by Kai Mülbrant
In the coming weeks, the Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment will be distributing printed paper waste bags called “miracle bags” to residual waste bins on selected streets in six districts. There is interesting information about the organic waste bin on the bag. For example, the organic waste in Berlin is used to produce biogas and compost. The gas obtained is fed into the gas network and is enough to fuel around 168 Berliner Stadtreinigung (BSR) waste disposal vehicles – this alone saves the BSR around 2.5 million liters of diesel and more than 9,000 tons of CO2 per year. Since around 40 percent by weight of organic waste still ends up in the residual waste bin, this is intended to raise awareness among Berliners about the correct disposal of organic waste.
Britta Behrendt, State Secretary for Climate Protection and the Environment: “If you collect your organic waste from the kitchen and garden in the organic waste bin instead of in the residual waste, you not only save fossil natural gas and CO2. Hard-working organic waste bin users also have the option of switching their residual waste bin to being emptied every four weeks if it is not full, which will then also benefit their wallet.“
After reading, the bag can be used for the separate collection of organic waste and disposed of in the organic waste bin. The campaign is part of a joint bio-bin campaign with the BSR and contributes to Berlin’s zero-waste goal.
From September to October, the “miracle bags” are placed on the handle of the residual waste bin in 14 Berlin districts on the day the bin is emptied.
