{"id":116743,"date":"2026-06-03T14:03:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T12:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/?p=116743"},"modified":"2026-06-05T16:28:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:28:28","slug":"circular-economy-bde-calls-for-concrete-legislative-measures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/kreislaufwirtschaft-bde-fordert-konkrete-gesetzliche-massnahmen\/","title":{"rendered":"Circular Economy Action Programme: Associations demand concrete legislative measures"},"content":{"rendered":"

The BDE rates the circular economy action programme decided by the Federal Cabinet as an important step towards implementing the National Circular Economy Strategy (NKWS). However, it is now crucial that concrete legislative measures emerge from the programme. The bvse calls for the prompt addition of binding regulations on public procurement, concrete target values for the use of secondary raw materials, and effective monitoring.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Dr Andreas Bruckschen, Chief Executive of the BDE, highlights that companies in the private waste management, water, and circular economy sectors rely on reliable markets for recycled raw materials. Only through faster permits, practical standards, and public procurement that actively demands recycled raw materials can investments in sorting, processing, and digitalisation be stimulated.<\/p>\r\n

The BDE Federal Association of the German Waste Management, Water and Circular Economy sector welcomes the recognition of the circular economy as an integral part of resource security and industrial value creation, but sees the need for concrete legal regulations.<\/p>

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The action programme contains important starting points: the planned implementation platform, investment and innovation promotion, digitalisation, measures for raw material supply through a circular economy, the further development of circular economy law, the use of recyclates in plastics, and the round table on reducing the risk of fire from lithium batteries. The crucial step now is to swiftly translate these points into practicable legal regulations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Criticism of public procurement<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The BDE is particularly critical of the current regulations on public procurement. The association sees this as a missed opportunity to better leverage the potential of public procurement for the National Circular Economy Strategy. Although companies with majority state ownership are to report on the use of circular products and recycled raw materials in the future, there is a lack of steering effect to create a genuine market. The BDE is therefore calling for public procurement to be mandatorily geared towards strengthening the circular economy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The BDE already highlighted in the summer of 2025, through a legal opinion, that greater consideration of recycled raw materials in public procurement is legally permissible. However, this requires transparent, product-specific, and proportionate requirements. The association sees the action programme as a starting point for a further debate on the National Circular Economy Strategy and calls on the federal government to swiftly develop concrete legislative measures.<\/p>\r\n

bvse: Action programme falls short of expectations<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

\u201eThe Action Programme for the National Circular Economy Strategy falls short of our expectations,\u201c comments Eric Rehbock, Managing Director of the bvse Federal Association for Secondary Raw Materials and Waste Management, on the adoption of the programme by the federal government. From the bvse's perspective, the expectation was clear: after numerous strategies, announcements and objectives, concrete measures should now follow that actually accelerate the transition to a circular economy. Instead, the action programme largely contains familiar declarations of intent and previously formulated demands.<\/p>\r\n

The bvse is particularly critical of the design of sustainable public procurement. Although federal, state, and local governments, as important procurers, could play a key role in developing markets for recycled raw materials and circular products, the association believes the action programme remains largely non-binding.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n

\u201eWe would have liked to see significantly more in the area of sustainable procurement. Public contracting authorities must be more strongly obliged to use products from the circular economy. It is crucial that such requirements are also verifiable and, if necessary, legally enforceable. Voluntary measures alone have not led to the desired success so far.\u201c<\/p>\r\n

Eric Rehbock, Managing Director of the bvse<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

Control mechanism missing<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

However, the association notes that while it expressly welcomes the federal government's aim to continuously increase the annual order volume for circular products at companies with majority federal participation and to reduce regulatory obstacles, concrete targets, timelines, and measurable interim targets are lacking.<\/p>\r\n

\u201eWhat is missing is a robust mechanism for monitoring success. Anyone who wants more circular economy must also measure whether the demand for circular products and recyclates is actually increasing,\u201c demands Rehbock. Therefore, transparent monitoring is necessary, which documents progress and reveals deficits.<\/p>\r\n

In the bvse's opinion, the action programme thus reveals a fundamental problem in German circular economy policy: the political goals are becoming increasingly ambitious, while binding instruments for market strengthening are frequently lacking. The recycling sector in particular, however, needs reliable sales markets and clear investment signals.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\u201eDemand for recyclates must finally rise noticeably. The recycling industry has been investing in plants, technologies, and capacities for years. What's missing are stable markets. If the public sector does not consistently fulfil its role model function, the goal of a functioning circular economy will not be achievable,\u201c said the bvse Chief Executive Officer.<\/p>\r\n

The bvse therefore calls for the action programme to be promptly supplemented with binding requirements for public procurement, concrete target values for the use of secondary raw materials and circular products, and effective monitoring. Only in this way can the right goals also lead to measurable implementation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Source:<\/em> Big d*** energy; bye<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Circular Economy Action Programme is an important step, but concrete laws must now follow to strengthen recycling markets and enable investments, according to industry associations.","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":116792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","rank_math_description":"Das Aktionsprogramm Kreislaufwirtschaft fordert konkrete Gesetze, um Recyclingm\u00e4rkte zu st\u00e4rken.","rank_math_focus_keyword":"Kreislaufwirtschaft","rank_math_title":"","_earpaper_enabled":false,"_earpaper_voice_id":"","_earpaper_audio_url":"","_earpaper_audio_id":"","_earpaper_article_id":"","_earpaper_status":"","_earpaper_error":"","_earpaper_duration":0,"_earpaper_generated_at":"","csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[58781],"tags":[65,59578,54,31,32],"class_list":["post-116743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-green-packaging","tag-abfalltechnik-und-recycling","tag-bde","tag-kunststoff-und-verbunde","tag-nachhaltigkeit-und-green-packaging","tag-packmittel-und-packstoffe","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"acf":[],"vimeo_video":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116743"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116764,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116743\/revisions\/116764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}