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Organic waste bins in sight: Stricter controls now in 40 municipalities!
From September 15, 2025, 40 German municipalities will tighten controls on organic waste bins in order to reduce plastic and contaminants.
Organic waste bins in sight: Stricter controls now in 40 municipalities!
In the same breath as autumn arrives, numerous communities in Germany have started an initiative that is of great importance for citizens. From September 15, 2025, around 40 municipalities have tightened their controls on organic waste bins. Under the motto “Waste separation is climate protection”, those responsible are pursuing the goal of seriously getting under control of incorrectly filled organic waste bins and the associated plastic problems. So reported web.de that plastic and other contaminants in particular are undesirable in the organic waste bin.
What are the new measures all about? The garbage collectors are trained to identify contaminants, and if there are too many unwanted materials, the organic waste bin is simply left empty. The affected households then have to expect costs of up to 40 euros if their organic waste is disposed of as residual waste. In Schleswig-Holstein, for example, the campaign “Waste separation is climate protection: Schleswig-Holstein cleans up the organic waste bin” is raising awareness, while in Lower Saxony, waste management companies from several districts, including Göttingen and Emsland, are actively involved ndr.de reported.
Education for sustainable success
The great difficulties in separating waste are often caused by ignorance. Many citizens are not aware that compostable bioplastic bags, for example, do not belong in the organic waste bin because they take too long to decompose. With the new regulations, which have been in force since May 2025, organic waste may not contain more than 1% plastic and a maximum of 3% foreign substances in total. In advance of the controls, various schools and municipal institutions were informed in order to raise awareness among the population, not least because plastics in organic waste can end up in the environment as microplastics destatis.de thematised.
How is the whole thing specifically controlled? In some municipalities, modern technologies are used, such as sensors on garbage trucks that scan the contents of organic waste bins. If the requirements are not met during the inspections, a sticker is attached to the bin asking for re-sorting. If you ignore this notice, the content will be disposed of as residual waste at the user's expense. In some districts like Uelzen, artificial intelligence is even used to detect plastic in organic waste.
The campaign lasts four weeks and is intended not only to ensure better waste management, but also to promote environmentally conscious behavior. If the organic waste bins are filled properly, the law enforcement officers can even look forward to a “thank you” tag that provides further information about separation. The food leftovers and plant waste that households collect in the organic waste bins are valuable for generating energy in biogas plants and producing humus.
The regular checks can therefore be combined with the aim of raising awareness about sustainable waste management. It remains to be hoped that the “We for Organic” campaign, which has existed since 2017 and is supported by over 80 municipal waste disposal companies, will achieve its goal and inspire citizens to fill their organic waste bins correctly.