Organic waste bins in sight: Magdeburg and Dessau are fighting against plastic sins!

Organic waste bins in sight: Magdeburg and Dessau are fighting against plastic sins!

Starting this week, the cities of Magdeburg and Dessau-Roßlau are taking new controls against incorrectly filled organic waste bins. Local waste management companies are taking action as part of a nationwide control campaign designed to raise awareness among citizens about the correct separation of organic waste. According to a statement from the Magdeburg municipal waste management company, organic waste bins that are not filled correctly will no longer be emptied in the future. The representative for human resources, citizen services and order in Magdeburg, Ronni Krug, emphasizes the importance of a clean organic waste bin for the environment.

These tightened controls are a response to new legal requirements that have been in force since May 2025. The Organic Waste Ordinance sets clearer limits for undesirable foreign substances such as plastic, glass or metal that should not be contained in organic waste. The aim of this control is clean separation in order to be able to produce high-quality compost and biogas from the organic waste.

What can citizens expect?

As part of the inspection campaign, not only are the bins removed, but information is also provided on how to fill them correctly. In the event of serious incorrect filling, the organic waste bins are provided with a sticker for subsequent sorting. The garbage workers and waste consultants explain to local citizens what is allowed and what is not. “Your organic waste is important for the climate” is the motto of the campaign, which is also used in other cities such as Ulm. Checks are also on the program here from September 15th, which are organized together with the “wirfuerbio” association.

The waste disposal companies in the city of Ulm are starting their campaigns with the same intention: to make citizens aware of the new legislation and to motivate them to cleanly separate bio-organic waste. In Ulm, too, incorrectly filled organic waste bins are marked with a “yellow card”, which contains important information on how to fill the organic waste bin correctly.

The background of the action

The separate collection of organic waste is not only legally binding, but also essential for the recycling of organic substances and nutrients. Cleanly separated organic waste enables the production of high-quality compost and digestate, which is used as valuable fertilizer in agriculture. In 2022, around 15.75 million tons of biogenic waste were treated biologically in Germany, over half of which was processed in fermentation plants. The recycling route depends heavily on the composition of the waste, with food waste usually being fermented and plant material being composted.

In order to guarantee the quality of biological waste in the future, contaminants such as compostable plastic bags, which cannot completely decompose, must be banned from the bins. Used paper bags or special paper garbage bags are recommended instead.

The campaign in Magdeburg and Dessau-Roßlau is an important step towards better separation of organic waste and thus also for climate protection. With the help of successful biowaste recycling, not only can nutrients be recovered, but energy can also be produced. The cities hope that citizens will adhere to the new guidelines in order to improve the quality of organic waste and the products produced from it.

For further information on how to correctly fill organic waste bins, the local waste advice center and the website wirfuerbio.de are available.