In view of the rising cost of living, the taxpayers’ association (BdSt) has pointed out that waste disposal has great savings potential. By avoiding waste, consistent waste separation, smaller bins and not having to empty it every week, several hundred euros could be saved annually, calculated the state chairman, Rik Steinheuer, on Thursday when presenting the current fee comparison for North Rhine-Westphalia.
At around 382 euros per year, the four-person model stop, who have their residual waste bins emptied weekly, pays the most on the state average. The 14-day removal costs an average of 278 euros, the four-weekly 214 euros.
A household that also consistently avoids and separates waste could only come to around 176 euros instead of more than 418 euros with the same collection cycle, but with a small residual waste bin, Steinheuer calculated using the example of the fee rates in Essen. On average across the country, the waste fees for private households have risen by two to three percent compared to the previous year, depending on the collection cycle.
One obstacle to the reduction in fees is that the municipalities can set minimum quantities for certain types of waste in their statutes, which in turn bind households to certain bin sizes. For example, Gütersloh offers 5-liter bins as the minimum container, while in Cologne the smallest size is a 20-liter bin, Steinheuer reported. He called on the municipalities to largely allow freedom of choice in terms of bin size and collection frequency. This saves money and would provide an incentive to avoid and separate waste, he explained.
As a consequence of a court ruling, the taxpayers’ association also asked all municipalities to check whether their citizens had to pay excessive sewage fees in recent years. In all cases, there should be refunds for everyone affected – and not just for those who, as a precaution, had lodged an objection to their decision, Steinheuer emphasized. “Citizens must be able to trust legitimate decisions.” The authorities should not act according to the motto: “Those who have not defended themselves are unlucky.”
In a test case against the city of Oer-Erkenschwick last month, the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) in Münster found that the sewage fees there had been calculated too lavishly. The interest rate was too high and the inflation adjustment was calculated twice. The judgment has raised many question marks in the municipalities across the country.
Instead of letting the fee payers “drain” with objections that were quickly rejected, this judgment must now be implemented quickly – both for the fee calculations in the coming year and retrospectively, Steinheuer demanded. So far, no repayments have been made from the cities and municipalities, said the lawyer for the BdSt, Wilhelm Achelpoehler. Not even the citizens of Oer-Erkenschwick and those who, as a precautionary measure, had lodged an objection to their decision had so far received a single cent reimbursement.
For this reason, the BdSt is striving to have the validity of local waste water fee statutes checked on the basis of suitable cases via a norm control procedure before the OVG. Fee payers with open objection or legal proceedings against a decision for the year 2022 could contact the BdSt.
The Association of Towns and Municipalities of North Rhine-Westphalia assured that the municipalities had always complied with the case law and would continue to do so. “The fact that the court has now changed its position after 28 years and has set up new criteria for the calculation gives the municipalities little pleasure and a lot of work,” stated the general manager of the state association, Christof Sommer.
The calculations are currently being checked and adjusted where necessary. “It could be interesting how the Federal Administrative Court assesses the situation, where an appeal was filed against the judgment of the OVG Münster,” emphasized Sommer.
As in previous years, the current comparison of waste and sewage charges in NRW shows a huge local range. The annual waste fee for a four-person model household is still the cheapest in Kaarst at just under 163 euros and – again – the most expensive in Münster at around 686 euros, calculated for 120 liters of residual and organic waste, which is collected every 14 days including paper waste in normal household quantities.
When it comes to wastewater, the long-standing leader in the list of the cheapest municipalities, Reken in the district of Borken, remains in first place with a good 287 euros annual fee. In contrast, the Eifel town of Monschau has to shell out almost five times as much at 1356 euros.
According to BdSt calculations, a four-person model household had to pay an annual fee of around 743 euros on average across the country. That is one percent or six euros more than in 2021. The Association of Towns and Municipalities does not consider the fee comparisons to be reliable because of the different requirements in the municipalities.
