Municipalities survey: Circular economy - there is still plenty of room for improvement
Willich, 02.09.2021 How important are secondary raw materials for municipalities? Do local authorities already use secondary raw materials or is there scope for expansion? The NEW LIFE initiative investigated these questions in a survey and has now analysed the results. Above all, communication about the diverse utilisation options for secondary raw materials needs to be improved.
From March to July 2021, the NEW LIFE initiative called on cities and municipalities to take part in the online survey "Use and relevance of secondary raw materials in municipalities" and answer 24 questions about the importance of secondary raw materials for municipal projects and public tenders. The majority of towns and municipalities from all over Germany took part in the survey - mainly from North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Almost 80 per cent of the participants were managers from relevant departments.
Strengthen communication about secondary raw materials
The results of the survey show: Those responsible in local authorities are not very well informed about the topic of secondary raw materials and their many possible uses. Accordingly, recycled materials are rarely used in municipal projects. The use of secondary raw materials only plays a role in around half of the public contracts awarded. Only five per cent of respondents feel sufficiently informed about the advantages and disadvantages of available secondary raw materials in public urban planning. Over 90 per cent of respondents believe that more information and knowledge would promote the use of secondary raw materials, as would appropriate legal requirements, concrete support for tenders and increased interest among the population. Almost 90 per cent of respondents stated that they had no concerns about the use of secondary raw materials. However, there is a widespread lack of information about secondary raw materials and their ecological and economic benefits for local authorities. According to the survey, there is an awareness of sustainable behaviour through the use of recycled products. The task now is to support local authorities as much as possible in its implementation.
ELT material: Versatile material for municipalities
Only a quarter of the local authorities surveyed have so far used products made from recycled old tyres - mainly as flooring on playgrounds and sports fields and as rubber asphalt. Other applications such as insulation, edging, outdoor lamps or sound insulation are not known. The NEW LIFE initiative, which campaigns for high-quality products made from recycled end-of-life tyres (ELT), aims to close this information gap. On its website initiative-new-life.de, the initiative provides well-founded, easy-to-understand information about the wide range of products made from recycled tyres and their areas of application. A Whitepaper with ten theses on the results of the survey is available for local authorities to download from the website. Cities and municipalities can use the information materials to help raise awareness of resource conservation and a consistent circular economy among local authorities.
www.initiative-new-life.de
About NEW LIFE:
NEW LIFE's partners are Conradi+Kaiser living industries, Estato Umweltservice, Genan, KRAIBURG Relastec, KURZ Karkassenhandel, Melos, MRH and REGUPOL BSW. In Germany alone, around 583,000 tonnes of used tyres are generated each year that need to be recycled. The resulting recycled products, in particular rubber granules and flour, are ideal for the resource-saving development of innovative products in a wide range of applications. These partner companies of the NEW LIFE campaign have set themselves the goal of promoting sustainable products made from ELT and sensitising people to conscious consumption.
Press contact via the agency in charge:
CGW Full-Service Communication
Mrs Anna-Maria Guth
Tel. 02154 888 52 23
medien@initiative-new-life.de
Downloads for the press release
Press release as PDF: Circular Economy - there is still a lot of room for improvement (PDF)
