Berlin turns waste into biofuel for municipal use | Knowledge Hub | Circle Economy Foundation
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Policy case
Berlin turns waste into biofuel for municipal use
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Organic waste management is heavy on emissions due to two factors: the collection vehicles are typically powered by gas or diesel, and composting is one of the most emitting parts of traditional waste management. The city of Berlin installed its own anaerobic digestion plant to create biofuel that powers the city's collection vehicles. This makes the city less subject on fuel prices and minimises the amount of open composting that is necessary. At the same time, it saves 9000 tons of CO2 emissions per year, and produces biogas that is not in competition with food production over land and resource use.

Problem

Waste collection still largely happens with vehicles, which produce emissions and cost the municipality money for fuel. This can be improved by using biogas as a fuel, but large amounts of biogas are being produced with otherwise edible biomass, leading to a competition between food and fuel. At the same time, many municipalities dispose of organic waste by composting, which is problematic because it releases high amounts of greenhouse gas, particularly the especially potent methane, making composting the most emission-heavy part of traditional waste management.

Solution

The solution of Berlin's municipal waste management company was to create a modern biofuel facility for their own use. It uses anaerobic digestion to turn Berlin's organic waste into biofuel, as the typical kitchen waste produced by the city is well-suited for that method. This biofuel is then used to power the vehicles used by the municipality for collection, and is supplied to the urban gas network. It consists to 98% of methane, yielding an efficient and powerful fuel that makes the city less dependent on fuel prices as well as yielding ecological benefits.

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Factsheet Biogas Berlin