Germany’s Green Party releases circular economy goals

“We see rubbish as a design flaw,” declares a vision statement from Green Party members of the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament. The statement, issued Sept. 24 and titled “Green strategy for a resource-light, climate-neutral and non-toxic circular economy,” spells out circular economy and zero waste goals the party intends to introduce to the Bundestag.

“We are convinced that we can only achieve sustainability goals with a real circular economy,” writes Anton Hofreiter, chairman of the Green Party’s parliamentary delegation, in a published summary [in German] of its policy proposals. “Our vision: We want households and companies to produce almost no waste by 2050 at the latest,” adds the group.

The Green Party in Germany started in 1980 as what would have been considered at the time a fringe movement in national politics. By the mid-1980s, however, Greens were being elected to the Bundestag and to positions in German states. “In 1998, nearly two decades after its founding, the party advanced into the inner realms of power,” writes German media outlet Deutsche Welle (DW). “Joschka Fischer was named foreign minister, and along with its coalition partner, the SPD, the Greens ruled the country for seven years,” adds DW.

As of the 19th Bundestag currently seated, the Greens/Alliance 90 coalition holds 67 of 709 Bundestag seats, but is not considered part of the ruling coalition. The party is large enough, however, that its policy statement could gain support in a future coalition.

The German Green Party says as part of its desire to “make Germany the number one location for a real circular economy, we want every material possible to be reprocessed [because] our current waste production costs us a lot of money, resources and natural resources.”

The party lists “houses, clothes, furniture, cell phones, toys, machines, cars, kitchen appliances” as sectors requiring “nothing less than a revolution in goods production: out of the throwaway society, into the real circular economy.”

Continues the party in its statement, “Of the 5.2 million metric tons of plastic [scrap] in Germany, only 17.3 percent are actually safely recycled. We want to make sure {that] almost 100 percent is processed again into new, high-quality plastic products.” The Green Party indicates it does not necessarily include exporting plastic scrap as “safely” recycling it.

The policy includes a strong design-for-recycling aspect to it. “We see rubbish as a design flaw. By 2050 at the latest, German companies will only be producing products that are designed to be durable, reusable and completely recyclable. Our offer to the economy: Enter into a dialogue with us, looking for the best solutions for the circular economy. The goal is clear: Zero waste by 2050. We want to get there together.”

The statement also makes references to imported product coding and tracing and to emphasizing reusability in ways that could meet resistance from retailers, manufacturers and mechanical recyclers. “The reality at many recycling yards today is: In addition to a lot of real waste, a lot of usable furniture, electronics, etc. are delivered. Once there, they are considered rubbish and may no longer be sold or given away. We want to remove this legal hurdle,” states the Green Party.