The disposal of organic waste from private households is the responsibility of the districts and independent cities. Regulations for the management of organic waste are laid down in the individual waste disposal statutes and fee statutes.
This includes, among other things, information on waste charges, waste containers (organic waste bin, ordering option), waste calendar (collection intervals), existing collection and delivery systems for organic waste (e.g. green waste).
If the public waste disposal authority does not yet offer an organic waste bin, there are alternative disposal offers in the delivery system (such as the delivery options for garden waste at recycling centres or container services) and, in some cases, the use of an organic waste bin from private providers (commercial or non-profit collection).
In addition to the disposal of organic waste through the organic waste bin, most statutes mention self-composting as an option for self-recycling of organic waste. If there is a proven possibility of self-recycling by composting on one's own property, the citizen can be exempted from the obligation to connect to the organic waste bin.
The separate collection and subsequent recovery of biodegradable waste (organic kitchen waste and garden waste) has several advantages for the environment: it reduces the amount of residual waste and simplifies the treatment of residual waste. Separate collection simplifies the high-quality recycling of organic waste through fermentation. In addition, the humus components and nutrients contained in the organic waste can be returned to the natural cycle as fermentation substrate or compost.