Recyclinghof in Bad Häring: Sechs Tage die Woche geöffnet

In the municipality of Bad Häring in Tyrol, residents can dispose of their waste at the recycling center from Monday to Saturday. The system without on-site staff is making a name for itself.
 

For three years now, waste disposal in Bad Häring has been different: flexible and with long opening hours. While in many other towns, people are usually stressed out on Fridays when they visit the recycling center, things are more relaxed in the municipality of Bad Häring. No traffic jams, no annoyed waste collectors: three days a week (Tue, Wed, Fri), the recycling center is open from seven in the morning until 8 pm, without staff from the building yard. On two days (Mon, Thu) the recycling center is open from 1 pm to 8 pm. On Saturdays, the yard is available from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. - to the delight of lawn care workers, who can dispose of the grass immediately after it has been cut.

Long-term mayor Hermann Ritzer draws a positive balance: “The idea was that citizens could dispose of their waste flexibly. After initial skepticism - even among the building yard employees - everyone is now convinced. “

About the recycling center

Digital two-barrier solution
The entrance area to the recycling center was redesigned and redesigned. An improved entrance solution with a two-barrier system was implemented by means of a basic redemption. At the start of the new flexible opening hours on February 1, 2021, 2,500 citizens of Bad Häring aged 18 and over had already received a citizen card.

The citizen card is the key
Access to the recycling center is by citizen card, which opens the barrier to the recycling center using the Wiegon system. But the card can do even more: “You can top up your card with credit and pay cashless in some businesses and restaurants, there is a 30 percent discount on cabs and the swimming pool season ticket is also stored on it,” explains Ritzer.

Cameras to prevent misses
“Missing items? That's not possible here,” says Roland Mathes, head of the recycling center. Six cameras are installed to monitor the site in order to identify litter offenders. Everything is legally regulated and approved by the data protection authority, and the video footage is only stored for 72 hours.

“Morale is very high. Only a handful of people have knowingly disposed of waste incorrectly in the last three years,” reports Mathes.

The community relies on consensus - “sinners” are confronted first. “They show themselves to be reasonable and are often surprised because they were caught on video,” smiles Mathes, who has worked for the municipality for 25 years. Using a cell phone app, the building yard employees can see whether waste is being disposed of incorrectly or whether the cardboard compactor needs to be started under supervision. This does mean extra work, as it is essential to check the cameras every day - even on Saturdays. We are delighted that the system in Bad Häring has been so well received by the municipality, employees and citizens. An important and innovative contribution to the environment - we wish it continued success!

Photos: © Bildagentur Muehlanger, Magdalena Gredler

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