Germany’s Third Voluntary National Review (VNR) to the HLPF 2025

    Circular economy Reducing waste together: the Waste Prevention Programme

    Waste prevention is a whole-of-society process and, therefore, more than a programme or package of government measures. In order to reinforce Germany’s lead role in waste prevention, the German Government, with the participation of the Länder, set up a comprehensive Waste Prevention Programme (AVP) for the first time in 2013. The programme was updated in 2021 and is accompanied by a dialogue process for information-sharing. The aim is to decouple economic growth from the impacts of waste generation on people and the environment.

    The Waste Prevention Programme analyses diverse waste prevention measures for the various stages in product lifecycles, including approaches relating to manufacturing, product design, trade, commerce and product use. The analysis focuses on economic, social and legal criteria, as well as waste prevention potential and environmental impacts as key criteria. Only those measures which can be expected to yield positive impacts when all these criteria are considered are recommended in the Waste Prevention Programme.

    The Waste Prevention Programme is accompanied by other measures to support waste prevention, such as the public information brochure Wertschätzen statt Wegwerfen, a German Environment Ministry (BMUKN) website on waste prevention, which also showcases activities by the Länder, and regular hosting of the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR).


    As at: 17.06.2025