Zielerreichung in der Abfallwirtschaft – digital bereitgestellte Information und Anreizsysteme als Maßnahmen zur Steigerung der Sammelquoten

While some waste streams are collected and recycled for economic reasons due to their inherent material value (e.g. most metals), the driving motive for collecting other materials is to fulfil legal requirements. In the course of legislative changes as part of the Circular Economy Package and the European Union’s Green Deal the European Union, the collection and recycling targets to be achieved are significantly increased for some waste categories. A report published in 2023 by the European Commission concluded that—without taking further measures, 18 of the 27 member states will not achieve the agreed targets. Not only for collection targets, but also for targets that stipulate the achievement of a certain recycling rate, for most material streams the collection of a sufficient quantity of material for subsequent sorting and recycling steps (with economically feasible effort) is the most important lever for achieving the legal requirements. In addition to structural factors, such as the design of the collection infrastructure (e.g. kerbside vs. bring-system, or the number of drop-off points for bring-in collection systems), the participation of the population is a decisive factor in increasing the collection volume. One way that has been increasingly used in recent years to reduce information deficits or to increase participation rates are digital platforms, which provide information on disposal via websites or apps or reward users for correct disposal activities. Through a qualitative comparison of various European initiatives, the article shows existing possibilities and the results they have achieved in terms of increasing collection rates.