On March 18th, 2024, SPARCS visited the Duncker neighbourhood’s community centre. In collaboration with the city waste department, an evening focused on zero waste took place.. The city waste department presented its zero waste project and reported on Leipzig’s progress towards reducing its waste and increasing the recycling rate.

After that, it was time for the attendees to roll up sleeves and test their recycling knowledge. Different questions were asked like: In which glass container does a blue glass bottle go? (Green!) Do you really have to separate the paper from the plastic in a bakery bag and dispose of it separately? (Yes!) Everyone was able to learn something new.

But what does zero waste have to do with SPARCS and smart cities? SPARCS is all about saving CO2 and developing energy-positive communities. The goal of Leipzig’s zero waste strategy is to create circular systems. Waste needs to be avoided and the waste that does arise needs to be separated into the valuable materials and reused. This saves energy and CO2 and makes use of the value in waste. For example, organic waste can be converted into biogas and manure in the biogas plant, and severely damaged textiles can be processed into cleaning cloths and insulation materials. One step closer to a circular economy is also one step closer to a smart city.