The city of Munich has an ordinance in place which prohibits the usage of disposable items for provision of food and drinks during events on public ground.
Due to the utilization of single-use items for provision of food and drinks during events, far too much waste is generated. This waste can be easily avoided by using reusable items.
The city of Munich wanted to address this issue already in 1991. Since then, the city has an ordinance in place which prohibits the usage of disposable items for provision of food and drinks during events on public ground. Instead, reusable items for dishes, cutleries and cups are mandatory. This duty is also valid for sales areas which are owned by the city.
The city of Munich initiated and implements the policy. The policy can be found in the ordinance on the disposal of commercial and construction waste of the city of Munich §4, section 9. All events on public ground are controlled by Munich`s municipal waste management company. In addition, they also advise organizers of events on its duties.
Organizers of events as well as sellers of food and drinks during such events are mainly affected by the policy. Providers of reusable items for food and drinks are beneficiaries. As less waste is generated, this policy has also an effect on the municipal waste management sector. Last but not least, the environment benefits in a number of ways, e.g., less resources needed for the production of single-use products, less littering and less pollution during waste incineration.
Resources needed
The financial resources for the implementation of this policy are low. Human resources by the relevant public authorities are need to initiate and control it.
Evidence of success
The policy is considered as successful as it is relatively easy to implement and effective. For instance, the world biggest public festival, the so-called “Oktoberfest” reduces its waste amount by 90% thanks to this policy.
Potential for learning or transfer
The policy is transferable. Each municipality could decide to introduce such a policy. The policy addressed a common need to reduce the amount of waste generated by single-use drink and food packaging.
The policy is of high interest, especially for regions with a large number of events on public ground. Such a policy has very low implementation costs. It only needs policy bodies which are willing to initiate and implement it.
The policy can be found here:
https://www.awm-muenchen.de/fileadmin/PDF-Dokumente/gewerbe/satzung_273.pdf
Tags: Circular economy, Event, Plastics, Public sector, Regional policy, Waste
