By Birgit Buerkner
Lars Halter (49) just wanted to take some waste paper and an old water tap to the BSR recycling center in Zehlendorf. There he discovered a discarded bathtub, the object of his gardening dreams. And an absurd fight began – against waste of resources and bureaucracy.
“I have to have it!” thought the father. He saw himself and his son Hugo (7) painting the sanitary furniture in the garden, planting colorful flowers in it and giving it new life.
But he reckoned without the employees of BSR: “It’s not possible! Will be scrapped!” Halter didn’t give up. The next day he drove to the BSR-Hof in Hegauer Weg with his trailer and his son Hugo and kindly asked for the tub. His efforts stayed for the leftovers ton.
The BSR recycling centers are not allowed to hand over any objects that are not intended for the intended purpose Photo: Olaf Selchow
Halter sends an e-mail to the city cleaning department: “The BSR writes on its website: ‘Sustainability is a core concern for us. This includes protecting the environment, resources and climate.’ – I don’t think that you can deal with resources more carelessly and irresponsibly than in my case with the bathtub.” He also sent a letter to Environment Senator Manja Schreiner (45, CDU).
Lars Halter on the BZ: “What annoys me the most is that good ideas fail because of bureaucracy. Waste avoidance is given as the top priority, but in a specific situation a pragmatic solution is rejected.”
When asked by the BZ, a BSR spokesman referred to the Circular Economy Act, according to which public waste management companies are obliged to dispose of or recycle the waste provided to them. However, further use is only possible for the original purpose. In the case of a tub, for bathing.
Nevertheless, the BSR replied to Halter that they had taken his request as an opportunity to develop a standard process so that individual items discovered could be passed on to BSR second-hand stores in a timely manner.
The tub was even searched for him. Unfortunately it would have been scrapped by now.