efforts to clean the parks, the residents repeatedly complain about the garbage mountains on their front doors.

The solution could be a municipal packaging tax, as has already been introduced in Tübingen. Here 50 cents are due for disposable dishes and disposable packaging. The tax is 20 cents for disposable cutlery, but an upper limit of 1.50 euros per meal is set. In the event that a meal is taken with disposable dishes, an additional 1.50 euros may occur. After a legal dispute that McDonald’s initially won, the Federal Administrative Court decided in May that the packaging tax was right.

The district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg hopes for the introduction of a municipal packaging tax similar effects as in Tübingen. The tax is intended to motivate dealers to switch to reusable packaging. Although many dealers already offer reusable packaging, this has not yet prevailed across the board. The additional income from the packaging tax should be used to keep the city cleaner.

District Mayor Clara Herrmann emphasizes that a reduction in garbage leads to a more beautiful district and lower costs. The district has been working consistently on a zero-waded strategy for years and would like to create incentives with the packaging tax in order to switch to more environmentally friendly reusable packaging. The tax revenue should be used to clean heavily flashed neighborhoods. It is unacceptable that the residents have to suffer from the garbage mountains.

The introduction of a municipal packaging tax could therefore be a sensible measure to reduce packaging waste in Berlin, make the city cleaner and reduce costs.