The UK literally produces more rubbish than it can handle. – Roughly 3.6 million tons of British rubbish are imported to the EU per year. In 2017, 700 000 tons of British rubbish ended up in Germany. At first these fragrant imports were distributed all over the country. Lately, however, they have always ended up in the south of the country, i.e. Baden Wurttemberg and Bavaria. In Bavaria this particular import has begun to cause huge problems, because local incinerators are stretched beyond capacity. Germans, it seems, happily produce plenty of rubbish themselves now and no longer need any imports. Since the UK is paying good money for getting rid of what they don’t want, Germany has so far found it hard to disentangle itself from this business. A hard Brexit, however, would probably solve this particular problem at a stroke and Bavarians could finally focus on their own rubbish.
In Munich rubbish is (not literally) a burning issue. The mayor Dieter Reiter has begun a campaign to reduce the number of to-go paper cups sold daily in the city. He wants to convince bakery chains to steeply increase the price for paper cups or stop selling them altogether. Currently, 190 000 paper cups are sold in Munich every day. Far too many, Reiter thinks. Appeals to the public haven’t decreased the numbers so far, but a sharp price increase might do the trick. Whether the chains will agree remains to be seen.
It’s hard to know what the new year will bring. Less rubbish (of every kind) would be a big step forward.
Happy Holidays and a Joyful, Healthy 2020 to you!