“The regulation is a flop”
Construction industry criticizes tightened rubble regulations
8/27/2023 5:39 am
New regulations for the disposal of construction waste are causing frustration in the industry. Recycling companies rejected the waste, which must now be stored in landfills at great expense. The resort of the Green Environment Minister Lemke rejects the criticism. It is still too early for an assessment.
The construction industry fears that new federal regulations will make construction more expensive and make it more difficult to recycle the immense amounts of construction waste in Germany. The comprehensive ordinance for substitute building materials and soil protection that came into force on August 1 replaces the previous patchwork of different state regulations. But reports the industry already signsthat the first recycling companies no longer want to accept rubble for processing – instead, construction waste would then have to be disposed of in landfills.
“The focus is now on groundwater protection, and the ordinance sets very high standards here,” says Christine Buddenbohm, Managing Director of Corporate Development at the Central Association of the German Construction Industry (ZDB). “The water that seeps through recycled building materials and ends up in the groundwater needs to be of better quality than drinking water.”
From the explanation of Federal Environment Ministry states that the new regulations are intended to prevent the leaching of undesirable substances into the groundwater. The amounts are almost unimaginable: According to the Federal Environment Agency, more than 220 million tons of construction waste were produced in 2020, which is more than half of the total waste generated in Germany. According to data from the Federal Environment Agency, the majority was recycled.
Jungle of evidence and legal uncertainties
The environment ministry wanted more protection of resources and created a jungle of evidence, legal uncertainties and different interpretations, criticizes the construction industry. “The Substitute Building Materials Ordinance is a flop,” accuses General Manager Tim-Oliver Müller of the federal government.
According to the resort of the Green Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, the effects of the new rules on the “material flows” should be evaluated two years after they come into force, and a report should be presented to the Bundestag on August 1, 2027. In addition, a scientific accompanying report is planned, which has not yet been put out to tender. “As a result, valid results can only be expected in a few years,” says the ministry.