BZ editor Stefan Peter comments on the plans for a packaging tax in Berlin Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Frank Rumpenhorst / BZ assembly
By Stefan Peter
It’s good that the House of Representatives is debating the garbage in our city. Because in many areas things are getting worse and worse! The only question is whether a packaging tax actually helps.
Because old mattresses, shelves and burnt cooking pots are not packaging – but they are still lying around on sidewalks or in green areas.
Anyone who buys a pizza to take on the go will continue to rely on the cardboard box and not reusable ones. The box still stays somewhere, 50 cent tax or not.
In the worst case, some consider the extra fee to be a kind of garbage fee. Motto: I paid, now you put it away!
When it comes to ice cream, some people would probably buy the cone out of necessity and just throw it away. And: Banana peels often end up in the bushes and on the sidewalk – should the fruit also be charged 50 cents?
So does the Greens’ bill really make sense? The idea behind it is understandable, but the implementation will be extremely difficult. That’s probably why there are still many questions in the other parties.