"We are being accused of doing exactly what is actually our core business: Namely being there for the citizens," said Allgaier. The district of Ludwigsburg and the district's own waste recycling company (AVL) comment on the recently negotiated compromise regarding the exchange of glass boxes for garbage cans: "It would undoubtedly have been possible to enforce the agreement with the dual systems for an unconditional exchange of the glass box for a garbage can in court. However, this would have pushed the goal of facilitating a quick and unbureaucratic exchange into the distant future, the district administrator clarifies once again. A legal dispute would have taken at least two years. It is also clear - and the word "compromise" implies this - that not all of AVL's demands are reflected 1:1 in the agreement, says AVL Managing Director Tilman Hepperle. However, in the negotiations, AVL has achieved, for example, for the benefit of the citizens, that all applications for the exchange of garbage cans received in April will be processed and implemented by the summer vacations at the latest.
The current compromise could be criticized because AVL also finances the exchange on a pro rata basis. "However, no fees will be charged for the garbage can exchange," clarified the AVL Managing Director. AVL finances the additional costs incurred for the bin exchange purely from private sources. Likewise, the resources for the AVL service number for the garbage can exchange, which can be reached by people without internet access on 07141 144 2895, are not financed at the expense of the fee payers. "The dual systems and waste disposal companies did not want to set up their own service number for citizens. We are doing it because we think it is the right thing to do. As a public waste management company, we offer this service to our citizens - in contrast to the privately organized systems - because we know their needs best based on years of experience."
In addition, it is important to point out the inaccuracies in recent reporting. The figure of 7,000 glass garbage cans, which the dual systems should still have made available, was based on an estimate from the system definition for glass. This figure is not contractually agreed, but could be higher or lower. It also does not correspond to the current situation because the disposal companies have already carried out numerous exchanges in cases of hardship in the past three months.
Incidentally, the numerous waste disposal problems that occurred in the first quarter show why the complex responsibilities in waste management are organizationally problematic, said District Administrator Allgaier. This is also why AVL, as a member of the joint initiative to abolish the dual systems (Gemini), had already vehemently opposed the continuation of organizational responsibility for the collection of sales packaging by the system operators of the dual system during the multi-year discussion on the concept of a recyclables law - and would continue to do so.
