Waste Fee Ranking: The Most Expensive and Cheapest Cities in Germany

Berlin Cities and municipalities have a major impact on the cost of housing, but place very different burdens on their citizens. This is also reflected in the waste fees. While citizens in Nuremberg, Flensburg and Wolfsburg have to pay the least for waste per year, Leverkusen, Trier and Bergisch Gladbach are the most expensive.

This is shown by a waste fee ranking by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW) on behalf of the owner company Haus & Grund among the 100 largest cities in Deutschlandwhich was presented this Tuesday.

There are large discrepancies between the cities studied, both in terms of the amount of the waste fee and the user-friendly simplicity and flexibility of the fee system.

While 67 cities offer a 14-day partial service (the bins must be left at the curb), 31 cities offer a seven-day partial service. A seven-day full service can be booked in 35 cities (the bins are picked up at the building or in front of it), 53 cities offer their citizens a 14-day full service.

In Nuremberg, for example, if the citizens put their bins on the side of the road themselves every seven days, the costs amount to 130.60 euros a year. In Leverkusen, the same service costs 629.70 euros.

However, Nuremberg also offers that the transport of the bins from the location on the property to the removal vehicle and the return transport are taken over by the removal personnel. This service costs almost ten euros more.

Overall, the average waste collection fee for the 100 cities has risen by around eight percent to 312 euros over the past three years. 19 cities reduced the fees compared to the last three years, such as Nuremberg or Wolfsburg. 81 cities increased the fees, Erfurt, Fürth or Gelsenkirchen by over 20 percent.

“The cost of living is currently rising dramatically due to rapidly rising energy prices,” said Association President Kai Warnecke at the presentation of the ranking in Berlin. “However, we must not neglect the many other cost drivers.”

Warnecke called for the reasons for the high costs to be analyzed and named. In addition, a stronger standardization of the fee regulations is necessary. “83 of the cities do not have a fee calculator, which could contribute significantly to transparency,” he said. The community of owners wants to create pressure through more price and fee transparency, which will lower prices for many consumers.

The basis for the calculation was a fictitious household with two adults and two children living in a single-family house – a common reference figure that does not always correspond to the average household type in large cities.

60 liters of residual waste and 20 liters of organic waste are estimated per household and week. In addition, the types of waste bulky waste and waste paper are included in the consideration.

The removal differs between the cities in terms of the removal rhythm and the level of service. In order to enable a comparison in an overall ranking, the IW used hypothetical fees for the system variants not offered and summarized the results in a garbage fee index.

For the first time, the IW also examined the garbage fees of 25 medium-sized cities. Brandenburg an der Havel wins here. Stralsund and Norderstedt are in the following places. Behind are Nordhausen, Celle and Neunkirchen. “It shows that the smaller cities are not cheaper, but also not more expensive than the big cities,” said Warnecke. “Every city has to do its homework properly so that the additional costs remain affordable for the people,” he demanded.

According to Werneke, no fundamental patterns such as the size of a city, the population density or the budget situation can be identified as reasons for high or low waste fees. “In the end, it’s down to individual circumstances such as improperly dimensioned waste incineration plants, less efficient services or a lack of more ambitious policies that drive up the waste fees,” he said.

It cannot be ruled out that the garbage fees will increase due to the high fuel prices. “The additional costs for diesel have risen so much that we cannot cushion them permanently,” said the Vice President of the Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU), Patrick Hasenkamp, ​​recently the “Welt am Sonntag”. The temporary reduction in the energy tax on fuels will probably not change that. In the end, however, that was no more than a “dampening effect,” said Hasenkamp.

The private waste disposal companies made similar statements. “Anything that relieves companies is helpful,” said the President of the Federal Association of German Waste Management, Water and Raw Materials Management (BDE), Peter Kurth, the newspaper. Whether the reduction in energy tax is sufficient in individual cases must be examined specifically for each company.

Garbage collection is carried out by municipal as well as private companies. In the big cities, the waste management companies usually have their own vehicle fleets, while in smaller towns and rural communities the municipalities commission private disposal companies. According to the report, these companies are now approaching their clients to talk about adjusting current contracts.

First publication: 06/28/22, 11:54 am.