The City Council met: Leipzig will not get its first 24-hour recycling centre until 2029 + Video

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Actually, it wasn’t a bad idea – it’s already done this way in other towns: anyone who can’t find the time to visit the town’s recycling centres during their opening hours can simply book a personal appointment online with the council’s waste collection service, at which point they can drop off their recyclables. Or they can use a recycling centre that’s open 24 hours a day. The CDU parliamentary group turned the idea into a motion, to which Leipzig’s city administration actually responded positively. The only problem was that it couldn’t be implemented as quickly as in Potsdam. But for some reason, the CDU parliamentary group wanted it to happen that quickly. Which, of course, went wrong on 28 October.

This is because Leipzig’s city cleaning department had actually made it very clear in its initial statement that the recycling centres would need to be upgraded to provide such a 24-hour service. These are therefore investments that need to be planned and installed. Or incorporated into new recycling centres. That takes time. The city’s waste management department could not promise this would be ready by 2027.

But Stefan Artmann, speaking on behalf of the CDU parliamentary group, felt that this would take too long. Consequently, the CDU parliamentary group’s new motion called for implementation by 2027.

The City Cleaning Department had proposed: “As a counter-proposal, it is suggested that the planned new recycling centres on Wasserturmweg and in the Lützschena-Stahmeln industrial estate should, in principle, be designed to accommodate 24/7 waste disposal. As part of the planning and approval process, provision must be made from the outset for a public service to accept waste outside normal opening hours. Furthermore, an existing recycling centre is to be upgraded in line with the 24/7 waste disposal requirements. A suitable location for this still needs to be identified.”

However, this requires advance planning and cannot be implemented as early as 2027, according to the city’s waste management department: “This will take place as part of the construction work and the subsequent commissioning of the Wasserturmweg and Lützschena-Stahmeln recycling centres. The Wasserturmweg recycling centre is scheduled to open in mid-2030. The recycling centre in the Lützschena-Stahmeln industrial estate is due to commence operations in 2029.”

These were the figures that Stefan Artmann found particularly unsettling. So, on 28 October, he attempted to somehow construct a hybrid motion out of the clearly positive administrative proposal and his desire to have the service available as early as 2027 – a motion which even Mayor Burkhard Jung considered impossible to pass.

How much does 24/7 actually cost?

The fact that the city’s cleaning department itself does not yet know what the actual costs will be was also stated in its response: “The nature and scope of the necessary ancillary purchases cannot be definitively specified at present and must be examined accordingly. In addition to video surveillance systems, investments will be required in particular in digital access and authorisation systems, user management software, gate and barrier systems, emergency call and communication systems, lighting and security technology, alarm systems, IT infrastructure, data protection measures, as well as additional operational, monitoring and maintenance services.

Video surveillance is of particular importance in this context. It may be necessary for the prevention of misuse and vandalism, for the documentation of incidents of damage, and to support obligations regarding public safety. At the same time, extensive data protection requirements must be taken into account.”

Not before 2029

What sounds so simple to a stressed-out resident who’d just like to get rid of their recyclables somehow after work represents a great deal of effort for the city’s waste management department. Effort that is quite obviously only worthwhile if a completely new recycling centre is designed at the same time. Or indeed two recycling centres, which they intend to set up anyway.

And this was not just the view of Franziska Riekewald on behalf of the Left Party, who put the administration’s position to the vote. She also raised the issue of retrofitting an existing recycling centre: “As the existing recycling centre is to use the same access system – which will be trialled at the two new recycling centres – the existing recycling centre will only be upgraded with the option of 24/7 waste disposal at a later stage.”

In other words, not until after 2030.

The majority of the city council shared this view and gave the administration’s proposal a clear vote of approval by 44 votes to 19. Consequently, the first recycling centre offering such a 24-hour service will now open in 2029. This will be the new recycling centre in the Lützschena-Stahmeln industrial estate.