Barbara Zeschmar-Lahl

Europe after 2030 – The development of waste management into an industrial location factor (Müll und Abfall, 2025, in German)

Gosten A., Holländer R., Kummer B., Lahl U., Quicker P., Reichert D., Zeschmar-Lahl B. (2025): Europa nach 2030 – Die Entwicklung der Abfallwirtschaft zum industriellen Standortfaktor. Müll und Abfall 5, 277-296

„After almost 40 years of amendments to the existing Waste Management and Circular Economy Act, it is time to reprioritise legislation in the coming German and European legislative periods in order to combine the aspects of resources,
climate neutrality, environmental impact and Europe as a business location.

The development or transformation of waste management can make an important contribution to maintaining Europe as an industrial location.

To achieve this, the existing legal framework, which begins with the last user’s ‚will to dispose‘ of a product, must be changed. The structures, terminology and objectives of the relevant laws must be redefined and adjusted.

To this end, ten priority fields of action with concrete implementation proposals and regulatory recommendations for political and social decision-makers are presented. It not only explains why the carbon cycle is a leading factor for the further development of waste management and Europe as a business location, but also which regulatory levers should be activated.“

Müll und Abfall 5 (2025)

Europe after 2030 – The development of waste management into an industrial location factor (Müll und Abfall, 2025, in German)

May 16, 2025

The contribution by Dr.-Ing. Alexander Gosten, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Holländer, Dr. Beate Kummer, Prof. Dr. habil. Uwe Lahl, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Quicker, Dr. Dirk Reichert and Dr. Barbara Zeschmar-Lahl on the topic “Europe after 2030 – The development of waste management into an industrial location factor” was published in the journal Müll und Abfall 5, 2025 (in German, Abstract in English).

„After almost 40 years of amendments to the existing Waste Management and Circular Economy Act, it is time to reprioritise legislation in the coming German and European legislative periods in order to combine the aspects of resources, climate neutrality, environmental impact and Europe as a business location.

The development or transformation of waste managementcan make an important contribution to maintaining Europe as an industrial location.

To achieve this, the existing legal framework, which begins with the last user’s ‚will to dispose‘ of a product, must be changed. The structures, terminology and objectives of the relevant laws must be redefined and adjusted.

To this end, ten priority fields of action with concrete implementation proposals and regulatory recommendations for political and social decision-makers are presented. It not only explains why the carbon cycle is a leading factor for the further development of waste management and Europe as a business location, but also which regulatory levers should be activated.“

Below you will find a link to the order form at Erich Schmidt Verlag. The DGAW position paper based on this publication – EU nach 2030 (in German) – can be downloaded from the DGAW website.

The ten priorities

Waste prevention must start with production
End the landfilling of recyclable carbon
Ensure a climate-neutral supply of raw materials
Defossilization through substitution of carbon
Equivalence of recycling technologies
No ‘toxic’ plastic recycling
Transparency of formulations
Plastic products that are released into the environment as intended must also be fully biodegradable
Individualize extended product responsibility systems
Reduce bureaucracy

Müll und Abfall 5, 2025

DGAW, 2025

DGAW-Podcast Episode 48 – The development of waste management into an industrial location factor – Europe after 2030 (in German)

May 7, 2025 The circular economy undoubtedly plays an important role in achieving the European climate protection targets by 2050. Dr. Beate Kummer (Director Public Affairs/Sustainability at Christ&Company) and Prof. Dr. Uwe Lahl (BZL Kommunikation und Projektsteuerung GmbH) discuss the fundamental adjustments required to develop the carbon cycle as a location factor for European industry and what contribution the waste industry can make here in the DGAW podcast ‘Ressourcen Neu Denken’, moderated by Marvin Müller from Studio Grüner Ton. To the podcast:

DGAW: Ressourcen.Neu.Denken. Podcast, Episode 48 (in German)

Further publications on this topic:

Gosten A., Holländer R., Kummer B., Lahl U., Quicker P., Reichert D., Zeschmar-Lahl B. (2025): Europa nach 2030 – Die Entwicklung der Abfallwirtschaft zum industriellen Standortfaktor. Müll und Abfall 5, 277-296, in print (in German)
DGAW: DGAW-Positionspapier: EU nach 2030, Kurzfassung (in German). ONLINE
Lahl U., Zeschmar-Lahl B. (2024): Material Recycling of Plastics—A Challenge for Sustainability. Sustainability 2024, 16, 6630. ONLINE

Global Framework on Chemicals: Work on the German contribution

April 8, 2025 For a few weeks now, BZL GmbH has been working as part of a consortium on a project that will promote sustainable chemistry as part of the global transformation in line with the UN 2030 Agenda. The “Roadmap to 2030” research project (commissioned by the Federal Environment Agency, FKZ: 3724 65 701 0) aims to identify and prepare Germany’s potential contributions to the implementation of the GFC. Three priorities for the German contribution to the GFC In coordination with the client, we will work with stakeholders from the chemical industry, recycling companies, consumer and environmental organizations to try to reach a consensus that is as broadly supported as possible. It is about

the “defossilization of the chemical industry”, focusing on the opportunities and obstacles for the German chemical industry to switch from fossil to renewable carbon sources,
a methodological framework to put alternative assessments for substance substitution towards “inherently safe chemicals” on a scientifically broadly accepted basis,
the use of the Digital Product Passport as an information medium for additives in plastics with a special focus on additives for recyclates, i.e. plastics from the recycling of waste.

We are pleased that we are tackling this task together with colleagues who have already been involved in the development of suitable indicators for SAICM and the successor organization GFC: the Center for Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP), N³ Nachhaltigkeitsberatung Dr. Friege & Partner and the Akademie Dr. Obladen. We will contact numerous experts and also provide information here about specialist conferences that are planned as part of the project. Further information on the project can be found in this information sheet:

See also our News from October 1, 2024 and our publication from the year 2024: Friege H., Heidbüchel E., Zeschmar-Lahl B.: Indicators for sustainable management of chemicals. Contributions to upcoming development work under the new Global Framework for Chemicals. Publisher: German Environment Agency.

Further links:

Third-generation biodegradable plastics – A complementary strategy to tackle the marine litter problem (2025)

The amount of plastic produced worldwide has reached 400 million metric tonnes in 2022. Estimated 3–5% of this amount ends up in the environment, where it poses significant threats to ecosystems and biodiversity. Littering, a growing global challenge, requires a combination approach to tackle its causes and mitigate its impact. There are different strategies to combat littering. But even with immediate and concerted action to reduce consumption of plastics, more than 700 million tonnes of plastic waste will cumulatively enter the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems until 2040. Waste management systems, even if improved, do not have sufficient capacity at the global level to cope with the huge mass of plastics entering the environment. Especially for plastic, which will foreseeable and inevitably enter the environment, where it can persist for hundreds of years (‘forever’ plastics), a solution is needed. Biodegradable plastics, that meet the criteria of ‘Safe and Sustainable by Design’ (SSbD) offer innovation perspectives and can be a complementary strategy to tackle the marine litter problem.

Lahl, R., Bleischwitz, R., Lahl, U., Zeschmar-Lahl, B. (2025): Third-generation biodegradable plastics – A complementary strategy to tackle the marine litter problem. Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy 2025, 44, 101925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scp.2025.101925

Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy (2025)

Third-generation biodegradable plastics—A complementary strategy to tackle the marine litter problem

February 24, 2025

The amount of plastic produced worldwide has reached 400 million metric tonnes in 2022. Estimated 3–5% of this amount ends up in the environment, where it poses significant threats to ecosystems and biodiversity. Littering, a growing global challenge, requires a combination approach to tackle its causes and mitigate its impact. There are different strategies to combat littering. But even with immediate and concerted action to reduce consumption of plastics, more than 700 million tonnes of plastic waste will cumulatively enter the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems until 2040. Waste management systems, even if improved, do not have sufficient capacity at the global level to cope with the huge mass of plastics entering the environment. Especially for plastic, which will foreseeable and inevitably enter the environment, where it can persist for hundreds of years (‘forever’ plastics), a solution is needed. Biodegradable plastics, that meet the criteria of ‘Safe and Sustainable by Design’ (SSbD) offer innovation perspectives and can be a complementary strategy to tackle the marine litter problem.

Lahl, R., Bleischwitz, R., Lahl, U., Zeschmar-Lahl, B. (2025): Third-generation biodegradable plastics – A complementary strategy to tackle the marine litter problem. Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy 44, 101925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scp.2025.101925

Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy 44, 101925

DGAW-Podcast Episode 41 – Hazardous substances in recyclates (in German)

October 2, 2024

New plastics consist of increasingly complex additive formulations and polymers. Can the recycling of mixed packaging plastics make new products safe at all or is the use of recyclates in consumer-related products even dangerous? In this episode of the DGAW podcast, Dr. Ines Oehme from the Federal Environment Agency and Prof. Dr. Uwe Lahl discuss this topic, moderated by Marvin Müller from Studio Grüner Ton. To the Podcast:

DGAW: Ressourcen.Neu.Denken Podcast, Episode 41 (in German)

Further publications on this topic:

Lahl U., Zeschmar-Lahl B. (2024): Material Recycling of Plastics—A Challenge for Sustainability. Sustainability 2024, 16, 6630. ONLINE
Lahl U., Lechtenberg D., Zeschmar-Lahl B. (2024): Kunststoffe in der Abfallwirtschaft – closing the loop? Österr Wasser- und Abfallw (2024) 76, 7–8. ONLINE
Lahl U., Lechtenberg D., Zeschmar-Lahl B. (2024): Kunststoffrecycling und gefährliche Stoffe – RISK CYCLE. Müll und Abfall 4, 195–204 – Article based on the initial publication in Abfallwirtschaft und Energie 1 (2024)
- Müll und Abfall 4 (2024) ONLINE
- Abfallwirtschaft und Energie 1 (2024) ONLINE

Sustainable Chemistry: Indicators for the Global Framework on Chemicals (GFC) on Track

October 1, 2024

At the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, it was agreed to minimize the adverse effects of chemicals on humans and the environment by 2020. To implement this so-called ‘2020 target’, the ‘Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management’ (SAICM) was established in 2006. As the mandate for SAICM ended in 2020, work on a successor framework began already in 2015. Due to the COVID pandemic, among other things, negotiations on the specific design were protracted. Finally, at the end of the 5th International Conference on Chemicals (ICCM5) on 30 September 2023 in Bonn under the German presidency, the ‘Global Framework on Chemicals’ (GFC) was adopted with the’ Bonn Declaration for a Planet Free of Harm from Chemicals and Waste’.

The GFC was also given the mandate to develop indicators for the goals and targets adopted by the conference. This task is now being tackled. The GFC can also draw on the results of our project on indicators for future global chemicals and waste management, which was commissioned by the Federal Environment Agency. In brief: The indicators combine the concept of sustainable chemistry with the requirements of sound management of chemicals and waste. A list of the 23 most important indicators from this project was recently submitted to the GFC by the German representative in the responsible working group, Dr. Christopher Blum (Federal Environment Agency). We are pleased that the indicators developed in this project now serve as a basis for the responsible GFC working group (Open-Ended Ad Hoc Group on Measurability and Indicators). We want to continue to support this important approach of the GFC and are therefore planning a scientific publication in which the indicators developed in the project will be presented in the context of the global chemical policy debate.

Further Links:

Material Recycling of Plastics—A Challenge for Sustainability (2024)

The complexity of plastic polymers and even more so of additives has increased enormously in recent years. This makes the material recycling of plastic waste considerably more difficult, especially in the case of mixed plastic waste. Some additives have now been strictly regulated or even completely banned for good reasons (‘legacy additives’). Material or mechanical recycling generally uses old plastics that still contain these substances. Consequently, products that are manufactured using such recyclates are contaminated with these harmful substances. This poses a major challenge for sustainability, as there is a conflict of objectives between protecting the health of consumers, especially vulnerable groups, conserving resources and recycling, keeping material cycles ‘clean’ and destroying pollutants, and transporting them to a safe final sink. With regard to the first objective, we recommend avoiding the use of contaminated recyclates for products with intensive contact with consumers (‘contact-sensitive products’) until further notice.

In our recent article “Material Recycling of Plastics—A Challenge for Sustainability” we also show that the climate policy challenges for the plastics (and chemical) industry necessitate defossilization (‘feedstock change’). This turnaround can only succeed if solely closed-loop recycling takes place in the future; recyclates should primarily replace virgin plastics. For material or mechanical recycling, this means that this can only work if used plastics with a high degree of homogeneity and known formulation are collected separately, as is already the case today with PET bottles. The objective of this article is to illustrate the increasing complexity of plastic polymers and additives, especially legacy additives, which will force a legislative readjustment of todays’ material recycling.

Lahl U., Zeschmar-Lahl B. (2024): Material Recycling of Plastics—A Challenge for Sustainability. Sustainability 2024, 16, 6630. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156630

Sustainability (2024)

Material Recycling of Plastics—A Challenge for Sustainability

August 2, 2024

The complexity of plastic polymers and even more so of additives has increased enormously in recent years. This makes the material recycling of plastic waste considerably more difficult, especially in the case of mixed plastic waste. Some additives have now been strictly regulated or even completely banned for good reasons (‘legacy additives’). Material or mechanical recycling generally uses old plastics that still contain these substances. Consequently, products that are manufactured using such recyclates are contaminated with these harmful substances. This poses a major challenge for sustainability, as there is a conflict of objectives between protecting the health of consumers, especially vulnerable groups, conserving resources and recycling, keeping material cycles ‘clean’ and destroying pollutants, and transporting them to a safe final sink. With regard to the first objective, we recommend avoiding the use of contaminated recyclates for products with intensive contact with consumers (‘contact-sensitive products’) until further notice.

In our recent article “Material Recycling of Plastics—A Challenge for Sustainability” we also show that the climate policy challenges for the plastics (and chemical) industry necessitate defossilization (‘feedstock change’). This turnaround can only succeed if solely closed-loop recycling takes place in the future; recyclates should primarily replace virgin plastics. For material or mechanical recycling, this means that this can only work if used plastics with a high degree of homogeneity and known formulation are collected separately, as is already the case today with PET bottles. The objective of this article is to illustrate the increasing complexity of plastic polymers and additives, especially legacy additives, which will force a legislative readjustment of todays’ material recycling.

Lahl, U.; Zeschmar-Lahl, B. Material Recycling of Plastics—A Challenge for Sustainability. Sustainability 2024, 16, 6630. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156630

Sustainability 2024, 16 (15), 6630

About Barbara Zeschmar-Lahl