Waste management: competition of the dual systems

The economic situation in the waste-management industry in mid 2007 was marked by a clear optimism and turnover orientation in light of the continuing economic upswing and the concomitant increasing demand for waste-management services. One problem at the moment for privately organised providers of waste-management services is the reverse privatisation of refuse collection in an increasing number of German cities. Since public waste-management is exempt from VAT, the private providers have a considerable competitive disadvantage, especially since the increase in VAT to 19%. This explains the current reverse privatisation.