Waste

Waste may only be deposited in approved facilities. Depositing waste in the countryside is an administrative offense. Even in the case of normal household waste, fines of several hundred euros are quickly imposed. If the waste is hazardous (e.g. used oil), it may also be a criminal offense.

In cooperation with the Wolfsburg-Helmstedt Police Department, the Lower Waste Authority of the City of Wolfsburg is also responsible for monitoring possible illegal car wrecks on private property and in public traffic areas.

Collections of waste from private households are subject to notification. This applies to both commercial and non-profit collectors. Common examples are the collection of old clothes, old paper or scrap metal.

The notification must be received at least three months before the intended start of the collection.

For information on the disposal of plant waste, please refer to the information provided by the Lower Saxony Ministry for the Environment, Energy, Building and Climate Protection.

The Lower Waste Authority is also the contact for:

• the approval of temporary storage and treatment of waste (e.g. construction waste), unless the State Trade Inspectorate is competent
• the supervision of the disposal of waste by third parties, as far as the State Trade Inspectorate is not responsible
• the monitoring of hazardous waste at facilities that are not part of the manufacturing industry, e.g. trade, practices, crafts. The Braunschweig State Trade Inspectorate, on the other hand, is responsible for monitoring hazardous waste from the manufacturing sector and industry.

• the Packaging Act (for example, deposit collection and return for beverage packaging)
• the Waste Oil Ordinance (AltölV) and
• the Battery Act (BattG)

If you have specific questions about the disposal of special waste, such as bulky waste, construction waste, asbestos, etc., please contact the waste consulting service of Wolfsburg Waste Management and Street Cleaning (WAS).

Time and again, Wolfsburg mailboxes are littered with flyers from dubious waste collectors.

These flyers call for the provision of various types of household waste at very short notice. Mostly it concerns thereby scrap metals, old devices as well as old clothes. Quote from a handout: "Collection of used, unnecessary items." Even the taking along of problematic wastes such as car batteries is announced. Often these leaflets are written anonymously, so that the citizen of Wolfsburg cannot know with whom he is dealing.

Beside quite legal and duly indicated commercial collections of for example old clothes and scrap metals often also illegal collections are announced over the handbills. One should become clairaudient if the scope of collection includes, for example, old electrical appliances. Here it is clearly regulated by law that the disposal must take place exclusively over the respective public disposal carrier or by cancelling in the trade.

For this purpose, Wolfsburg's Waste Management and Street Cleaning (WAS) provides convenient collection systems for large and small appliances, which every fee payer in Wolfsburg finances through their monthly waste fees. More details can be found in the current waste disposal planner and on the WAS website.

In the course of unauthorized commercial collection, on the other hand, it happens time and again that appliances are also taken away and cannibalized in order to separate the usable from the unusable. This unusable waste is often disposed of in fields, forests and meadows. This represents in the less bad case a misdemeanor and with acute environmental endangerment quite also a criminal offense, which can be accordingly pursued. However, the use of illegal collection can also be expensive for the user, because ultimately the waste producer is responsible for proper disposal.

For Wolfsburg residents, this means that simply putting items out for illegal collection is an administrative offense that can be punished with a fine of up to 10,000 euros.

In order to avoid this, the citizens of Wolfsburg should use the already mentioned disposal channels of WAS or legal collectors. A legal collection can be assumed if the name of the person responsible as well as the company address and contact details are printed on the litter notice announcing the collection.

If you are not sure whether you are dealing with a legal collector, you can contact the waste management authority of the city of Wolfsburg by email at abfallbehoerde@stadt.wolfsburg.de.

For the most effective action against illegal collections, the Lower Waste Authority of the City of Wolfsburg and WAS ask for your assistance. If you have any information about an illegal collection or observe a suspicious collection, please contact us.