Determination of food waste in Germany in 2020, fulfillment of the reporting obligation to the EU Commission in 2022 and derivation of recommendations for measures to be taken
According to the EU Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC), food waste (LMA) is to be reduced.
Argus GmbH

Project management: Dr. Bertram Zwisele
Period of time: 09.2017 - 12.2019
Client: Umweltbundesamt together with Witzenhausen Institut GmbH, INFA Institut Ahlen, ISWA University Stuttgart (all Germany)Relation: National
Initiation and objective
According to the EU Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC), food waste (LMA) is to be reduced. Based on these legal provisions, Germany must fulfill its first reporting obligation on LMA as of the 2020 reporting year by June 30, 2022, and thereafter continue to annually record the mass of LMA generated and report it to the EU Commission.
The Federal Statistical Office (StBA) is responsible for the reporting obligation. According to Delegated Decision (EU) 2019/1597, reporting shall include at least the waste codes from the European Waste List for waste types that generally include food waste. All wastes to be included are listed in Annex 2 of the Delegated Decision. The StBA is establishing a monitoring system for food waste (MLMA) for annual reporting.
The definition of "food" is described in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) and includes food as a whole, along the entire food chain from production to consumption.
Some waste streams, such as home composting containing LMA, are not subject to reporting requirements. Since countries are free to report these LMA as well, home composting was included in the reporting.
According to the EU Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC), food waste (LMA) is to be reduced. Based on these legal provisions, Germany must fulfill its first reporting obligation on LMA as of the 2020 reporting year by June 30, 2022, and thereafter continue to annually record the mass of LMA generated and report it to the EU Commission.
The Federal Statistical Office (StBA) is responsible for the reporting obligation. According to Delegated Decision (EU) 2019/1597, reporting shall include at least the waste codes from the European Waste List for waste types that generally include food waste. All wastes to be included are listed in Annex 2 of the Delegated Decision. The StBA is establishing a monitoring system for food waste (MLMA) for annual reporting.
The definition of "food" is described in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) and includes food as a whole, along the entire food chain from production to consumption.
Some waste streams, such as home composting containing LMA, are not subject to reporting requirements. Since countries are free to report these LMA as well, home composting was included in the reporting.
Description of the data collection
Table 1 shows the determined quantities and compositions of the waste types of mixed municipal waste in condensed form. A total of 21,909,338 tons of mixed municipal waste was collected in the reporting year. This corresponds to a resident-specific waste volume of 263 kg/(E*a). A total of 6,323,691 tons of food waste was collected in the year under review. This corresponds to a resident-specific waste quantity of 76 kg/(E*a). The average weighted share of food waste (waste coefficient for mixed municipal waste) is 29%. In household waste, the AKO is 33 %, in biowaste 36 % and in commercial waste similar to household waste approx. 4 %.

Contact

Argus GmbH
Karl-Heinrich-Ulrichs-Straße 20a
D - 10785 Berlin
phone:+49 30 398-060-0
Karl-Heinrich-Ulrichs-Straße 20a
D - 10785 Berlin
phone:+49 30 398-060-0
More case studies:
A new life for old treasures - a second chance for discarded items
Aruhsa house, Tansania - Houses built with plastic bottles save resources
Methodology, Design and Implementation of Solid Waste Analysis (SWA), Turkey
Repair Bonus at AWISTA - An Outstanding Waste Prevention Measure
This used to be a municipal rubbish dump - ‘El Palmetum’ in Santa Cruz Tenerife
Costs of the "Am Brenten" household waste landfill 25 years after the end of operations
Art project in Dasing becomes WEEE collection point
Assisting Eurostat in the production and publication of waste statistics and in the development and application of methods to obtain robust data and information on the environmental impact of waste management.
Increasing the Overall Plant Efficiency of WtE Plants by Means of Combustion Air Humidification
Nationwide study of municipal residual waste to determine the proportion of problematic substances and recyclable materials
Aruhsa house, Tansania - Houses built with plastic bottles save resources
Methodology, Design and Implementation of Solid Waste Analysis (SWA), Turkey
Repair Bonus at AWISTA - An Outstanding Waste Prevention Measure
This used to be a municipal rubbish dump - ‘El Palmetum’ in Santa Cruz Tenerife
Costs of the "Am Brenten" household waste landfill 25 years after the end of operations
Art project in Dasing becomes WEEE collection point
Assisting Eurostat in the production and publication of waste statistics and in the development and application of methods to obtain robust data and information on the environmental impact of waste management.
Increasing the Overall Plant Efficiency of WtE Plants by Means of Combustion Air Humidification
Nationwide study of municipal residual waste to determine the proportion of problematic substances and recyclable materials