Leipzig City's Tactics Irritate the BUND over Proposed Packaging Tax

Leipzig City's Tactics Irritate the BUND over Proposed Packaging Tax

Leipzig, Germany - A surprising U-turn by the city's finance mayor, Torsten Bonew, has delayed the introduction of a packaging tax in Leipzig from 2024 to at least 2027. This decision has sparked a lively debate among environmental organizations, political representatives, and local businesses.

The Bund for Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) Leipzig has expressed confusion about the city's approach to the planned packaging tax. BUND, known for advocating stronger environmental protection measures, has been working for years to promote reusable systems in Leipzig's gastronomy and reduce take-away waste. However, their efforts have seen limited success with voluntary initiatives.

The packaging tax, intended to significantly reduce packaging waste in the city and protect the environment, nature, and health, has been met with concerns by representatives of the gastronomy industry, IHK, and DEHOGA. They argue that the tax could pose financial burdens on businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises.

Environmental organizations like BUND and political representatives from the Greens view the packaging tax as an important step towards more environmental protection, waste reduction, and sustainable consumption. They emphasise that the focus of the tax should be on reducing waste to also relieve the city cleaning service, make the city cleaner, avoid microplastics, and contribute to health protection.

BUND Leipzig demands the swift and ambitious implementation of the packaging tax, with a stronger focus on environmental protection, species protection, and the health risks from harmful packaging components. In response to the delay, BUND Leipzig is hosting the 1st Leipzig Reusable Conference on August 18th to discuss and develop concrete solutions against single-use packaging.

The city cleaning service Leipzig and the industry have been working with BUND on the "Allerlei to Go" project for almost three years, trying to make reusable systems attractive for gastronomy and consumers. However, the city's avoidance strategy and the communication of some parties that seem to view the packaging tax primarily as a source of revenue have been criticised by BUND.

As the debate continues, it is clear that the issue of single-use packaging is not just about waste management, but also about the burden on the environment and biodiversity, as well as the health risks from harmful substances in single-use packaging. With single-use packaging, a massive volume of waste is created, which poses problems for city cleaning services. Animals can swallow parts of packaging, leading to injuries or death, and harmful substances like phthalates, softeners, and PFAS from single-use packaging can enter the environment and pose health risks to humans.

The city of Leipzig has commissioned the IHK to submit a counter-proposal for the introduction of a packaging tax, relying again on voluntarism. It remains to be seen whether this approach will be successful in reducing single-use packaging in Leipzig. The debate surrounding the packaging tax in Leipzig serves as a reminder of the importance of environmental protection and the need for sustainable solutions.

1. The Bund for Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) Leipzig is puzzled by the city's revised timeline for the packaging tax, given their longstanding commitment to promote reusable systems in the city's gastronomy and combat take-away waste.
2. The packaging tax, a key measure for environmental protection, waste reduction, and sustainable consumption, has stirred debate among environmental organizations, political representatives, and local businesses, with concerns over potential financial burdens for businesses, particularly SMEs.
3. Despite the delay in the packaging tax implementation, BUND Leipzig insists on swift and ambitious action, suggesting a stronger focus on environmental protection, species protection, and health risks from harmful packaging components.
4. On August 18th, BUND Leipzig is hosting the 1st Leipzig Reusable Conference to discuss and develop concrete solutions against single-use packaging, as the issue extends beyond waste management to environmental concerns, biodiversity, and health risks.
5. The continuing debate over the packaging tax in Leipzig underscores the importance of environmental protection and the need for sustainable solutions, with single-use packaging posing problems for city cleaning services, threatening animal life, and introducing harmful substances into the environment and human health.

Read also: