WASTE IS A REUSABLE MATERIAL

Online training for small and medium-sized enterprises

The new German Waste Management and Product Recycling Act [Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz], which went into effect in June 2012, is currently the most important law in Germany for the use of resources and waste. The new law presents major opportunities for businesses: In view of rising prices for raw materials worldwide, every gram saved reduces the cost involved. Businesses that take an efficient approach to raw materials are more competitive, more independent and more environmentally friendly.

In a 20-minute online training course, environmental law professor Thomas Schomerus explains the main points of the law for small and medium-sized enterprises. Schomerus introduces the idea of waste management and product recycling, which holds that, wherever possible, all raw materials must be reused or recycled at the end of a product's lifecycle. He explains the model of the waste hierarchy that provides companies guidance in their use of raw materials and waste. He also offers a catalog of key questions companies can ask as they examine and optimize their materials flows.  This information helps small and medium-sized enterprises produce more resource-efficiently.

Professor Thomas Schomerus is an expert in waste law with a focus on resource protection: he helped draft the Waste Management and Product Recycling Act. With two colleagues, he also co-authored a commentary that will aid application of the law in the field. The online training originated in a research project, "Resource efficiency as a key factor," carried out by the Innovation Incubator at <link index.html internal-link>Leuphana University Lüneburg.