A Tale of Circular Journeys of Waste in Berlin

The macro analysis of this project focuses on Berlin’s complex yet productive dialogue with Brandenburg pointing out a high social, economic and political entanglement. The privatization of the east after the reunification has caused asymmetries in the social and demographic sectors. But the main area of focus is the rising problem of the waste production and the ubiquity of plastic in Berlin. Besides the general reduction of plastic use in the everyday life, the analysis has shown that the problem should be targeted in its root and it acquires most of all local solutions.

The project focuses on three sites: Firstly, the Dong Xuan Center in Lichtenberg, the heart of the Vietnamese community in Berlin, which was greatly destroyed after a fire and poses a great example for transformation in the city. The other two sites are both located in Brandenburg: the Business Park in Hoppengarten, and lastly, an area in Fredersdorf-Vogelsdorf.

Three Stakeholders

The tender is organized by a constellation of actors that have formed a public-private partnership: the project initiators for a joint waste and sorting recycling facility, the primary stakeholders, supporters and political/administrative stakeholders and lastly the secondary stakeholders which are indirectly involved actors like residents, schools etc.

Scenario Analysis

Certain parts of the city such as shopping malls like Dong Xuan will play a major role in the production and collection of waste.

In the Dong Xuan case, after the fire, not much was left of the shopping area. The proposal includes interconnected flows of waste and goods in the development plans. The waste is to circle through the S Bahn network in order to reach ALBA (company in the recycling industry).

With the three major sites connected, a circular process is then established and a waste reduction is predicted.

The Dong Xuan Center it to offer an improvement in spatial qualities alongside its social character.

The business Park in Hoppengarten is to be turned into a waste sorting and recycling hub where trash is processed and upcycled in short distances.

Lastly, the Gravity Center is to be turned into a hub for organic waste and compost on the southern part and food production is planned for the north.

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