Waste Officer

A waste management officer Germany is a statutory function under section 59 KrWG (Closed Cycle Management Act) supplemented by the Waste Management Officer Ordinance AbfBeauftrV. Operators of permit-required installations under BImSchG with regular hazardous waste, certified waste management companies under section 56 KrWG, hospitals with more than 1,500 beds, and producers or distributors above the thresholds of the German Packaging Act must appoint an officer. The officer monitors the entire waste path from generation to recovery or disposal, reviews compliance with the Closed Cycle Management Act, the records ordinance NachwV (electronic eANV), the commercial waste ordinance GewAbfV, the waste transport regulation and the European Waste Catalogue codes set out in the AVV. Under section 60 KrWG he operates free of technical instructions and reports directly to top management. Breach of the appointment duty is an administrative offence under section 69 KrWG with fines up to 100,000 EUR.

Appointment duty under section 59 KrWG is specified in section 1 AbfBeauftrV. Mandatory cases include operators of permit-required installations under BImSchG with regular hazardous waste, waste treatment and disposal plants, certified waste management companies, hospitals from 1,500 beds, and producers or distributors of packaging or products exceeding the thresholds of the German Packaging Act. As an indicator, generators of more than 100 tonnes per year of hazardous waste are typically affected, but the ordinance lists installations and not abstract thresholds. The appointment must be in writing, must define specific tasks and must be notified to the competent authority without delay. Group structures can share an officer across sites if proper performance is ensured.