Berlin’s Climathon: Waste management and sustainable mobility in Berlin

The Climate-KIC Climathon is a global 24-hour climate change event which will take place simultaneously in major cities around the world on 28 October 2016. 

In Berlin the Climate-KIC Climathon will begin on the morning of the 28 October CEST and finish on the following day. It is organised by VEOLIA Berlin, BSR, TU Berlin, CHORA & TTT, Smart Sustainable District and Moabit.

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The Challenge

Topic 1: ZERO WASTE: “Development of a guideline for a zero-waste school in Berlin: What could a zero waste concept of a Berlin school look like?” 

Details: At Several sites in Germany Veolia cooperates with schools. This is a way to motivate the youngest generation for circular economy. As Avoiding waste is the first and a very important step towards circular economy – why not inspire students and teachers with a guideline for a zero-waste school? Within our challenge, we would like to integrate all existing information concerning waste prevention  and enrich it with practical impulses from waste professionals and school experts, in order to establish a useful guideline to become a zero waste school step by step. This guideline is of course available for everybody as open source. Veolia, BildungsCent eV, other network partners and every participant of the challenge are invited to spread the document, to accompany schools using it and contribute to sustainable change in the educational sector. 

Topic 2: WASTE MANAGEMENT / -COLLECTION: “How is it possible to reduce Berlin’s processes of waste removal when it comes to collecting waste from private households?” 

Background information-
Waste from households recorded separately. For the most, there are part six different waste fractions In Berlin: 
• Waste paper (paper, cardboard, printing products and packaging) 
• Recycled glass (sales packaging such as bottles. Collection either separated by white/colorful “trash cans” or separated by white, green and brown on Depot containers (igloos).
• Recyclables (mainly plastic, metal and composite packaging, but also the same material non-packaging such as. plastic flower pots) 
• Biowaste 
• Residual waste

Usually, most 2-wheel or 4-wheel “garbage cans” have a volume between 60 liters and 1100 liters in the home, so that citizens only have a very short distance to the waste container. This convenient disposal solution is the acceptance of households to separate waste, and thus the quality of the waste, as a prerequisite for high-quality recycling.
But six different waste fractions in six different kinds of waste also means that each house is approached by six different vehicles. Since the various vehicles are usually not on the same drive in the same road, the disposal rhythms, tours and working hours differ, there is a case that in some streets is a disposal vehicle in used daily. In addition, there are groups such as waste paper or waste glass whose disposal is a private organization, so that they are disposed of within Berlin by several companies. This means that it is possible that several disposal vehicles dispose of the waste paper fraction in a street on the same day. In addition, more traffic flows arising from the disposal of bulky and large electronic equipment. 
Although the described disposal system brings advantages in the sorting of different recyclable materials and the user-friendliness, it also leads to impairments of the local quality of life, in particular by the increased disposal transport: 
• Slowing of traffic- the disposal vehicles lead to congestion (especially in narrow streets) 
• Increased emissions- more vehicles means more noise and more air pollutants
• Noise when pulling the garbage cans out of the backyards to the vehicle (from 6am), in particular, the empty containers are significant noise sources 
• Increased CO2 emissions 

The Climathon teams will be responsible for developing innovative solutions first! 

Topic 3: SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY: “What kind of incentives can be created for a) residents and b) commuters in Berlin to make the use of bike-sharing systems in the quarter more attractive?

Pitching to expert judges

The Climathon event will culminate in presentation of each group’s idea in front of panel members who will provide valuable feedback. The panel is comprised of different science and business experts.

Partners

VEOLIA Berlin

BSR

TU Berlin

CHORA & TTT

Smart Sustainable District Moabit

How to join the Climathon

How will you benefit from participating in Climathon?

• Help solve your city’s local climate challenge, and make your city more resilient to climate change
• Network with local leaders from academia, business and public authorities
• Develop your skills in public speaking, innovative thinking, prioritisation, and explore new tools and methodologies
• Join forces with other like-minded entrepreneurs and innovators
• Become a part of a global community working together to take climate action!

Register your interest now to join the Climathon global movement and drive climate action

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