KfW joins PREVENT Waste Alliance

On 9 May, German Federal Minister Gerd Müller kicked off the new PREVENT Waste Alliance in Berlin, where he presented the coalition of various organisations, companies, non-governmental organisations and think-tanks to the public. PREVENT pursues the goal of combating the increasing mountains of waste worldwide; it aims to minimise harmful substances and support recycling systems. “Waste is increasingly becoming a global survival issue similar to climate change,” said Minister Müller in Berlin. Accordingly, PREVENT's motto is: “Together for a circular economy”.

KfW recently joined the Alliance, which already had 31 members when it was formed – the Minister hopes that many more will follow. In addition to the two initiators of the Alliance, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), its members include institutions such as GIZ, the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK). The Alliance also includes members from the fields of science and research such as the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, large companies (e.g. Nestlé) and organisations (BDE, RETech), as well as non-governmental organisations like WWF.

The Waste Alliance wants to bring together stakeholders, provide information, share expertise and carry out pilot projects with the aim of getting a functioning waste and recycling management system off the ground, especially in developing countries and emerging economies. According to a PREVENT communiqué: “We work together for waste prevention, collection, and recycling as well as the increased uptake of secondary resources (...)”.

Specifically, the four working areas are: “Prevention of plastic waste”, “Closing packaging cycles”, “Electrical and electronic equipment”, “Framework conditions at municipal level”.

Membership in PREVENT augments and expands KfW's commitment in this area: just last year KfW launched the Clean Oceans Initiative (COI) together with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the French development agency AFD. With this European initiative, KfW aims to reduce pollution of the world's oceans, particularly from plastic waste. The three institutions intend to finance investments of two billion euros over the next five years for projects in developing countries and emerging economies.

KfW department head Barbara Schnell, who was present at the launch of PREVENT in Berlin, said: “In view of the growing mountains of rubbish and increasing pollution of the world's oceans, the issue of waste is very important to us. We will further step up our commitment to supporting municipalities in developing countries and emerging economies.”