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According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Germany leads the world in recycling, peaking at 70 percent waste being recycled and reused in recent years. To put that into perspective, the U.S. only recovers about 33 percent annually.
Recycling is a new habit which some American citizens have a difficult time adjusting to after moving to Germany. Recurring disposal issues include residents not waiting to put bulk trash on the curb the night before collection, and failing to properly sort recyclables and/or trash as directed by German law and installation policies.
The U.S. government spends nine million euro every year on recycling, trash removal contracts, and penalties due to service members and their families not adhering to host nation recycling laws and dumping waste improperly.
German law requires recycling of paper products, plastics, metals, petroleum products, batteries, tires, wood pallets, empty toner cartridges, furniture, used clothing, and shoes.
Deciding to recycle is only the first step; individuals also need to make sure their items are recycled correctly. According to Waste Management, an American trash collecting company, the average recycling contamination rate, or incorrect disposal of recyclables, is 25 percent. That equates to one in every four items being discarded in a recycling bin are not recyclable, and those American recycling habits follow us when traveling or living in foreign countries.
When items are not properly separated, recycling contractors are turned away at composting, recycling, and incinerator facilities, and the U.S. government is required to pay fines.
The Kaiserslautern Military Community has recycling centers located at building 2045 on Ramstein and building 2821 on Vogelweh, and both recycling centers accept all types of recyclables generated across the installations. This applies to administrative buildings, work centers, and to all Department of Defense and North Atlantic Treaty Organization members assigned to the installations.
Residents living off base are not allowed to discard their waste at the on base recycling centers. Service members who reside off base are enrolled in their respective municipal waste disposal system for which he/she gets reimbursed from with their overseas housing allowance. The illegal dumping of waste at recycling centers on base by off base residents generates a double bill to the U.S. government.
There are exceptions to the use of the recycling centers for off base residents:
An exception is that any hazardous waste from households such as used oil, paints, etc., can be delivered to the recycling centers on or off base during hours of operation as long they have a military, DOD or NATO identification card.
Another exception is for a Permanent Change of Station. Any service member who is transferred to or departs from the KMC, and has official PCS orders, is allowed to use the recycling centers. This exception applies for 60 days after arrival and an additional 60 days prior to their departure.
There is no reason to throw away waste anywhere, we have solutions for all possibilities. Adhering to policies for recycling will not only save the U.S. government money, but it will also prevent additional spending of taxpayers’ dollars.
For more information on waste management or recycling, please contact the 86th Civil Engineer Squadron’s Environmental Department directly at DSN 314-480-5086.
