The urban waste management in Hannover City: a successful model

Sustainable waste management is one of the most important challenges that all governments must face. Environmentally developed countries give solution to the waste questions admitting that the success is based on the renewed perception of the term "garbage" and relying on the social and industrial participation. In order to arrive to these goals, special attention is paid to two instruments: the application of environmental principles, and the use of charges and taxes on production and consumption. Education and environmental awareness of the society is also important to offset the new consumption needs with excessive waste generation, mainly because of packaging. This paper shows the actions undertaken in Hannover with the main goal of offering a series of strategic directions to correct the actual waste management problem in other countries.